Tunnel Books > Lane's Telescopic View
Lane's Telescopic View of the Interior of the Great Industrial Exhibition is a souvenir from the legendary world's fair held in London's Hyde Park in 1851. The ten lithographic prints that make up the peep show join to create a perspective view inside the Crystal Palace, the vast glass and iron structure designed by Joseph Paxton to house the exhibition. With its depiction of fair attendees lining up outside the Crystal Palace, the front plate of Lane's Telescopic View plays on the idea of the peep show as souvenir. It also serves as a reminder of the exhibition's enormous popularity: over six million visitors attended. The top view of Lane's Telescopic View highlights the great size of the Crystal Palace exhibition space, which was large enough to house fountains, towers, and full-grown trees.
In addition to Lane's Telescopic View, Avery Classics has other souvenirs from the fair, the full title of which was the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. These souvenirs include viewbooks and postcards, as well as the Illustrated London News Grand Panorama of the Great Exhibition of All Nations, a twenty-two-foot-long scroll that features engraved scenes. Below the engravings, printed captions describe the objects displayed in the Crystal Palace and give the names of the principal manufacturers featured in each section of the exhibition.