Synopses & Reviews
A berserk elephant gunned down in the heart of London, a machine for composing Latin hexameters, and the original rock band (1841)--these are but three of the sights that London curiosity-seekers from every walk of life paid to see from the Elizabethan era to the mid-Victorian period. Examining hundreds of the wonderfully varied exhibitions that culminated in the Crystal Palace of 1851, this generously illustrated book sheds light on a vast and colorful expanse of English social history that has thus far remained wholly unsurveyed.
Drawing on a wealth of never-before-used information, Mr. Altick traces London exhibitions as they evolved from the display of relics in pre-Reformation churches, through the collections of eighteenth-century virtuosi, to the first science museums and public art galleries. He also narrates for the first time the history of the panorama and diorama as an influential genre of nineteenth-century popular art. At every point, the London shows are linked to the prevailing intellectual atmosphere and to trends in public taste.
The material is fresh and fascinating; the range--from freaks to popular science, from the funeral effigies at Westminster Abbey to Madame Tussaud's waxworks--impressive. Like the exhibitions that best served the Victorian ideal of mass culture, The Shows of London is both entertaining and informative.
Synopsis
A berserk elephant gunned down in the heart of London, a machine for composing Latin hexameters, and the original rock band (1841)--these are but three of the sights that London curiosity-seekers from every walk of life paid to see from the Elizabethan era to the mid-Victorian period. Examining hundreds of the wonderfully varied exhibitions that culminated in the Crystal Palace of 1851, this generously illustrated book sheds light on a vast and colorful expanse of English social history that has thus far remained wholly unsurveyed.
About the Author
Richard D. Altick was Regents' Professor of English at Ohio State University. Among his numerous previously published works are The Scholar Adventurers, The English Common Reader, and Victorian People and Ideas.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. From Cabinets to Museums, I: 1600-1750
2. From Cabinets to Museums, II: 1750-1800
3. Monster-Mongers and Other Retailers of Strange Sights
4. Waxwork and Clockwork
5. Exhibitions of Mechanical Ingenuity
6. Water, Fire, Air, and a Celestial Bed
7. The Sights and Resorts of Eighteenth-Century London
8. Art on Display
9. The Eidophusikon
10. The Panorama in Leicester Square
11. A Panorama in a Pleasure Dome
12. The Diorama
13. Panoramas: Topics of the Times
14. The Theatrical Art of the Panorama
15. Panoramas in Motion
16. Scenes Optical, Mechanical, and Spectral
17. Entr'acte: Exhibitions and London Life
18. William Bullock and the Egyptian Hall
19. Freaks in the Age of Improvement
20. The Noble Savage Reconsidered
21. The Ancient and the Exotic
22. Life and Death in the Animal Kingdom
23. Zoos and Pleasure Gardens
24. The Waxen and the Fleshly
25. More Mechanical Ingenuity
26. The Two Faces of Science
27. Technology for the Million
28. Artifacts and Models
29. Fine Art for the People
30. Entr'acte: Inside the Exhibition Business
31. National Monuments
32. The Crystal Palace Year: 1851
33. The Fifties, I: New Patterns of Life and the Decline of the Panorama
34. The Fifties, II: The Old Order Changeth
Epilogue
Short Forms of Citation
Notes
Index