Great Exhibition of 1851

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Introduction
“This day is one of the greatest and most glorious of our lives...” – (Queen Victoria, 1851)
In this essay, as advised by Professor Joanne Paisana, I will be writing about the Great Exhibition of 1851, which was arguably a milestone in technology, more specifically the reaction of some people who witnessed it, including the role of the media during the exhibition, and the presence of ethnicities in the exhibition.
What is an exhibition?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it is “an event at which objects such as paintings are shown to the public, a situation in which someone shows a particular skill or quality to the public, or the act of showing these things”.

Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations
“The tremendous cheering, the joy expressed in every face, the vastness of the building, with all its decoration and exhibits, the sound of the organ... all this was indeed moving.” - (Queen Victoria,1851)
On the 1st of May of 1851 began what would be the first exhibition in Great Britain, following the steps of the French, celebrating the industrial technology and design around the world. The Exhibition took place on - the now destroyed - Crystal Palace, in Hyde Park, London and it lasted until the 15th of October of the same year. It was planned by Prince Albert, Henry Cole, Francis Henry, George Wallis, Charles Dilke and other members of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and opened by Queen Victoria.
The Great Exhibition catalogue included exhibits from Great Britain and its colonies, and also 44 other European and American countries. In the midst of the 13,000 exhibits, we could see Koh-i-Noor, the biggest known diamond of that time, and a prototype o...

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...reat-Exhibition-The-Victorian-New-World-Order>.
• Appleton, D. "[Appletons'] Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year: 1861-1875." Open Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2014. .
• Thackeray, William M. "May-Day Ode." Ballads by William Makepeace Thackeray:. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2014. .
• Bosbach, Franz, John Davis, and Walter De Gruyter. "Die Weltausstellung Von 1851 Und Ihre Folgen / The Great Exhibition and Its Legacy." Google Books. Web. 10 June 2014.
• Coleman, Eliza. "The Great Exhibition 1851." : Financing the Great Exhibition. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2014. .

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