of

HE promotion of Trade and Manufactures by means of collections of works of industry and art, is not entitled to the merit of novelty. In modern times, however, the idea has been worked out with more of system and purpose, and was probably suggested by the wide effects produced by two causes of the same nature, but which had no intentional bearing upon that subject, viz. the galleries of beautiful or rare products of art or nature collected by the wealthy and educated with the object of gratifying the eye and correcting the taste; and from the exposure for sale and commerce of beautiful or useful articles in the stores of individuals, or more particularly at the great fairs or bazaars, which in former times were the chief features of commercial enterprise. These two circumstances operated powerfully upon each other, and while the wares of the manufacturer derived a higher tone of beauty and refinement from the exquisite forms colours presented in the galleries of the noble, the latter received fresh accessions of artistic productions from the merchant, and demanded from the artizans articles of higher intellect and more cultivated taste.

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The beneficial effect thus casually derived from the exposure of the works of art and skill could not escape the observation of reflecting observers. In England this knowledge was brought to prac

tical purposes about a century ago, when (viz. in 1756-7) the Society of Arts not only offered prizes for specimens of manufactures -as carpets, tapestry, porcelain, &c., but exhibited the works offered for competition this being also about the time that the Royal Academy had organized its exhibition of painting, sculpture, and engraving. In France these "expositions have been adopted with marked success, being systematically pursued under the guidance of a Minister specially presiding over the Department of Commerce and Industry; and that of 1844 was so singularly successful as to suggest the expediency of reviving the custom in England. The Society of Arts, the first to originate, was first in resuming the design; and in 1847 their Council organized a limited exhibition of manufactures, which were placed on view in their rooms. The exhibition attracted marked attention; and in 1848 another Exhibition of the Works of Art and Manufacture was thrown open to the public, in which the beautiful specimens of pottery, porcelain, and glass, the products of our modern manufacturers, placed in contrast with the coarse uncouth vessels used by our forefathers even down to recent times, impressed the spectator at a glance with the astonishing improvements which had been made, especially in articles of general utility: while again, many exquisite examples of Faenza ware, Sêvres, and Dresden

china and other valuable articles (lent freely, be it honourably recorded, by their wealthy owners), suggested how much remained to be done. Another exhibition followed, which consisted in chief part of works in the precious metals, in which the most glorious specimens of mediæval and sixteenth century art and the clumsy articles of every-day life were placed beside the choicest efforts of modern artists and the cheap and well adapted productions of our manufacturers. The Queen placed in this display the two far-famed works of Benvenuto Cellini, the Nautilus Cup and the Shield of Achilles. It must be remarked, that hitherto these exhibitions had been confined, both in England and France, to local or national productions, with rare examples of art in the possession of private collectors, and with purposes exclusively local or national.

His Royal Highness Prince Albert, being President of the Society of Arts, had taken great interest in these beautiful exhibitions, and had been mainly instrumental in carrying them into operation. To His Royal Highness is due the comprehensive idea of gathering together in one place the best examples of contemporary art and skill, of the natural productions of every soil and clime, of whatever nature, and of every degree; and as the collection was to include the whole world, so the benefits were to be open to the people of every nation and of every class; it should be a friendly rivalry of nations in the arts of peace, and strengthen the bonds of universal society by a physical perception of the means by which mankind might be knit together, by inculcating a practical sense of mutual interest and geVOL. XCII.

neral advantage. In order further to attain that this design should be of and for all nations, and nothing national, it was resolved, in a wide spirit of reliance on the universality of the good to be worked out, that governmental assistance should be avoided; the people were appealed to to supply the funds, and it was made known (and the resolution proved as wise as it was confident) that the support of foreign people would be expected. It was also made known that prizes to the extent of 20,000l. would be awarded to the most meritorious exhibitors. The design was accepted with the general approbation it so well deserved. The people of England embraced the proposal as individuals and as communities. A Royal Commission was appointed to manage the undertaking, local committees were formed in most provincial towns, and a spirit of unity was obtained by an admirable organization:the Lord Mayor of London, as the chief magistrate of the greatest commercial and manufacturing city in the world, invited the chief magistrates of all the cities and boroughs in the United Kingdom to a splendid banquet-Prince Albert and the Ambassadors representing all the states of Europe and America being also guests--at which the great design may be said, in a popular phrase of the day, to have been "inaugurated." If the project was received in England with favour, it created "a sensation" on the Continent. The manufacturers of the foreign countries made eager preparations for exhibiting the best productions of their workshops, and to enter upon the competition in their greatest strength. Commissions were appointed in most foreign

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States to give organization to their efforts; Persia, Tunis, and other States considered almost beyond the pale of civilization partook of the general movement. Subscriptions to supply the funds poured in from all quarters, from individuals, from corporate bodies, and in some cases from national grants; and a sum of 75,000l. was collected. The design, extensive in its conception, grew beyond its projectors' expectations by the earnestness of the people; and by the grant of a charter of incorporation became one of the institutions of the land.

As it had been determined that the Exhibition should be opened on the 1st of May, 1851, it now became necessary to fix upon the place in which the collection should be exhibited. It was at once apparent that no building at present in existence would suffice to display a fifth part of the contributions announced. The Committee calculated that no edifice covering less than 16 or 18 acres would be adequate for the purpose. A temporary structure was resolved upon, and the Committee requested plans for the building, announcing at the same time, that no pecuniary reward would be given. Again the confidence of the Committee was nobly met; no less than 245 designs and specifications were sent in by architects of every country. The design which the Commissioners deemed the most suitable for the purpose, and from which the chief parts were to be composed, was the production of a Frenchman; the great feature was an enormous dome which would have diminished those of St. Peter's or St. Paul's into insignificance. It was made an indispensable condition, that the materials of the intended edifice should be such

as could be removed without great loss. While the design was in this incipient state of progress, a gentleman in no way connected with architecture, though of known taste, and conversant chiefly in the pursuits of natural history, Mr. Paxton, came forward with a plan so simple and effectual, and at the same time so original, that all preceding designs were laid aside, and this adopted without hesitation. The building erected in Hyde Park on this simple plan resembles a conservatory on an enormous scale; it is composed, with slight exceptions, of the two common materials, iron and glass; wood being used only in the fittings. It is 1848 feet long, 408 broad, and 66 feet high; crossed by a transept 108 feet high, and 72 feet wide, and also 408 feet in length, for the purpose of inclosing a grove of noble elms, which the public taste would not allow to be cut down. This great breadth is divided into five buildings, rising by two steps of 72 feet each on each side to a centre or nave 120 feet wide: in the interior, the nave is subdivided into a clear unobstructed avenue the whole length of the building, 72 feet in span, and 64 feet high; and, on each side, aisles 24 feet in width, horizontally divided into galleries, which run round the whole of the nave and transept. The wings exterior to the centre or nave on each side, are 72 feet in width, and have an aisle on their outer side 24 feet in width, which likewise carries galleries at the same height as those of the nave, and as bridges or cross galleries are thrown from one to the other of these, these wings are broken up into a series of courts each 48 feet in width. These wings are 44 feet high. The outermost wings

consist of one story only, 24 feet high, and have no galleries. Ten double staircases, 8 feet wide, give access to the galleries from the nave. The building is, within 10 feet, twice the width of St. Paul's, and four times as long. The great simplicity of the plan consists in this-that the cast-iron columns are all of the same size and pattern, and the girders are also cast in the same mould four columns and girders being placed in relative positions formed a square of 24 feet, which could be raised to any height, merely by placing other columns and girders upon them; consequently, this vast building consists of a series of multiples of 24. The sash-bars are uniform throughout, and the panes of glass are consequently of an uniform size. The number of columns used in the entire edifice is 3230; there are 2300 castiron girders for supporting the galleries and roofs, besides 1128 intermediate bearers or binders; 358 wrought-iron trusses for supporting the roof, 34 miles of gutters for carrying off the rain-water to the columns (which are hollow, and serve as water pipes), 202 miles of sash-bars, and 900,000 superficial feet of glass, weighing upwards of 400 tons. The weight of the wrought iron used is 550 tons; of the cast-iron 3500 tons: 600,000 cubic feet of wood are used in the fittings. The building covers about 18 acres of ground, and with the galleries gives an exhibiting surface of 21 acres; the length of the tables for laying out the goods is 8 miles. The total area of the ground-floor is 772,000 square feet, that of the galleries 217,100 square feet. The total cubical content of the building is 33,000,000 feet. The glass roof consists of a series of "ridges

and valleys" 8 feet wide; and provision is made for ventilating by means of louvre or luffer boards which admit air but exclude rain; the south side and the roof are provided with a canvas covering for the purpose of tempering the heat and light. In addition to this vast erection is another apartment on the north side, 96 feet long, and 24 feet wide, containing the boilers which set the machinery in motion.

The

The proposal of Mr. Paxton, which resulted in this wonderful construction, was not decided upon until the 26th July, 1850, and considerable modifications were necessary, and the working drawings had also to be prepared. tender of Messrs. Fox, Henderson and Co. for its construction was accepted at the same time-the principal terms being that they, the contractors, should erect the entire building for the sum of 79,8007. if the materials should remain their property, they being at the expense of removal-for 150,000l. if the materials became the property of the Commissioners. Messrs. Fox, Henderson and Co. further contracted to have the whole of the prodigous edifice erected and covered in, and ready to be delivered over to the Commissioners for painting and fitting on the 31st December, 1850—an undertaking scarcely less marvellous than the building itself, considering that at that moment no single piece of iron or pane of glass was prepared.

The site, a portion of Hyde Park, extending from the Cavalry Barracks to the Albert Gate, bounded on the south side by the road which skirts the Park wall, and on the north by the well-known ride called Rotten Row, was delivered over to the

contractors on the 30th July; the first column was fixed on the 26th September.

As the design was novel, so the appliances for carrying it out presented much of originality-even the first step, that of inclosing the ground, was new and ingenious: a double row of uprights, being the same timbers which were afterwards to be used as joists, were driven into the ground at suitable intervals; boards, which were to form the future flooring, were dropped into the interstices, and held in their places by iron rings dropped over the head of each pair of uprights-thus not a single nail was used in the whole enclosure, not an inch of plank was injured or wasted, and the whole underwent an admirable seasoning. The ground was next traced out, the exact position of each column being ascertained by the theodolite, and concrete foundations formed. The chief materials of the structure, the iron columns and girders, now began to pour in.

As every casting was delivered on the ground, it underwent a careful examination, and was immediately painted. The girders, upon the perfect soundness of which the stability of the galleries and roof mainly depended, were subjected to a rigorous test, in a machine arranged for the purpose. One of Mr. Henderson's patent cranes was so placed, that, on a waggon containing girders being brought beneath its range, a girder was lifted from the waggon and deposited upon a weighing apparatus. An account having been taken of its weight, the girder was again lifted by the crane, and carried forward to an extremely strong frame, the two ends of which corresponded in form and dimensions to the con

necting pieces with their projections. The girder being securely confined in these clutches, a force was exerted upon it at the two points upon which the weight of the floors and roofing would have to be carried, that is to say, immediately over its vertical lines. The force thus communicated was applied by two pistons, forced upwards by a modification of the hydraulic press. A registering apparatus affixed to the pipe leading from the force-pump to the testing-machine, afforded the means of adjusting the pressure exercised by the hydraulic press. A careful observation of this apparatus conveyed the assurance, that every girder, according to its ultimate destination, was proved to a strain of either 9, 15, or 22 tons. After testing, the girder was released from its confinement, again raised by the crane, and stacked in a convenient place ready for removal. So admirably were the various arrangements made for conducting these operations, that it was possible for a girder to be lifted from its waggon, weighed, secured in the testing-machine, proved, released, again raised, and finally deposited in less than four minutes.

In order to elevate the columns to their places, what is known in technical language as

pair of shear-legs, was employed. This simple apparatus consists of two poles lashed together at their heads, and maintained in a steady position by ropes extending from the apex of the triangle formed by the base-line of the ground and the inclination of the poles to one another, to stakes driven into the ground at a considerable distance. From the apex of the triangle a series of ropes passing over pulleys