^ ^n E7L«=n.=n«=n cricn ra*7i tr? cn cntri eh ^ on eh m cn ^ cie^ en iallaLiaLiaLhalbi-lia GUIDE TO THE CRYSTAL PALACE AND PARK. CONVEYANCE BY BAIL AND ROAD FROM LONDON. THE CRYSTAL PALACE BY RAILWAY. Trains conveying persons direct to the Palace leave the Bridge Terminus ot the Brighton Bailway at a quarter before nine in the morning on Mondays, and a quarter before ten on Tuesdays, "Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and continue running every quarter of an hour, or more frequently when occasion requires, throughout the day : returning from the palace every quarter of an hour, and in the evening until all the visitors desirous of travelling to Town by railway have quitted the building, which closes one hour before sunset. The Fares to the Palace and back, including admission to the Palace itself, are, on the above days, two shillings and. sixpence, first class ; two shillings, second class ; and one shilling and sixpence, third class. On Fridays and Saturdays the Crystal Palace opens at twelve o’clock in the morning, and trains will start from London at a quarter before that hour, and continue running every quarter of an hour throughout the day, returning every quarter of an hour until all the visitors shall have quitted the Palace. Holders of season tickets will be conveyed from London by train to the Palace on every day of the week by payment of the ordinary fare of the Brighton Bailway. Omnibuses from all parts of London will convey passengers direct to the terminus of the Brighton Bailway. Visitors residing at or desirous of reaching the Palace from the New Cross or Forest Hill stations, on the Brighton line, will be conveyed to the Palace by the ordinary Epsom and Croydon trains, which leave London at quick intervals, and call at both these stations. These trains will, however, convey them only to the Anerley or Sydenham stations, from which places conveyances to the Palace may be procured. THE CRYSTAL PALACE BY ROAD. Persons travelling in carriages from London to the Palace will find the various roads marked on the annexed map, which will enable them to choose the most expeditious routes from different parts of the metropolis to the Crystal Palace doors. Carriages from London must set down at either the north or south transepts, but not at the central transept; whilst visitors from Penge, Beckenham, and all places situated to the south-east of the Palace, will set down at the Crystal Palace Bailway station. The Crystal Palace Company have already provided accommodation for three hundred horses, in the “Paxton Stables,” at the Woodman Inn, on Westow Hill, within five minutes’ walk of the Palace. The charge for such accommodation is fixed at one shilling and sixpence, including a feed of com and all other expenses, no attendant being allowed to receive a fee. Carriages and horses will find a convenient stand formed in front of the Palace, opposite the north and south transepts, where horses will be supplied with hay and water at a very trifling charge. All' communications concerning the road traffic to the Palace should be addressed to Mr. Charles Bourner, Traffic Manager, Crystal Palace, Sydenham. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/guidetocrystalpaOOphil_O VIEW OP BUILDINC PROM THE NORTH, GUIDE TO THE CRYSTAL PALACE AND PARK. Br SAMUEL PHILLIPS. CRYSTAL PALACE LIBRARY; AND BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET, LONDON. 1854. CONTENTS, PAGE INTRODUCTION . . . . . 11 SITE .... . . . . . 23 ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE . . . . . . 23 ACCOUNT OP THE BUILDING . . 24 HOT-WATER APPARATUS . 30 THE ARTESIAN, AND FOUNTAINS SUPPLY . . 32 THE NAVE . . 35 GREAT TRANSEPT . . 36 INTRODUCTION TO THE FINE ART COURTS . . 38 THE EGYPTIAN COURT . . . 39 THE GREEK COURT . . . . 45 GREEK SCULPTURES . • 49 THE ROMAN COURT . . . • 51 SCULPTURES IN ROMAN COURT . . . 54 THE ALHAMBRA COURT • • . 57 THE ASSYRIAN COURT . • 62 RAW PRODUCE AND AGRICULTURAL COLLECTION • 66 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT • 68 THE GERMAN MEDIEVAL COURT . . • 77 THE ENGLISH MEDIAEVAL COURT 78 THE FRENCH AND ITALIAN MEDIAEVAL COURT • 84 THE RENAISSANCE COURT . • 85 THE ELIZABETHAN COURT . . • 89 THE ITALIAN COURT 91 THE STATIONERY COURT. . • • 95 THE BIRMINGHAM COURT • 96 THE SHEFFIELD COURT • 97 THE POMPEIAN COURT . . • 98 V1H CONTENTS. PAGE ETHNOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY DEPARTMENT . . .103 NEW WORLD . . . . . 104 OLD WORLD ....... 108 THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COURT . . . . 115 THE PRINTED FABRICS COURT ..... 116 THE MIXED FABRICS COURT. . . . . . . 117 THE FOREIGN INDUSTRIAL COURT . . . . .118 A WALK THROUGH THE NAVE . . . . . 120 THE GREEK AND ROMAN SCULPTURE COURT . . ... 128 THE GOTHIC RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE COURT .... 134 THE COURT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN SCULPTURE. . . . 136 LIST OF MODERN SCULPTURES ..... 138 THE GARDEN OF THE NAVE . . . . . 140 THE MAIN AND UPPER GALLERIES . . . . .143 THE PARK AND GARDENS . . . . . . 145 THE GEOLOGICAL ISLANDS AND THE EXTINCT ANIMALS . .157 LIST OF EXHIBITORS . ... .165 PREFACE. The following pages are presented to the public as a brief but connected and carefully prepared account of the exterior and interior of the Crystal Palace. It is believed that no important or interesting object in connexion with the Exhibition is without its record in this little volume ; although, in so vast a collection of works of architecture, sculpture, and industrial manufacture, it is clearly impossible to compress within the limits of a General Hand¬ book all the information which is necessary to satisfy the visitor desirous of precise and accurate knowledge of the numberless objects offered to his contemplation. A general and comprehensive view of the Crystal Palace will unquestionably be obtained by the perusal of the present manual. The Hand-books of the respective departments will supply all the detailed information necessary to fill in the broad and rapidly drawn outlines. In them, Literature will faithfully serve as the handmaiden to Art, and complete the great auxiliary work of education which it is the first aim of the Crystal Palace to effect. These Hand-books are published at prices varying from three¬ pence to eighteen-pence, according to the size of the volume. The lowest possible price has been affixed to one and all. It may be fearlessly asserted that books containing the same amount of entertainment, information, and instruction, it would be difficult to purchase at a more reasonable rate elsewhere. The Crystal Palace—destined for permanent service—opens in¬ complete with respect to a part of its design. The public will not 10 PREFACE. be the losers by the circumstance. With the exception of the great water displays—which are already far advanced, and will rapidly be brought to completion—the grand scheme originally projected by the Directors has been, in its chief features, thoroughly carried out by their officers. It would have been physically impossible to accomplish more than has been done. What has been achieved, within comparatively a few months, must elicit admiration and astonishment. Already the Crystal Palace stands unrivalled for the size and character of its structure, for the nature of its contents, and for the extent and advancing beauty of its pleasure-grounds. Day by day the people will have an opportunity of witnessing the growth of their Palace, and the extension of its means of good. An institution intended to last for ages, and to widen the scope, and to brighten the path, of education throughout the land, must have time to consolidate its own powers of action, and to complete its own system of instruction. Within a very few months, the promises held out from the first by the Directors will be fulfilled to the very letter ; and the community may, in the meanwhile, watch the progress of the Crystal Palace towards the certain accomplishment of its unprecedented design. The annexed map of the routes to the Crystal Palace will enable the visitor to ascertain the shortest and least troublesome way of reaching the Palace from the various parts of the great metropolis and its environs. For his further information full par¬ ticulars are added respecting the times of starting, and the fares of the journey by the London and Brighton Bailway, which will serve as the great main line for the conveyance of visitors by rail from London to the Palace doors. We will presume that the visitor has taken his railway ticket, which, for his convenience, includes admission within the Palace, and that his short ten minutes’ journey has commenced. Before he alights, and whilst his mind is still unoccupied by the wonders that are to meet his eye, we take the opportunity to relate, as briefly as we can, the History of the Crystal Palace, from the day upon which the Boyal Commissioners assembled within its transparent walls to declare their great and successful mission ended, until the 10th of June, 1854, when reconstructed, and renewed and beautified in all its proportions, it again opened its wide doors to continue and confirm the good it had already effected in the nation and beyond it. It will be remembered that the destination of the Great Exhibi¬ tion building occupied much public attention towards the close of 1851, and that a universal regret prevailed at the threatened loss of a structure which had accomplished so much for the improve¬ ment of the national taste, and which was evidently capable, under 12 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. intelligent direction, of effecting so very much more. A special commission even had been appointed for the purpose of reporting on the different useful purposes to which the building could be applied, and upon the cost necessary to carry them out. Further discus¬ sion on the subject, however, was rendered unnecessary by the declaration of the Home Secretary, on the 25th of March, 1852, that Government had determined not to interfere in any way with the building, which accordingly remained, according to previous agreement, in the hands of Messrs. Fox and Henderson, the builders and contractors. Notwithstanding the announcement of the Home Secretary, a last public effort towards rescuing the Crystal Palace for its original site in Hyde Park, was made by Mr. Heywood in the House of Commons, on the 29th of April. But Government again declined the responsibility of purchasing the structure, and Mr. Heywood’s motion was, by a large majority, lost. It was at this juncture that Mr. Leech,* a private gentleman, con¬ ceived the idea of rescuing the edifice from destruction, and of rebuilding it on some appropriate spot, by the organization of a private company. On communicating this view to his partner, Mr. Farquhar, he received from him a ready and cordial approval. They then submitted their project to Mr. Francis Fuller, who entering into their views, undertook and arranged, on their joint behalf, a conditional purchase from Messrs. Fox and Henderson, of the Palace as it stood. In the belief that a building, so destined, would, if erected on a metropolitan line of railway, greatly conduce to the interests of the line, and that communication by railway was essential for the conveyance thither of great masses from London, Mr. Farquhar next suggested to Mr. Leo Schuster, a Director of the Brighton Bailway, that a site for the new Palace should be selected on the Brighton line. Mr. Schuster, highly approving of the conception, obtained the hearty concurrence of Mr. Laing, the Chairman of the Brighton Board, and of his brother Directors, for aiding as far as possible in the prosecution of * Of the firm of Johnston, Farquhar, and Leech, Solicitors. INTBODU CTION. 13 the work. And, accordingly, these five gentlemen, and their immediate friends determined forthwith to complete the purchase of the building. On the 24th of May, 1852, the purchase- money was paid, and a few English gentlemen became the owners of the Crystal Palace of 1851. Their names follow :— Original Purchasers of the Building. Mr. T. N. Farquhar, Mr. Joseph Leech, Mr. Francis Fuller, Mr. J. C. Morice, Mr. Robert Gill, Mr. Scott Russell, Mr. Harman Grisewood, Mr. Leo Schuster. Mr. Samuel Laing, It will hardly be supposed that these gentlemen had proceeded thus far without having distinctly considered the final destination of their purchase. They decided that the building,—the first wonderful example of a new style of architecture—should rise again greatly enhanced in grandeur and beauty; that it should form a Palace for the multitude, where, at all times, protected from the inclement varieties of our climate, healthful exercise and wholesome recreation should be easily attainable. To raise the enjoyments and amusements of the English people, and especially to afford to the inhabitants of London, in wholesome country air, amidst the beauties of nature, the elevating treasures of art, and the instructive marvels of science, an accessible and inexpensive substitute for the injurious and debasing amusements of a crowded metropolis :—to blend for them instruction with pleasure, to educate them by the eye, to quicken and purify their taste by the habit of recognising the beautiful—to place them amidst the trees, flowers, and plants of all countries and of all climates, and to attract them to the study of the natural sciences, by displaying their most interesting examples—and making known all the achievements of modern industry, and the marvels of mechanical manufactures:—such were some of the original intentions of the first promoters of this National undertaking. Having decided upon their general design, and upon the scale 14 GENERAL GUILE BOOK. on which it should be executed, the directors next proceeded to select the officers to whom the carrying out of the work should be entrusted. Sir Joseph Paxton, the inventive architect of the great building in Hyde Park, was requested to accept the office of Director of the Winter Garden, Park, and Conservatory, an office of which the duties became subsequently much more onerous and extensive than the title implies. Mr. Owen Jones and Mr. Digby Wyatt, who had distinguished themselves by their labours in the old Crystal Palace, accepted the duties of Directors of the Fine Art Depart¬ ment, and of the decorations of the new structure. Mr. Charles Wild, the engineer of the old building, filled the same office in the new one. Mr. Grove, the secretary of the Society of Arts, the parent institution of the Exhibition of 1851, was appointed secretary. Mr. Francis Fuller, a member of the Hyde Park Executive Com¬ mittee, accepted the duties of managing director. Mr. Samuel Laing, M.P., the Chairman of the Brighton Railway Company, became Chairman also of the Hew Crystal Palace, and Messrs. Fox and Henderson undertook the re-erection of the building. With these arrangements, a Company was formed, imder the name of the Crystal Palace Company, and a prospectus issued, announcing the proposed capital of 500,0001., in one hundred thousand shares of five pounds each. The following gentlemen constituted the Board of Directors, and they have continued in office up to the present time:— Samuel Laing, Esq., M.P., Chairman. Arthur Anderson, Esq., Charles Geach, Esq., M.P., E. S. P. Calvert, Esq., Charles Lushington, Esq., T. H. Farquhar, Esq., J. Scott Bussell, Esq., F. R. S., Francis Fuller, Esq., Managing Director. It will ever be mentioned, to the credit of the English people, that within a fortnight after the issue of the Company’s prospectus, the shares were taken up to an extent that gave the Directors ample encouragement to proceed vigorously with their novel and gigantic undertaking. INTRODUCTION. 15 In the prospectus it was proposed to transfer the building to Sydenham, in Kent, and the site chosen was an irregular parallelogram of three hundred acres,* extending from the Brighton Railway to the road which forms the boundary of the Dulwich wood at the top of the hill, the fall from which to the railway is two hundred feet. It was at once felt that the summit of this hill was the only position, in all the ground, for the great glass building—a position which, on the one side, commands a beautiful view of the fine counties of Surrey and Kent, and on the other a prospect of the great metropolis. This site was chosen, and we doubt whether a finer is to be found so close to London, and so easy of access by means of railway. To facilitate the conveyance of passengers, the Brighton Railway Company,—under special and mutually advantageous arrangements—undertook to lay down a new line of rails between London and Sydenham, to construct a branch from the Sydenham station to the Crystal Palace garden, and to build a number of engines sufficiently powerful to draw heavy trains up the steep incline to the Palace. And now the plans were put into practical and working shape. The building was to gain in strength and artistic effect, whilst the contents of the mighty structure were to be most varied. Art was to be worthily represented by Architecture and Sculpture. Archi¬ tectural restorations were to be made, and Architectural specimens from the most remarkable edifices throughout the world, to be collected, in order to present a grand architectural sequence from the earliest dawn of the art down to the latest times. Casts of the most celebrated works of Sculpture were to be pro¬ cured : so that within the glass walls might be seen a vast historical gallery of this branch of art, from the time of the ancient Egyptians to our own era. Nature also was to put forth her beauty throughout the Palace and Grounds. A magnifi¬ cent collection of plants of every land was to adorn the glass structure within, whilst in the gardens the fountains of Versailles * A portion of this land, not required for the purposes of the Palace, has been disposed of. 16 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. were to be outrivailed, and Englishmen at length enabled to witness the water displays, which for years had proved a source of pleasure and recreation to foreigners in their own countries. Nor was this all. All those sciences, an acquaintance with which is attainable through the medium of the eye, were allotted their specific place, and Geology, Ethnology, and Zoology were taken as best susceptible of illustra¬ tion ; Professor Edward Forbes, Dr. Latham, Professor Ansted, Mr. Waterhouse, Mr. Gould, and other gentlemen well known in the scientific world, undertaking to secure the material basis upon which the intellectual service was to be grounded. To prevent the monotony that attaches to a mere museum arrangement, in which glass cases are ordinarily the most prominent features, the whole of the collected objects, whether of science, art or nature, were to be arranged in picturesque groupings, and harmony was to reign throughout. To give weight to their proceedings, and to secure lasting advantage to the public, a charter was granted by Lord Derby’s government on the 28th of January, 1853, binding the Directors and their successors to preserve the high moral and social tone which, from the outset, they had assumed for their National Institution. The building paid for, the officers retained, the plans put on paper —the work of removal now commenced, and Messrs. Fox and Henderson received instructions to convey the palace to its destined home at Sydenham. The first column of the new structure was raised by Mr. Laing, M. P., the chairman of the Company, on the 5th August, 1852 ; the works were at once proceeded with, and the most active and strenuous efforts thenceforth made towards the completion of the undertaking. Shortly after the erection of the first column, Messrs. Owen Jones and Digby Wyatt were charged with a mission to the continent, in order to procure examples of the principal works of art in Europe. They were fortified by Lord Malmesbury, then Se.r *etary of State, with letters to the several ambassadors on their route, expressing the sympathy of the Government in the object of their travels, and backed by the liberal purse of the Company, who required, for themselves, only INTRODUCTION. 17 that the collection should prove worthy of the nation for which they were caterers. The travellers first of all visited Paris, and received the most cordial co-operation of the Government, and of the authorities at the Museum of the Louvre, and the Fcole des Beaux Arts. The permission to obtain casts of any objects, which could with safety be taken, was at once accorded them. From Paris they proceeded to Italy, and thence to Germany, in both which countries they experienced, generally, a ready and generous compliance with their wishes. At Munich they received especial attention, and were most kindly assisted by the British Ambassador, and the architect Baron von Klenze, through whose instrumentality and influence King Louis permitted casts of the most choice objects -in the Glyptothek for the first time to be taken. The chief exceptions to the general courtesy were at Rome, Padua, and Vienna. At the first-named city every arrangement had been made for procuring casts of the great Obelisk of the Lateran, the celebrated antique equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius on the Capitol, the beautiful monuments by Andrea Sansovino in the church of S. M. del Popolo, the interesting bas-reliefs from the arch of Titus, and other works, when an order from the Papal Government forbade the copies to be taken : and, accordingly, for the present, our collection, as regards these valuable subjects, is incomplete. At Padua contracts had been made for procuring that master¬ piece of Renaissance art, the candelabrum of Riccio, the entire series of bronzes by Donatello, and several other important works in the church of St. Anthony ; but, in spite of numerous appeals, aided by the influence of Cardinal Wiseman, the capitular authori¬ ties refused their consent. At Vienna agreements had been entered into for procuring a most important series of monumerEts-- fi m the Church of St. Stephen, in that city ; including the celebrated stone pulpit, and the monument of Frederic III. A contract had also been made for obtaining a cast of the grand bronze statue of Victory, at c 18 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. Brescia ; but although the influence of Lord Malmesbury and Lord Westmoreland (our ambassador at Vienna) was most actively exerted, permission was absolutely refused by the Austrian autho¬ rities in Lombardy, as well as in Vienna itself. Thus much it is necessary to state in order to justify the directors of the Crystal Palace in the eyes of the world for omissions in their collection which hitherto they have not had power to make good. They- are not without hope, however, that the mere announcement of these defi¬ ciencies will be sufficient to induce the several governments to take a kindly view of the requests that have been made to them, and to participate in the satisfaction that follows every endeavour to advance human enjoyment. In England, wherever application has been made, permission —with one exception—has been immediately granted by the autho¬ rities, whether ecclesiastical or civil, to take casts of any monu¬ ments required. The one interesting exception deserves a special record. The churchwardens of Beverley Minster, Yorkshire, enjoy the privilege of being able to refuse a cast of the celebrated Percy shrine, the most complete example of purely English art in our country ; and in spite of the protestations of the Archbishop of York, the Duke of Northumberland, Archdeacon Wilberforce, Sir Charles Barry and others, half the churchwardens in question insist, to this hour, upon their right to have their enjoyment without molestation. The visitors to the Crystal Palace cannot therefore, as yet, see the Percy shrine. Whilst Messrs. Jones and Wyatt were busy abroad, the authorities were no less occupied at home. Sir Joseph Paxton commenced operations by securing for the Company the extensive and celebrated collection of palms and other plants, brought together with the labour o£ a century, by Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney. The valuable assistance of Mr; EergUsson and Mr. Layard, M.P., was obtained for the erection of a Court to illustrate the architecture of the long-buried buildings of Assyria; and a large space in the Gardens was devoted to illustrating the geology of the antediluvian period, INTRODUCTION. 1» and exhibiting specimens of tile gigantic animals living before the flood. As soon as the glass structure was sufficiently advanced, the valuable productions of art which Messrs. Jones and Wyatt had acquired abroad rapidly arrived, and being received into the building, the erection of the Fine Art Courts commenced. To carry out these works, artizans of almost every continental nation, together with workmen of our own country have been employed, and it is worthy of note, that, although but a few years before, many of the nations to which these men belonged, were engaged in deadly warfare against each other, and some of them opposed to our own country, yet, in the Crystal Palace, these workmen have laboured for months, side by side, with the utmost good feeling, and without the least display of national jealousy—a fact alike honourable to the men, and gratifying to all, inasmuch as it shows how completely the ill-will that formerly separated nation from nation and man from man, is dying out, and how easily those, who have been at one time enemies on the field of battle, may become fast friends in the Palace of Peace. To the whole of these workmen, foreigners and English, engaged in the Crystal Palace, the Directors are anxious to express their obligations and sincere acknowledgments. They recognise the value of their labours, and are fully aware that, if to the minds of a Few the public are indebted for the conception of the grand Idea now happily realized, to the Many we owe its practical existence. Throughout the long and arduous toil, they have exhibited— allowance being made for some slight and perhaps unavoidable differences—an amount of zeal, steadiness, and intelligence which does honour to them, and to the several nations which they repre¬ sent. To all—their due ! If the creations of the mind stand paramount in our estimation, let appropriate honour be rendered to the skill of hand and eye, which alone can give vitality and form to our noblest conceptions. Of the advantages attendant on the erection of the Crystal Palace, even before the public are admitted to view its contents, none is more striking than the education it c 2 20 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. has already afforded to those who have taken part in its production. For the first time in England, hundreds of men have received practical instruction—in a national Fine Art School—from which society must derive a lasting benefit. It is not too much to hope that each man will act as a missionary of art and ornamental industry, in whatever quarter his improved faculties may hereafter be required. At one time during the progress of the works as many as 6400 men were engaged in carrying out the designs of the Directors. Besides the labours already mentioned, Mr. B. Waterhouse Hawkins, in due time, took possession of a building in the grounds, and was soon busily employed, under the eye of Professor Owen, in the reproduction of those animal creations of a past age, our acquaintance with which has hitherto been confined to fossil remains. Dr. Latham was engaged in designing and giving instructions for the modelling of figures to illustrate the Ethno¬ logical department, whilst Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Gould, aided by Mr. Thomson, as superintendent, and Mr. Bartlett, as taxidermist, were collecting and grouping valuable specimens of birds and animals to represent the science of Zoology. Towards the exhibition of the articles of industry, six architects were commissioned to erect courts for the reception of the principal manufactures of the world, and agents were employed in various parts of England, to receive the applications of intending exhibitors. Such are a few of the operations that for the last few months have gone forward in, and in respect of, the Crystal Palace ; and, excepting by those whose business it has been to watch the progress of the works, no adequate idea can be formed of the busy activity*' that prevailed within the building and without, or of the marvellous manner in which the various parts of the structure seemed to grow under the hands of the workmen, until it assumed the exquisite proportions which it now possesses. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert have been, from the first, graciously pleased to express their warmest sympathy with the undertaking, and have visited the Palace several times during the progress of the works. In honouring the inauguration INTRODUCTION. 21 of the Palace with her royal presence, her Majesty gives the best proof of the interest she takes in an institution which—like the great structure originated by her Royal Consort—has for its chief object the advancement of civilization and the welfare of her subjects. * * Tlie Queen’s apartments in the Crystal Palace, destined for the reception of her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert, when they honour the Exhibition with their presence, have been erected by Messrs. J. Gr. Crace and Co., in the Italian style. The suite of apartments, which are placed at the north end of the building, consists of a large entrance vestibule with architectural ornaments, and painted arabesque decorations. A long corridor leads from the vestibule to the several apartments, and is formed into an arched passage by means of circular-headed doorways, before which hang portieres, or curtains. To the right of the entrance are two rooms, one appro¬ priated to the ladies-in-waiting, and the other to the equerries ; the walls of both being divided into panels, and decorated in the Italian style. On the left are the apartments for the use of her Majesty and Prince Albert, consisting of a drawing-room and two retiring rooms. The walls of the drawing-room are divided by pilasters, the panels covered with green silk. The cove of the ^ceiling is decorated with arabesque ornaments. VIEW OP PALACE FP.OM SECOND TERRACE. GUIDE TO THE CRYSTAL PALACE, THE SITE. The Crystal Palace stands in the connty of Surrey, immediately on the confines of Kent, bordered on one side by Sydenham, and on the other by Norwood and Anerley, whilst Penge lies at the foot of the hill, and Dulwich Wood at the top. No particular topographical or historical facts are associated with these places. Sydenham, however, is invested with some literary interest as having been the residence of the poet Campbell, the author of the “ Pleasures of Hope,” who passed, as he says in one of his letters, the happiest years of his life in this suburban village. ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE. The visitor, having reached the Crystal Palace terminus, quits the train, and ascends the broad flight of steps before him, leading to a covered way called the Railway Colonnade, in which will shortly be placed a collection of plants forming an avenue of choice exotics. At the end of this colonnade is the south wing of the Palace. Ascending the first flight of stairs he enters the second- class Refreshment Room, and by another flight he attains the level of the floor of the main building.* * In the lower story of the South Wing will be found a second-class Refresh¬ ment Room, where refreshments of a substantial kind may be procured at a moderate charge. Above this, in the next story of the South Wing, is a first-class Refreshment Room, for confectionary and ices, as well as more nourishing fare ; and, above this again, is a large space occupying the whole of the upper floor of the Wing, and extending across the end of the main building, whilst, built out from the North end, will be found two Dining Rooms, one devoted to general use, and the other for Exhibitors only, appropriated to first-class Refreshment Tables, where cold viands may be obtained. At each end of the great Transept, under the Galleries, will be found two Stalls with ices and refreshments : and at the north end of the building, extending to the back of the Assyrian Court, and covering the top floor of the North Wing, is a large space also devoted to the sale of ices and confectionary. 24 GENERAL GUILE BOOK. Having entered the Palace, the visitor may desire, before he examines its various contents, to learn something of the Building itself—certainly not the least remarkable feature in the extraor¬ dinary scene now submitted to his contemplation. We therefore proceed at once to furnish him with an ACCOUNT OF THE BUILDING. In taking the structure of the Great Exhibition of 1851—that type of a class of architecture which may fairly be called u modern English ” *—as the model for the new building at Sydenham, the projectors found it necessary to make such modifications and improvements as were suggested by the difference between a tem¬ porary receiving-house for the world’s industrial wealth, and a per¬ manent Palace of Art and Education, intended for the use of mankind long after its original foimders should have passed away. Not only, however, have increased strength and durability been considered, but beauty and artistic effect have come in for a due share of attention. The difference of general aspect between the present palace and its predecessor, is visible at a glance. In the parent edifice, the external appearance, although grand, was mono¬ tonous ; the long flat roof was broken by only one transept, and the want of an elevation proportionate to the great length of the building was certainly displeasing. In the Sydenham Palace, an arched roof covers the nave—raising it forty-four feet higher than the nave in Hyde Park—and three transepts are introduced into the structure instead of one, the centre transept towering into the air, and forming a hall to the Palace of surpassing brilliancy and lightness. A further improvement is the formation of recesses, * We do not know any name more suitable to express the character of this iron and glass building than that which we have chosen. In Gothic archi¬ tecture we have named one style “ Early English,” and we think we may with equal propriety confer the title of “Modern English” upon the new order, which is essentially the creation of the nineteenth century, and which served to house one of the greatest national displays that England ever attempted— The Great Exhibition op 1851. The erection of the building both of 1851 and of 1854, it may be well to remark, is mainly due to the rapid advances made in this country in the manufactures of glass and iron, substances which with only moderate attention will defy the effects of time. The present structure is capable of enduring longer than the oldest marble or stone architectural monu¬ ments of antiquity. The iron, which forms its skeleton or framework, becomes when painted, the most indestructible of materials, and the entire covering of glass may be renewed again and again without in any way interfering with the construction which it covers. ACCOUNT OF THE BUILDING. 25 twenty-four feet deep, in the garden fronts of all the transepts. These throw fine shadows, and take away from the continuous surface of plain glass walls : whilst the whole general arrangement of the exterior—the roofs of the side aisles rising step-like to the circular roof of the nave,—the interposition of square towers at the junction of the nave and transepts,—the open galleries towards the garden front, the long wings stretching forth on either side, produce a play of light and shade, and break the building into parts, which, without in any way detracting from the grandeur and simplicity of the whole construction, or causing the parts them¬ selves to appear mean or small, present a variety of surface that charms and fully satisfies the eye. Unity in architecture is one of the most requisite and agreeable of its qualities : and certainly no building possesses it in a greater degree than the Crystal Palace. Its design is most simple : one portion corresponds with another ; there is no introduction of needless ornament : a simplicity of treatment reigns throughout. Nor is this unity confined to the building. It characterizes the contents of the glass structure, and prevails in the grounds. All the component parts of the Exhibition blend, yet all are distinct : and the effect of the admirable and harmonious ar¬ rangement is, that all confusion in the vast establishment, within and without, is avoided. “The mighty maze” has not only its plan, but a plan of the most lucid and instructive kind, and the visitor is enabled to examine every court, whether artistic or in¬ dustrial ; every object, whether of nature or of art, in regular order ; so that, as in a well-arranged book, he may proceed from subject to subject at his discretion, and derive useful information without the trouble and vexation of working his way through a labyrinth. All the materials employed in the Exhibition of 1851, with the exception of the glass on the whole roof, and the framing of the transept-roof, have been used in the construction of the Crystal Palace. The general principle of construction, therefore, is identical in the two buildings. The modifications that have taken place, and the reasons that have led to them, have already been stated. Two difficulties, however, which were unknown in Hyde Park, had to be provided against at Sydenham : viz., the loose nature of the soil, and the sloping character of the ground. Means were taken to overcome these difficulties at the very outset of the work. The disadvantage of soil was repaired by the introduction of masses of concrete and brickwork under each column, in order to seoure breadth of base and stability of structure. The slanting ground OPEN GALLERY TOWARDS THE GARDEN FROM. ACCOUNT OF THE BUILDING. 2 was seized by Sir Joseph Paxton with his usual sagacity, in order to be converted from an obstacle into a positive advantage. The ground ran rapidly down towards the garden, and Sir Joseph accordingly constructed a lower, or basement story towards the garden front, by means of which not only increased space was gained, but a higher elevation secured to the whole building, and the noblest possible view. The lower story is sufficiently large to serve as a department for the exhibition of machinery in motion, which interesting branch of science and human industry will thus be contemplated apart from other objects. Behind this space, westwards, is a capacious horizontal brick shaft, twenty- four feet wide, extending the whole length of the building, and denominated “ Sir Joseph Paxton’s Tunnel” (a). Leading out of this tunnel are the furnaces and boilers connected with the heating apparatus, together with brick recesses for the stowage of coke. The tunnel itself is connected with the railway, and is used as a roadway for bringing into, and taking from, the Palace all objects of art and of industry ; an arrangement that leaves the main floor of the building independent of all such operations. Behind the tunnel, and still towards the west, the declivity of the ground is met by means of brick piers of the heights necessary to raise the foundation pieces of the columns to the level at which they rest on the summit of the hill. The building consists, above the basement floor, of a gran d ce ntra nave, two side aisles, two main galleries, three transepts, and two wings. It will be remembered, that in Hyde Park an imposing 28 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. effect was secured by the mere repetition of a column and a girder which, although striking and simple, was certainly monotonous ; and, moreover, in consequence of the great length of the building, the columns and girders succeeded one another so rapidly that the eye had no means of measuring the actual length. At Syden¬ ham pairs of columns and girders are advanced eight feet into the nave at every seventy-two feet, thus breaking the uniform straight line, and enabling the eye to measure and appreciate the distance. The building above the level of the floor is entirely of iron and glass, with the exception of a portion at the north front, which is panelled with wood. The whole length of the main building is 1608 feet, and the wings 574 feet each, making a length of 2756 feet, which with the 720 feet in the colonnade, leading from the railway station to the wings, gives a total length of 3476 feet; or nearly three-quarters of a mile of ground covered with a transparent roof of glass. The length of the Hyde Park building was 1848 feet, so that, including the wings and colonnade, the present structure is larger than its predecessor by 1628 feet ; the area of the ground floor, in¬ cluding the wings, amounts to the astonishing quantity of 598,396 superficial feet; and the area of gallery flooring of building and wings to 245,260 superficial feet, altogether 843,656 superficial feet. In cubic contents the Palace at Sydenham exceeds its predecessor by nearly one-half. The width of the nave, or main avenue, is 72 feet, which is also the width of the north and south transepts ; and the height of all three from the floor to the springing or base of the arch, is 68 feet; the height from the flooring to the crown or top of the arch being 104 feet, just the height of the transept at the old building. The length of the north and south transepts, is 336 feet respectively. The length of the central transept is 384 feet ; its width 120 feet; its height from the floor to the top of the louvre, or ventilator, 168 feet; from the floor to the springing of the arch, 108 feet; and from the garden front to the top of the louvre, 208 feet, or 6 feet higher than the Monument. The floor consists of boarding one inch and a half thick, laid as in the old building, with half-inch openings between them, and resting on joists, placed two feet apart, seven inches by two and a half inches thick. These joists are carried on sleepers and props eight feet apart. The girders which support the galleries and the roof- work, and carry the brick arches over the basement floor, are of cast-iron, and are 24 feet in length. The connexions between the girders and columns are applied in the same manner as in the build¬ ing of 1851. The principle of connexion was originally condemned ACCOUNT OF THE BUILDING. 29 by some men of standing in the scientific world ; but experience has proved it to be sound and admirable in every respect. The mode of connexion is not merely that of resting the girders on the columns in order to support the roofs and galleries, but the top and bottom of each girder are firmly secured to each of the columns, so that the girder preserves the perpendicularity of the column, and secures lateral stiffness to the entire edifice. Throughout the building the visitor will notice, at certain intervals, diagonally placed, rods connected at the crossing, and uniting column with column. These are the diagonal bracings, or the rods provided to resist the action of the wind : they are strong enough to bear any strain that can be brought to bear against them, and are fitted with screwed connexions and couplings, so that they can be adjusted with the greatest accuracy. The roof, from end to end, is on the Paxton ridge-and-furrow system, and the glass employed in the roof is of an inch in thickness (21 oz. per foot). The discharge of the rain-water is effected by gutters, from which the water is conveyed down the inside of the columns, at the base of which are the necessary outlets leading to the main-drains of the building. The first gallery is gained from the ground-floor by means of a flight of stairs about 23 feet high ; eight such flights being distributed over the building. This gallery is 24 feet wide, and devoted to the exhibition of articles of industry. The upper gallery is 8 feet wide, extending, like the other, round the building ; it is gained from the lower gallery, by spiral staircases, of which there are ten : each stair-case being divided into two flights, and each flight being 20 feet high. Pound this upper gallery, at the very summit of the nave and transepts, as well as round the ground floor of the building, are placed louvres, or ventilators, made of galvanized iron. By the opening or closing of these louvres—a service readily performed—the temperature of the Crystal Palace is so regulated that on the hottest day of summer, the dry parching heat mounts to the roof to be dismissed, whilst a pure and invigorating supply is introduced at the floor in its place, giving new life to the thirsty plant and fresh vigour to man. The coolness thus obtained within the palace will be sought in vain on such a summer’s day outside the edifice. The total length of columns employed in the construction of the main buildings and wings would extend, if laid in a straight line, to a distance of sixteen miles and a quarter. The total weight of iron used in the main building and wings amounts to 9,641 tons, 17 cwts., 1 quarter. The superficial quantity of glass used is 25 30 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. acres ; and, if the panes were laid side by side, they would extend to a distance of 48 miles ; if end to end, to the almost incredible length of 242 miles. To complete our statistics, we have further to add that the quantity of bolts and rivets distributed over the main structure and wings weighs 175 tons, 1 cwt., 1 quarter ; that the nails hammered into the Palace increase its weight by 103 tons, 6 cwt., and that the amount of brick-work in the main building and wings is 15391 cubic yards. From the end of the south wing to the Crystal Palace Railway- station, as above indicated, is a colonnade 720 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 18 feet high. It possesses a superficial area of 15,500 feet, and the quantity of iron employed in this covered passage is 60 tons ; of glass 30,000 superficial feet. HOT-WATER APPARATUS. Vast as are the proportions of the Crystal Palace, novel and scientific as is the principle of construction, we are in some degree prepared for this magnificent result of intellect and industry by the Great Exhibition of 1851. One arrangement, however, in the present structure, admits of no comparison ; for, in point of extent, it leaves all former efforts in the same direction far behind, and stands by itself unrivalled. We refer to the process of warming the atmosphere in the enormous Glass Palace to the mild and genial heat of Madeira, throughout our cold and damp English winter. The employment of hot water as a medium for heating apart¬ ments, seems to have been first hinted at in the year 1594, by Sir Hugh Platt, who, in a work entitled “ The Jewell House of Art and Nature,” published in that year, suggests the use of hot water as a safe means of drying gunpowder, and likewise recommends it for heating a plant-house. In 1716, Sir Martin Triewald of Newcastle-on-Tyne, proposed a scheme for heating a green-house by hot water ; and a Frenchman, M. Bonne- main, a short time afterwards invented an apparatus for hatching chickens by the same means. In the early part of this century Sir Martin Triewald’s plan of heating was applied to conservatories, at St. Petersburgh ; and a few years later, Bonnemain’s arrangement was introduced into England, where it has undergone several improvements, and occupied the attention of scientific men. Its application to the heating of churches, public libraries, and other buildings, has been attended with considerable success, and HOT WATER APPARATUS. 31 it is now looked upon as the safest, as well as one of the most effectual artificial methods of heating. The simple plan of heating by hot water is that which Sir Joseph Paxton has adopted for the Crystal Palace. But simple as the method undoubtedly is, its adaptation to the purposes of the Palace has cost infinite labour and anxious consideration : for hitherto it has remained an unsolved problem how far, and in what quantity, water could be made to travel through pipes—flowing and return¬ ing by means of the propulsion of heat from the boilers. At Chatsworth, the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, the principle has been carried out on a large scale, and the experiment there tried has yielded data and proof: but in the present building, a greater extent of piping has been attached to the boilers than was ever before known, or even contemplated. In order to give the visitor some idea of the magnitude of the operation in question, it will be sufficient to state that the pipes for the conveyance of the hot water, laid under the floor of the main building, and around the wings, would, if placed in a straight line, and taken at an average circumference of 12 inches, stretch to a distance of more than 50 miles, and that the water in flowing from and returning to the boilers, travels one mile and three-quarters. But even with these extraordinary results obtained, the question as to the distance to which water can be propelled by means of heat, is far from being definitely settled. Indeed, Sir Joseph Paxton and Mr. Henderson have invented an ingenious contrivance, by means of which, should it ever be required, a much larger heating surface may be called forth at any time in any particular portion of the building. The general arrangement of the Heating Apparatus may be described as follows :—Nearly twenty-four feet below the surface of the flooring of the main building, and leading out of “ Sir Joseph Paxton’s tunnel ” # (the name given to the roadway in the * The formation of tunnels, for the passage of water especially, and for drainage, was well known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and the remains of many of their great works of this kind possess an extreme interest. In the tunnel or underground canal of the Abruzzi in Italy, formed by the Roman Emperor Claudius, and lately cleared out by the Neapolitan Government, nearly the same means appear to have been used for its excavation and construction as are employed in forming tunnels at the present day. Amongst other re¬ markable tunnels of antiquity may be cited that of Posilipo at Naples, nearly three-quarters of a mile long, probably constructed about the time of Tiberius (circa a.d. 30), and the Greek tunnel, 4200 Greek feet in length, excavated through a mountain for the purpose of Conveying water to the city of Samos. One of the earliest tunnels of modern times was made at Languedoc in 32 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. basement story, extending the whole length of the building on the side nearest the Gardens), are placed, at certain intervals, boiler- houses, each containing two boilers capable of holding 11,000 gallons of water. The boilers are twenty-two in number, and are set in pairs. In addition to these, a boiler is placed at the north end of the building, on account of the increased heat there required for the tropical plants. There are also two boilers set in the lower stories of each wing, and two small boilers are appropriated to the water in the fountain basins at each end of the building, which contain Yictoria ftegias and other aquatic plants of tropical climes. Four pipes are immediately connected with each boiler; two of such pipes convey the water from the boiler, and the other two bring it back ; they are called the main pipes, and are nine inches in diameter. Of the two pipes that convey the water from the boiler, one crosses the building transversely—from the garden-front to the opposite side. Connected with this pipe, at certain distances, and in allotted numbers, are smaller pipes, five inches in diameter, laid horizontally, and immediately beneath the flooring of the building. These convey the water from the main pipe to certain required distances, and then bring it back to the return main pipe, through which it flows into the boiler. The second main pipe conveys the water for heating the front of the building next to the Garden; and connected with this, as with the other main pipe, are smaller pipes through which the water ramifies, and then, in like manner, is returned to the boiler. Thus, then, by the mere propulsion of heat, a vast quantity of water is kept in constant motion throughout the Palace, continually flowing and returning, and giving out warmth that makes its way upwards, and disseminates a genial atmosphere in every part. To ensure pure circulation throughout the winter, ventilators have been introduced direct from the main building into each furnace, where the air, so brought, being consumed by the fire, the atmosphere in the Palace is continually renewed. THE ARTESIAN WELL, AND THE SUPPLY OF THE FOUNTAINS. In July, 1852, the supply of water for the fountains and other great works in connexion with the Crystal Palace, first seriously France, a.d. 1666 : since that period they have become general. The great labour required in their formation, is likely to be obviated by the invention of a machine by an American, which is said to be capable of cutting a rapid way even through masses of rock. ARTESIAN WELL AND FOUNTAINS. 33 engaged the attention of the Directors. Various proposals were made, and suggestions offered: some were at once rejected : others, although not free from difficulties, were taken into consideration. The most feasible of these was that which involved the extension to Sydenham of the pipes of one of the nearest London water- work companies,—a measure that would at once secure a sufficient supply of tolerably good water. Against the proposition for sinking a well on the grounds, it was urged that the neighbourhood is almost destitute of water ; that wells already excavated to the depth of two hundred feet had yielded but a small supply ; and that even if a sufficient supply could be secured by digging, the water obtained could never be raised to the top of the hill. Acting, however, upon sound advice, and after due consideration, the company commenced the sinking of an artesian well at the foot of the hill on which the Palace stands, and after proceeding to a depth of 250 feet, their efforts were rewarded. They have now carried the well down 570 feet from the surface, and require only time to complete their operations and to secure water sufficient for their novel and interesting displays. When an abundant supply of water shall have been brought to the foot of the hill, it will be necessary not only to raise it to the top, on a level with the building, but also to elevate it to a suf¬ ficient height for obtaining the fall requisite for fountains to throw up water to a height varying from 70 to 250 feet. The following is a brief outline of the arrangements now making to effect these objects :— Three reservoirs have been formed at different levels in the grounds, the lowest one being on the same level as the largest basins placed nearly at the base of the hill; the second, or inter¬ mediate reservoir, is higher up, and in a line with the basin in the central walk ; whilst the third, or upper reservoir, stands on the top of the hill immediately adjoining the north end of the building. Next to the Artesian Well, a small engine is placed which raises the water required to be permanently maintained in the reservoirs and in the basins of the fountains, and which will subsequently supply, or keep up the water that is lost by waste and evaporation. The reservoir on the summit of the hill contains the water required for the use of the building, and for the fountains throughout the grounds. Close to this reservoir is an engine- house, containing the steam-engines that raise part of the water in the reservoir into two large tanks (each capable of holding 200,000 gallons of water), placed at the summit of the square towers terminating the wings. From these towers the water 34 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. flows to the basins in the grounds, and there throws up jets of 70 to 120 feet in height. These engines likewise lift to a proper elevation the water necessary for the interior of the building, and for making proper provision against fire. The remainder of the water in the top reservoir, in consequence of the sloping character of the ground, will not need any help from the engines, but will flow direct to fountains on a lower level, and play smaller jets. Through the same convenience, the waste water from the upper fountains will be used a second time in the lower fountains. The centre or intermediate reservoir collects the waste water from the displays which take place on ordinary days, and which will include all the fountains save the two largest and the cascades. Attached to this reservoir are also engines which pump the water back to the upper reservoir. The lowest reservoir collects similarly the waste water from the displays which will be presented in the two largest fountains on the days of great exhibition, and its engines will return the water at once to the top level. With the exception of the two largest fountains, which cannot play until the towers, which have to supply jets of 250 feet high, are built at each end of the building, the water-works of the Palace will shortly be complete in every respect. From the above simple statement it will be seen, that the arrangements for supplying the fountains with water are at once simple, complete, and based upon the most economical principles. The engine power employed is that of three hundred and twenty horses ; the water itself is conveyed to and from the reservoirs in pipes varying from three feet to one inch in diameter ; and the weight of piping may be set down at 4000 tons, its length, roughly estimated, at ten miles. The name Artesian is derived from the province of Artois in France, where it is supposed that these wells were first constructed, although it has been asserted that they were sunk in Italy at an earlier period, and that they were even in use amongst the ancients. An Artesian well may be briefly described as a small boring or sinking in the ground through which water rises to, or nearly to, the surface of the earth, in compliance with that well known law which causes water to seek its level. In the present case, the water which appears in the well comes from a reservoir lying between the London clay and the hard under¬ rocks as its upper and lower envelopes. This reservoir is supplied by rain water, which, percolating the porous superficial and upper strata, and finding an impediment to its downward progress THE NAVE. 35 on reaching the rocks, flows transversely into the space between the hard clay and rock, as into a cistern. The process by which the reservoir is supplied is continuous, the water finding its way down to it as if by a series of small tubes, and pressing against the lower surface of the clay with a force which, if unresisted, would raise it to the level from which it descended. When the clay is pierced by the auger it is evident that this force is free to act, the resistance of the clay at the point where it is pierced being removed, and accordingly the water rises in the bore to the level from which it is supplied, and will continue to do so as long as the percolation lasts. The most remarkable Artesian well yet made is one at Kissingen in Bavaria, which, in 1852, reached a depth of 2000 feet. As a commercial speculation it has been attended with complete success. The water is saline. # THE NAVE. Quitting the wing, to which the visitor was brought, he turns into the body of the Palace, and the first object that attracts attention is a fountain of toilet vinegar, erected by Mr. E* Bimmel, from designs furnished by Mr. John Thomas. Keeping close to this, the south end of the Palace, we proceed towards the centre of the nave, and passing through the opening in the ornamental screen which stretches across the nave, a fine view is gained of the whole interior of the building. In the fore-ground is Osier’s crystal fountain, which adorned the Palace in Hyde Park, but here elevated in its proportions and improved. It is surrounded by a sheet of water at each end of which float the gigantic leaves of the Victoria Pegia, the intermediate space being occupied by various aquatic plants ; several species of the Nymphoea Devoniana, the Helumbium speciosum or sacred bean of the Pythagoreans, j • , i ti Pillar from the arcade of the hitherto been made acquainted. Its Court. main characteristics are enormously thick mud-brick walls, covered with painted bas-reliefs, and roofs supported internally by slight but elegant wooden columns, ornamented with volutes (spiral mouldings), and the elegant honey¬ suckle ornament which was afterwards introduced through Ionia into Greece—this Assyrian style being, according to some, the 64 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. parent of the Ionic order, as the Egyptian was of the Doric order, of Greece. As far as we can judge from descriptions, the architec¬ ture of Jerusalem was almost identical with that of Assyria. The whole of the lower portion of the exterior front and sides of this Court is taken from the palace at Khorsabad, the great winged Entrance to the Nineveh Court. bulls, the giants~strangling the lions, and the other features being casts from the objects sent from the site of the palace, to the Louvre, and arranged, as far as circumstances admit, in the relative position of the original objects as they were discovered. The dwarf columns on the walls with the double bull capitals, are modelled from details found at Persepolis and Susa, whilst the cornice and battlements above have been copied from representations found in one of the bas-reliefs at Khorsabad. The painting of the cornice is in strict accordance with the recent discoveries at that place. Entering through the opening in the side, guarded by colossal bulls, the visitor finds himself in a large hall, in the centre of which stand four great columns copied literally from columns found at Susa and Persepolis. The walls of the hall are covered with THE ASSYRIAN COURT. 65 sculpture, cast from originals brought to this country by Mr. Layard from his excavations at Nimroud, and deposited in the British Museum. Upon the sculptures are engraved the arrow-headed inscrip¬ tions which have been so recently, and in so remark¬ able a manner, deciphered by Colonel Rawlinson and Dr. Hincks. Above these is a painting of animals and trees, copied from one found at Khorsabad. The roof crowning the hall re¬ presents the form of ceiling usual in that part of Asia, but is rather a vehicle for the display of the various coloured patterns of Assyrian art than a direct ccpy of anything found in the Assyrian palaces. In the centre of the great hall the visitor will notice a decorated archway leading to the refreshment room. The very recent discovery of this highly ornamented arch at Khorsabad proves— somewhat unexpectedly—that the Assyrian people were far from ignorant of the value of this beautiful feature of architecture. On either side of the main entrance to this Court (from the Nave), are two small apartments, lined also with casts from sculptures at Nimroud, arranged, as nearly as may be, according to their original positions. Above them are paintings of a procession, such as occupied a similar place in the palaces of Assyria. A complete detailed account of this interesting department will be found in Mr. Layard’s valuable Handbook to the Nineveh Court. Having completed his survey of the interior of this Court, the visitor may either enter the refreshment room at the back through the archway, and then make his way to the Nave, or he may at once quit the Court by the central entrance, and turning to the left cross the north end of the Nave, stopping for one moment under the shade of the finest palm-tree in Europe, on his passage to look from end to end of the magnificent structure within which he stands, and to glance at the exterior of the Court he has just quitted, the bright colouring of which — the bold ornaments, the gigantic bulls, and colossal features, present as novel and striking an architectural and decorative display as the mind can imagine. 66 GENERAL GUIDE BOOK. Having crossed the building under the gallery, the visitor will find on his left the north wing : the site appropriated for the exten¬ sive collection of Kaw Produce, now forming under the hands of Professor Wilson. RAW PRODUCE AND AGRICULTURAL COLLECTION. This collection is intended to show, by means of a series of industrial specimens, the natural resources of this and other countries ; to teach, through the medium of the eye, the history of the various substances which the earth produces for the use of man ; to point out whence, and by what means they are obtained, and how they are made subservient to our wants and comforts. The collection has thus a twofold object: First, to display what is termed the raw produce of the world, comprising substances belonging to each of the three kingdoms of nature ; and secondly, to exhibit the same produce, when converted by industry into the form of a highly-finished manufacture. The collection consists of the three following principal divisions : 1. The Soil. 2. The Produce of the Soil. 3. The Economic and Technical Uses to which the Produce is applied. The first grand division, u The Soil,” includes specimens of all those geological formations comprising what is termed the crust of the earth. From the debris of these rocks is formed what we generally understand by the term soil ; but soils, as we are aCcus- tomed to see them, are considerably altered by the presence of Vegetable matter, the result of the decomposition of plants, and of artificial substances applied as manure. Accordingly, specimens of the natural sorts of various geological formations (or, in fact, the rocks merely in their disintegrated form), together with the same soils altered by cultivation, and samples of the manures which assist in changing their qualities, form an important series in this division. Besides giving rise to the different agricultural soils, the rocks of most formations are interesting as producing objects of economic value. From many such rocks are obtained building stone, slates, tiles, clays used in brick-making, flints used in glass, alum, salt, and other useful articles. These, in the present collection, are illustrated by specimens ; and when any of such substances give rise to a branch of industry, a complete illustrative series is presented to the contemplation of the visitor. RAW PRODUCE AND AGRICULTURAL COLLECTION. 67 For example : it will be found that in the case of ceramic wares, or pottery, the series commences with flint, which is shown first in its natural state as it comes from the chalk pits, then calcined and. ground, and then re-calcined. Next we see it mixed with clay, afterwards moulded into the form of a vase, and lastly baked. To these different specimens, it will be noted, are added samples of the colour used in the ornamentation of the object. By far the most important and useful mineral product is coal, of which specimens of different qualities, suited to various purposes, are exhibited from foreign countries, as well as from all the coal fields of Great Britain. From the rocks of different formations we obtain the ores of metals, the principal of which in this country are iron, lead, copper, and tin. Other metals are found, but in smaller quan¬ tities than elsewhere. Metals are not generally found native , but in the form of oxides, sulphides, &c., and must therefore undergo considerable changes before they can be made available. The methods of extracting metals from their ores, as practised in this and other countries, and the various uses to which the metals are applied, are amply illustrated by specimens from all the principal works, and form, perhaps, the most instructive and important feature of the mineral division of the Raw Produce Collection* The second great division, “The Produce of the Soil,” resolves itself naturally into two principal groups : viz., vegetable sub¬ stances, or the direct produce of the soil, and animal substances, the secondary produce of the soil. The chief sub-divisions of these groups are : a. Substances used as food, such as tea, coffee, fruits (amongst vegetable substances), and meats, gelatine, lard, &o. (amongst animal products). b. Substances used in the arts, manufactures, &c., as flax, hemp, cork, gums, dye-stuffs (in the vegetable kingdom), and wools, silk, horns, skins, oils, &c. (in the animal kingdom)* And these are again classed as Home and Foreign products. The third great division, “ The Economic or Technical Uses to which the Produce is applied,” is a most important feature of this department. The want of a “ Trades’ Museum ” in England has long been felt by commercial and scientific men, and until now no attempt at any collection of the kind has been made. The technological illustrations about to be here produced in a great measure supply the desideratum, and present, so to speak, a series of eye lectures that carry with them an amount of information no 68 GENERAL GUIDE BOON. less instructive than important to the progressive industry of the kingdom. In this division each series is commenced by examples of the raw material, which is carried by illustrative specimens through the various processes to which it is submitted before it reaches its highest value as a manufactured article. The visitor also finds in this series models, &c., of the machinery used in the manufactures. As an example of the instruction afforded in this division, we will take the manufacture of linen. The first sample seen is the flax plant. This produces linseed and flax straw. The former is pressed, and we have linseed oil and oil cake. The straw is steeped, broken, and scutched, and we have rough fibre. The rough fibre is heckled, and is then ready for spinning. The refuse which is heckled out is tow. The heckled fibre is spun into yams of different degrees of fineness, which are woven into linen of various qualities. Finally, the linen is bleached. The tow is used for paper-making, for string and cordage, or is spun into coarse thread, called tow-line, and woven into rough fabrics. The technical application of animal substances is treated in a similar manner. The third division, as in the case of the second, is sub-divided into articles used as food, and those used in the arts,