The Costume Show.
In the Western Quadrant will be found an exhibition of waxworks that would have filled poor Artemus Ward's heart with joy. There are two series of figures, representing English civil costumes and military uniforms from William the Conqueror almost to the present day. They have been prepared under the personal superintendence of the Hon. Lewis Wingfield, and may therefore be relied upon for accuracy in every respect. These series will repay careful study. The civil costumes start with those of two women, a shepherd, and a man of the period of William I. and wind up with samples of the era of George IV. It is impossible here to go into details, but it may be said that costume does not necessarily improve with time, as the dress of the last period is certainly the worst. The military uniforms begin with some suits of armour from the Tower, then proceed to a halberdier of Henry VII., and so on down to the uniforms now in actual use. The West Quadrant should on no account be missed by visitors to the Exhibition. In the Eastern Quadrant will be seen some specimens of present-day attire, chiefly ladies' and children's dresses.
PYE CORNER IN 1789. (See p. [118].) (From a Drawing in Mr. Gardner's Collection.)