Illustration
1875 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden opened in Westminster in January 1876 with Henry Labouchère, William Whiteley and Arthur Sullivan on the board of directors. In April the Royal Aquarium Theatre opened at the west end of the Aquarium, equipped with a magnificent organ installed under Sullivan’s supervision. The Aquarium was intended as a venue for staging art exhibitions, concerts and plays, and perhaps to rival the Crystal Palace which had moved to South London in 1854, or the Royal Albert Hall that had opened in Kensington in 1871.
This illustration from The Illustrated London News, 16 October 1875, shows the main hall which was 340 feet long by 160 feet wide. It was covered with an iron and glass roof, contained palm trees, fountains and original sculpture, and housed thirteen large tanks meant to be filled with ‘curious sea creatures’, and even a roller skating rink that can be seen in this image. Whether skating is actually in progress or not is unclear from this image however.
This illustration from The Illustrated London News, 16 October 1875, shows the main hall which was 340 feet long by 160 feet wide. It was covered with an iron and glass roof, contained palm trees, fountains and original sculpture, and housed thirteen large tanks meant to be filled with ‘curious sea creatures’, and even a roller skating rink that can be seen in this image. Whether skating is actually in progress or not is unclear from this image however.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Printed paper |
| Brief description | Interior of the Westminster Aquarium and Summer and Winter Garden. Steel engraving by J. Liddell reproduced in The Illustrated London News, 16 October 1875 |
| Physical description | Engraved image of the interior of Westminster Aquarium and Summer and Winter Garden showing the interior of a barrel-vaulted iron frame building with a glass roof, with people sitting, walking and looking at the fountains, statues and plants. Cut from The Illustrated London News,16 October 1875 with the name and date of the newspaper glued to the lower margin. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Gabrielle Enthoven Collection |
| Summary | The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden opened in Westminster in January 1876 with Henry Labouchère, William Whiteley and Arthur Sullivan on the board of directors. In April the Royal Aquarium Theatre opened at the west end of the Aquarium, equipped with a magnificent organ installed under Sullivan’s supervision. The Aquarium was intended as a venue for staging art exhibitions, concerts and plays, and perhaps to rival the Crystal Palace which had moved to South London in 1854, or the Royal Albert Hall that had opened in Kensington in 1871. This illustration from The Illustrated London News, 16 October 1875, shows the main hall which was 340 feet long by 160 feet wide. It was covered with an iron and glass roof, contained palm trees, fountains and original sculpture, and housed thirteen large tanks meant to be filled with ‘curious sea creatures’, and even a roller skating rink that can be seen in this image. Whether skating is actually in progress or not is unclear from this image however. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.514-2012 |
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| Record created | May 15, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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