Opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 10 June 1854
Photograph
1854 (made)
1854 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Black and white photograph of an interior scene of a great gathering of people. The architecture is made of iron steel. In the centre of the picture a group of people is gathered on a platform of steps in front of a grandstand with a pavillon in the middle.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 10 June 1854 (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print |
| Brief description | Photograph attributed to Philip Henry Delamotte (1820–89), Opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 10 June 1854, 1854, 19thC, Townshend Bequest |
| Physical description | Black and white photograph of an interior scene of a great gathering of people. The architecture is made of iron steel. In the centre of the picture a group of people is gathered on a platform of steps in front of a grandstand with a pavillon in the middle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Photography Centre 2018-20:
Collection in Focus: Chauncy Hare Townshend (1798–1868)
Chauncy Hare Townshend was one of the few serious collectors of photography in the early years of its development. Apart from Prince Albert, he remains the only identifiable British private collector of early photographs on such a scale. He was an extremely wealthy art collector and connoisseur who moved in the highest social and literary circles – Charles Dickens even dedicated Great Expectations to him. Townshend bequeathed his large art collection, including paintings, furniture, gemstones, books and coins, as well as his photographs, to the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in 1868. His impressive photography collection ranged from images of political, military and contemporary events to a particularly striking group of French fine art photographs. Practising photographers tended to collect photographs, exchanging works as examples of style and process. But Townshend, who was not a photographer, recognised both photography’s documentary value, and even more so, its exciting new artistic capabilities.
13. Attributed to Philip Henry Delamotte (1820–89)
Opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham,
10 June 1854
1854
Albumen print
Museum no. 68041 |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Chauncey Hare Townshend |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Places depicted | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 68041 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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