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The Crystal Palace

 

The Crystal Palace-Heritage Images/Getty Images


-Greetings, 

    I visited the Crystal Palace in Penge Common today. It is another stunning site I have been able to see during my visit. It was originally built in Hyde Park, however it was expanded and moved in 1854, after the Great Exhibition. The Crystal Palace is 1,608 feet long and was built to illustrate the wonders of the Industrial Revolution. The sheer size of the Crystal Palace is enormous; it is significantly larger than St. Paul's Cathedral. It is filled with rail engines, rail boilers, full-working mill machinery, different kinds of carriages, harnesses, goldsmith work, and silversmith work. 

    I was amazed by the amphitheater. I learned that on the opening day, the orchestra had 1,700 performers seated. The layout and detail was so refined. Everyone was well-dressed and coordinated depending on their positions. The male singers were in white waistcoats. Ministers were in their State dresses. Queen Victoria attended as well. The orchestra performed the "National Anthem" and a royal salute was fired. At this time, her husband, Prince Albert was still alive and was in attendance with her and their children. 

    Remember that book I mentioned. I finished it. The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton. In this book, Mrs. Beeton gives rules that she feels women should follow in order to maintain a happy and healthy home. She advises women to act as a commander of an army in regard to portraying her spirit of duty in the home. Mrs. Beeton states that doing so will ensure that the children follow the same rules. Women should rise early, form friendships slowly, understand hospitality. She recommends that women don't overshare private information, especially if it concerns something their husbands did. After breakfast, the kitchen and other areas should be cleaned up. Then after lunch, calls and visits can be made and received. Mrs. Beeton's book is the most widely read book among British women right now. 



Bibliography

Brontë, Charlotte. "Inside the Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition, 1851." In Gale World History Online Collection. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2014. Gale In Context: World History (accessed August 6, 2023). https://link-gale-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/apps/doc/XOCRJL202707981/WHIC?u=viva2_nvcc&sid=bookmark-WHIC&xid=c5747364.

McNamara, Robert. “London’s 1851 Great Exhibition of Technology Inspired the World.” ThoughtCo, July 23, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/britains-great-exhibition-of-1851-1773797. 

“Opening of the Crystal Palace, June 10th, 1854.” The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 6, no. 126 (1854): 99–100. https://doi.org/10.2307/3370051.

"The Book of Household Management." In Family in Society: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, 228-231. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2006. Gale In Context: World History (accessed August 6, 2023). https://link-gale-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/apps/doc/CX2688300094/WHIC?u=viva2_nvcc&sid=bookmark-WHIC&xid=b5fa59fc.


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