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The Agricultural Court, Great Exhibition 1851
Lloyd - Enlarge image
The Agricultural Court, Great Exhibition 1851
- Object:
Lithograph
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
1851 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Lloyd (publisher)
Simpkin (publisher) - Materials and Techniques:
Colour lithograph, with some watercolour
- Museum number:
19538:25
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E, case U, shelf 10, box A
Object Type
This is one of a set of colour lithographic prints published as a boxed set under the title 'Lloyd's Recollections of the Great Exhibition 1851'.
Historical Associations
This view depicts Garrett & Sons Leiston Works farm machinery stand at the Great Exhibition; among the viewers was a farmer in rural dress.
An agricultural court was added to the exhibition at the last minute. The implements for display were secured following the cancellation of the Royal Agricultural Society's plans for an independent exhibition in Hyde Park. The inclusion of an agricultural section proved to be important in appealing to a wider audience.
Subjects Depicted
Contemporary descriptions of the wide spectrum of visitors to the Great Exhibition often referred to agricultural workers and farmers, distinguishable by their clothing, even including old men in smocks. Various observers, including the magazine 'Punch', further noted that it was the workers and the manufacturers who were intently studying the exhibits, such as the latest advances in machinery, while the middle strata of society were more intent on parading the main aisle. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert however made innumerable visits to the different sections of the Exhibition. Queen Victoria recorded in her diaries how they had particularly enjoyed the explanation of agricultural machinery 'by our agreeable instructor, Mr. Hensman'.
