The Great Exhibitions

The 1849 Paris Exposition is what persuaded Henry Cole to come up with the idea of creating an international exhibition in London inviting Works of all Nations in competition with British design. Opening on the 1st of May 1851 and closing on the 11th of October 1851, The Great Exhibition located in Hyde Park (London) was organised by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design. The exhibition was a privately funded event, visited by just over 6 million people in the course of 140 days, including 30 visits from Queen Victoria, with variable entrée fees for each individual. Over 100.000 exhibits were displayed from all over the world such as France, Russia, China, America and of course Great Britain. They were divided into categories throughout the exhibition for certain goods, e.g. raw materials, machinery, textiles, fine art etc. Much of the exhibits, in particular the machinery department, caused great enthusiasm amongst the public. However, despite much enthusiasm and apparent success for the event, it also became a focus of the debate surrounding the effects of the industrial revolution on British design and society.

By the late 18th century, industrialisation was in full swing in Great Britain. However, it was around this time of great production that the negative effects of the revolution were starting to appear in British society.

Unskilled people were moving from the countryside to the big cities where the new factories were, seeking for a more prosperous future. Big factory owners took advantage of these people’s needs, employing them to work on their easy to operated machines for extremely cheap labour. A significant aspect of the rich employing the poor was that the working conditions were appalling. Workers were made to work 12-14 hours a day, 6 times a week