Spooner's perpective view of the Great Exhibition
Paper Peepshow
1851 (published)
1851 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Great Exhibition in 1851 was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. Organised by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, it was held in the purpose-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park in London. Many of the objects in the Exhibition were used as the first collection for the South Kensington Museum which opened 1857 and later became the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Exhibition spurred great international interest, and was one of the two most popular subjects of the paper peepshow in nineteenth century, the other one being the Thames Tunnel. Like the Thames Tunnel, the Great Exhibition became the topic of a large variety of souvenirs, including many optical toys.
This work is essentially another copy of Gestetner 256, (see references), although the two are not identical: here the Koh-i-Noor Diamond is missing in this paper peepshow on the first panel, and the portrait of Queen Victoria is also printed out of place. It appears that the publisher was not too concerned about this flaw, as he still included both exhibits in the explanation at the back of the paper peepshow.
Among the surviving Great Exhibition paper peepshows, William Spooner’s version might have functioned the best as a souvenir that could capture the essence of the Exhibition. Unlike other works that are generic in the representation of the interior of the Crystal Palace, Spooner’s creation showcases specific exhibit highlights, and even includes explanation for those less familiar with the Exhibition. The viewer therefore experiences the event more vividly.
Spooner would be no stranger to the idea of the paper peepshow, as the idea of combining movement with prints, and the interest in optical entertainment, could both be seen in his other productions. He was one of the publishers specialised in the production of novelty prints, which were popular during the first half of the nineteenth century. He used movable parts such as tabs, flaps, or rotating wheels, to transform the aspect of prints. Spooner also responded to the public’s interest in optical recreations, and published a great number of transparency prints, or protean views, entitled ‘Spooner’s Transformations.’ These prints would be placed in a ‘polyorama panoptique’, an optical toy that resembled a small version of the eighteenth-century peepshow box.
The Exhibition spurred great international interest, and was one of the two most popular subjects of the paper peepshow in nineteenth century, the other one being the Thames Tunnel. Like the Thames Tunnel, the Great Exhibition became the topic of a large variety of souvenirs, including many optical toys.
This work is essentially another copy of Gestetner 256, (see references), although the two are not identical: here the Koh-i-Noor Diamond is missing in this paper peepshow on the first panel, and the portrait of Queen Victoria is also printed out of place. It appears that the publisher was not too concerned about this flaw, as he still included both exhibits in the explanation at the back of the paper peepshow.
Among the surviving Great Exhibition paper peepshows, William Spooner’s version might have functioned the best as a souvenir that could capture the essence of the Exhibition. Unlike other works that are generic in the representation of the interior of the Crystal Palace, Spooner’s creation showcases specific exhibit highlights, and even includes explanation for those less familiar with the Exhibition. The viewer therefore experiences the event more vividly.
Spooner would be no stranger to the idea of the paper peepshow, as the idea of combining movement with prints, and the interest in optical entertainment, could both be seen in his other productions. He was one of the publishers specialised in the production of novelty prints, which were popular during the first half of the nineteenth century. He used movable parts such as tabs, flaps, or rotating wheels, to transform the aspect of prints. Spooner also responded to the public’s interest in optical recreations, and published a great number of transparency prints, or protean views, entitled ‘Spooner’s Transformations.’ These prints would be placed in a ‘polyorama panoptique’, an optical toy that resembled a small version of the eighteenth-century peepshow box.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Spooner's perpective view of the Great Exhibition (published title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Spooner’s Perspective View of the Great Exhibition, Spooner, William, 1851 |
| Physical description | Accordion-style paper peepshow of the Great Exhibition, looking east down the Foreign Nave from the centre of the Transept. 8 cut-out panels. 1 peep-hole. Hand-coloured lithograph. In a slipcase. Expands to approximately 68 cm. Slipcase: patterned off-white paper wrapping the slipcase. An arch with drapery and the trunk of an elm tree on either side. In the middle is the view of the interior of the Crystal Palace, with the Crystal Fountain in the centre, and Queen Victoria’s portrait and the Koh-i-Noor Diamond behind it. The title at the top of the slipcase, and the publisher’s detail at the bottom. Front-face: The same image as the one on the slipcase. The peep-hole consists of a rectangular opening at the bottom of the Crystal Fountain. Panels 1: visitors and what is intended as Queen Victoria’s portrait (here printed out of place). Panel 2: visitors and the Colossal Statue of Queen Victoria. Panel 3: visitors and the Bronze Fountain by André Val of d’Osne. Panel 4: visitors and the statue of Archangel Michael overthrowing Satan. Panel 5: visitors and the Colossal Statue of Godfrey de Bouillon. Panel 6: visitors and August Kiss’s sculpture of Amazon on horseback fighting a tiger. Panel 7: Ferdinand Müller's Bavarian lion sculpture. Panel 8: Hiram Powers’ naked Greek Salve. Back panel: visitors in the United States Department, with the eagle and banners shown, as well as the Gray and Davidson’s organ. On the reverse side is the list of the exhibits on the cut-out panels, and brief description of the paper peepshow. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Accepted under the Cultural Gifts Scheme by HM Government from the collections of Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016. |
| Object history | Part of the Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner Collection, collected over 30 years and given to the V&A Museum through the government's Cultural Gift Scheme, 2016. |
| Summary | The Great Exhibition in 1851 was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. Organised by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, it was held in the purpose-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park in London. Many of the objects in the Exhibition were used as the first collection for the South Kensington Museum which opened 1857 and later became the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Exhibition spurred great international interest, and was one of the two most popular subjects of the paper peepshow in nineteenth century, the other one being the Thames Tunnel. Like the Thames Tunnel, the Great Exhibition became the topic of a large variety of souvenirs, including many optical toys. This work is essentially another copy of Gestetner 256, (see references), although the two are not identical: here the Koh-i-Noor Diamond is missing in this paper peepshow on the first panel, and the portrait of Queen Victoria is also printed out of place. It appears that the publisher was not too concerned about this flaw, as he still included both exhibits in the explanation at the back of the paper peepshow. Among the surviving Great Exhibition paper peepshows, William Spooner’s version might have functioned the best as a souvenir that could capture the essence of the Exhibition. Unlike other works that are generic in the representation of the interior of the Crystal Palace, Spooner’s creation showcases specific exhibit highlights, and even includes explanation for those less familiar with the Exhibition. The viewer therefore experiences the event more vividly. Spooner would be no stranger to the idea of the paper peepshow, as the idea of combining movement with prints, and the interest in optical entertainment, could both be seen in his other productions. He was one of the publishers specialised in the production of novelty prints, which were popular during the first half of the nineteenth century. He used movable parts such as tabs, flaps, or rotating wheels, to transform the aspect of prints. Spooner also responded to the public’s interest in optical recreations, and published a great number of transparency prints, or protean views, entitled ‘Spooner’s Transformations.’ These prints would be placed in a ‘polyorama panoptique’, an optical toy that resembled a small version of the eighteenth-century peepshow box. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | 38041800931354 - NAL barcode |
| Collection | |
| Library number | Gestetner 257 |
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| Record created | December 2, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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