| PAGE. | |
| Transverse Section of the Building, showing the Interior completed— | [frontispiece]. |
| Plan of the Building for the French Exposition in 1849 | [16] |
| View of the Principal Entrance of the same | [17] |
| Interior View of the "Palace" | [18] |
| Interior View of the Cattle-shed | [19] |
| View of Kroll's Wintergarten at Berlin | [facing 19] |
| Plan of Kroll's Wintergarten | [20] |
| View of the Birmingham Exposition Building | [20] |
| Ground-plan of the Design of the Building Committee | [facing 22] |
| Exterior View of the same | [facing 24] |
| Common Mode of Glazing Roofs | [28] |
| Method by Ridge and Furrow | [29] |
| Cutters of Mr. Paxton's Sash-bar Machine | [30] |
| The Victoria Regia House, Chatsworth | [32] |
| Interior of the same | [33] |
| Ground-plan of the Building for the Exhibition | [34] |
| View of one 24-feet square Bay of Roof partly completed | [36] |
| Portion of the Lower Storey of the Principal Elevations | [37] |
| View of the Interior of the Transept | [facing 38] |
| View of Glass Roof from the Lead Flat | [facing 39] |
| General View of the Building from the South-West | [facing 40] |
| The External Railing | [40] |
| Section of the Paxton's Gutter, with the Strong Sash-bar | [41] |
| The Circular Planing Machine | [41] |
| Portion of the same showing Detail | [41] |
| Sections of the Paxton's Gutter, showing different Stages in the Machine | [42] |
| The Gutter-cutting Machine | [42] |
| Machine for finishing Ends of Gutters and Ridges | [43] |
| Machine for Cutting out Sash-bars | [44] |
| The Sash-bar Drilling Machine | [45] |
| Portion of the same, Enlarged | [46] |
| Section of the Ridges, etc | [46] |
| Diagram of 48-feet Girder | [48] |
| Diagram of 72-feet Girder | [48] |
| The Iron Drilling Machine | [50] |
| The Punching Machine and Shears | [50] |
| The Adzing-cutters | [51] |
| The Adzing and Planing Machine | [52] |
| Section of a Column | [52] |
| A Base-piece | [54] |
| View of the Interior from the level of Galleries | [facing 55] |
| Frame and Hydraulic Press for testing the Girders | [56] |
| Interior View of the Central Avenue towards the West | [facing 58] |
| Louvre Frame | [60] |
| View of Staircase | [61] |
| Fixing Cast-iron Drain-pipe | [62] |
| View of Crane and Proving-press | [66] |
| Henderson's Derrick Crane | [67] |
| Portions of the same | [67] |
| Fixing the Girders | [68] |
| General View of the Works in Progress | [facing 69] |
| Hoisting the 72-feet Trusses | [70] |
| Glazing-waggon for Flat Roof | [72] |
| A Pair of Ribs prepared for raising | [74] |
| Hoisting the Ribs for the Transept Roof | [facing 75] |
| Stage for Glazing Transept Roof | [76] |
| The Sash-bar Painting Machine | [77] |
| Portion of the same in Detail | [77] |
| The Hand-rail Cutting Machine | [78] |
| Portion of the same | [78] |
| The Brass Tickets for Workmen | [80] |
| The Interior of the Pay-office | [81] |
| The Men taking their Wages | [81] |
| The Workmen waiting to be Paid | [82] |
| View of the Building from the North Bank of the Serpentine | [facing 86] |
| Testing an Experimental Bay of the Gallery Floor | [facing 88] |
| View of the Boiler-house, etc. | [facing 88] |
| View of South Front of the Building | [92] |
| Appendix:— | |
| Exterior View of Mons. Horeau's Design for the Building | [facing ix] |
| Interior of the same | [facing ix] |
| View of Exterior from one end of Messrs. Turners' Design for the Building | [facing ix] |
| Transverse Section and View of the Interior of the same | [facing ix] |
O much has already been said and written, both wisely and well, upon the marvellous edifice which has just been reared with such magical rapidity to enshrine the results of the skill and industry of all nations, that it would appear an almost hopeless task to present the subject in any new point of view to the reader.
If, therefore, the authors cannot lay claim to novelty or originality in the execution of the pleasurable work which they have undertaken, they are not without hopes that, from their having been connected with this gigantic undertaking during the greater part of its progress, they will be enabled to trace in a more detailed and consecutive manner than has yet been attempted the history of the design and execution of the building up to the period of its completion.
A great deal has been lately said upon the want of distinctive character in almost all the buildings of the present day; and it is certainly a striking fact that in scarcely any of our important modern structures does the exterior appearance in any way lead the spectator to form an idea of the purposes or arrangement of the interior, the former being apparently governed by fancy, or the fashion for some particular style, while the latter only, is accommodated to the peculiar requirements of the case. Thus we have porticos which do not shelter from the weather, or in which no one is allowed to walk; Venetian palaces appear piled upon a substructure of plate-glass; baronial castles prove to be model prisons; and richly-decorated mansions, from the time of "Good Queen Bess," or fanciful Italian villas, are made to serve for the accommodation of paupers.
The ancients appear to have been more careful in this respect, so that the form and external arrangement afforded in most cases a ready key to the purposes of their structures. Their temples, their fora, theatres and amphitheatres, baths, and other public edifices, seem each to have been stamped with their own characteristic features, at the same time without in any way producing a monotonous uniformity among the different examples of the same class of building.
Now, if this criterion of excellence be applied to the remarkable building recently erected in Hyde Park, it will be found that the constructive arrangement of the interior is plainly expressed without, and it must be conceded that it possesses at least those elements of beauty arising from consistency and simplicity which, in combination with its vast size, give it also that of grandeur. That it is faultless it would be needless to assert, or to imagine that, from its example, a new style of architecture will originate; but that it is admirably suited to its purpose, that it is a remarkable specimen of the constructive skill of this country, and that it will certainly form one of the most interesting objects of the Great Exhibition by which it has been called into being, if not the most interesting of all, must, we think, be admitted by all candid observers.
Although the building in its present form was designed, as well as carried out, in a singularly short space of time, this could not have been accomplished but for the great amount of thought and labour which had been previously bestowed upon the subject. In order, therefore, to trace the whole of the progress of the design, it will be necessary briefly to advert to the early labours bestowed upon the project.