The Illustrated Record Of The International Exhibition Of All Nations In 1862

Replete with sixty full-page engravings, this 'guided tour' of London's 1862 International Exhibition showcases Victorian achievements in arts and technology.

Replete with detailed engravings, this four-volume catalogue was published to accompany the International Exhibition of 1862. Held in South Kensington from May to November, the exhibition showcased the progress made in a diverse range of crafts, trades and industries since the Great Exhibition of 1851. Over 6 million visitors came to view the wares of more than 28,000 exhibitors from Britain, her empire and beyond. Featuring explanatory notes and covering such fields as mining, engineering, textiles, printing and photography, this remains an instructive resource for social and economic historians. The exhibition's Illustrated Record, its Popular Guide and the industrial department's one-volume Official Catalogue have all been reissued in this series. Volume 4 continues to catalogue the Foreign Division. Notable is the appearance of early exhibits from Steinway et Sons in the brief section for the United States. In contrast, Austrian and German exhibits occupy more than 400 pages.

The International Exhibition of 1862 was a global showcase of art, science, industry, and culture. This beautifully illustrated guide offers readers a unique glimpse into the myriad wonders of this historic event. Filled with lavish full-color illustrations and detailed descriptions of the exhibits, this book is a treasure trove of information about the world as it was in the mid-19th century. From the latest technological innovations to the most breathtaking works of art, this book is a fascinating record of a pivotal moment in human history. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of exhibitions and world's fairs. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Global biennials have proliferated in the contemporary art world, but artists’ engagement with large-scale international exhibitions has a much longer history that has influenced the present in important ways. Going back to the earliest world’s fairs in the nineteenth century, this book argues that “globalism” was incubated in a century of international art contests and today constitutes an important tactic for artists. As world’s fairs brought millions of attendees into contact with foreign cultures, products, and processes, artworks became juxtaposed in a “theater of nations,” which challenged artists and critics to think outside their local academies. From Gustave Courbet’s rebel pavilion near the official art exhibit at the 1855 French World’s Fair to curator Beryl Madra’s choice of London-based Cypriot Hussein Chalayan for the off-site Turkish pavilion at the 2006 Venice Biennale, artists have used these exhibitions to reflect on contemporary art, speak to their own governments back home, and challenge the wider geopolitical realm—changing art and art history along the way. Ultimately, Caroline A. Jones argues, the modern appetite for experience and event structures, which were cultivated around the art at these earlier expositions, have now come to constitute contemporary art itself, producing encounters that transform the public and force us to reflect critically on the global condition.

Now a byword for beauty, Verdi’s operas were far from universally acclaimed when they reached London in the second half of the nineteenth century. Why did some critics react so harshly? Who were they and what biases and prejudices animated them? When did their antagonistic attitude change? And why did opera managers continue to produce Verdi’s operas, in spite of their alleged worthlessness? Massimo Zicari’s Verdi in Victorian London reconstructs the reception of Verdi’s operas in London from 1844, when a first critical account was published in the pages of The Athenaeum, to 1901, when Verdi’s death received extensive tribute in The Musical Times. In the 1840s, certain London journalists were positively hostile towards the most talked-about representative of Italian opera, only to change their tune in the years to come. The supercilious critic of The Athenaeum, Henry Fothergill Chorley, declared that Verdi’s melodies were worn, hackneyed and meaningless, his harmonies and progressions crude, his orchestration noisy. The scribes of The Times, The Musical World, The Illustrated London News, and The Musical Times all contributed to the critical hubbub. Yet by the 1850s, Victorian critics, however grudging, could neither deny nor ignore the popularity of Verdi’s operas. Over the final three decades of the nineteenth century, moreover, London’s musical milieu underwent changes of great magnitude, shifting the manner in which Verdi was conceptualized and making room for the powerful influence of Wagner. Nostalgic commentators began to lament the sad state of the Land of Song, referring to the now departed "palmy days of Italian opera." Zicari charts this entire cultural constellation. Verdi in Victorian London is required reading for both academics and opera aficionados. Music specialists will value a historical reconstruction that stems from a large body of first-hand source material, while Verdi lovers and Italian opera addicts will enjoy vivid analysis free from technical jargon. For students, scholars and plain readers alike, this book is an illuminating addition to the study of music reception.