Designed by Joseph Nash, this is a set of views published with accompanying text as Dickinson’s Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition, exploiting the newly available technique of colour lithography. Nash was one of the more prolific artists working with this medium, whereby a picture is made by printing from a flat surface (traditionally stone, now often a metal plate), on which the artist draws or paints the original design with a greasy substance. The surface is then prepared, moistened and inked; the greasy printing ink adheres to the design, which is then printed onto a sheet of paper.

This view of the colonial exhibits shows that, as well as works of art and manufacture, a large number of natural resources were on display at the Great Exhibition of 1851, including minerals, fruits and vegetables. The aim was to impress the visitor with the quality of colonial produce. The comparatively few artefacts on display emphasised the importance of these countries to Britain as sources of raw materials and as new markets for their own manufactured goods. The official catalogue described Australia, for example, as ‘the most extensive wool-producing country in the world’, with valuable exports to Britain. This print shows the Canadian pavilion, with a canoe, deer heads and fur on display.