The Opening of the Exhibition at Edinburgh by Prince Albert Victor, three frames, which appeared in the London The Graphic, 15 May 1886, No. 859, Vol. XXXIII, p. 515. 17.4 cm high by 22.3 cm wide — 6 ⅝ inches high by 8 ⅞ inches wide. The commentary on the Exhibition occurs in that week's instalment of "Our Illustrations." [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Commentary
The industrial and cultural exposition seems to have been part of an attempt to revitalise Edinburgh's Old Town, evoking the Great Exposition of 1851 staged in London to showcase British industry and technology. However, the recreation of Old Town, Edinburgh, seems to have been designed to evoke the novels of Sir Walter Scott, particularly The Heart of Midlothian (1818):
Adjoining the buildings are prettily laid-out gardens, while one of the chief features of the Exhibition is a reproduction of "Old Edinburgh," after the model of "Old London" at South Kensington. There can be seen some of the best known historic houses pf the ancient city, the narrow tortuous streets, the picturesquely irregular fronts, the tall, crow-footed gables, the corner towers, the turreted staircases, the projecting windows, the open booths as they might have existed in the Lawnmarket, the High Street, and the Canongate of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. . . .
The high point of the massive exposition was Old Edinburgh Street (upper left). Although the recreation of Old Town may strike us as appealing chiefly to Scottish nostalgia, the walk through the crooked streets gave exhibition-goers the opportunity to reflect upon how far the northern industrial metropolis had come since the beginning of the century, when the Old Town "had descended into an appalling, overcrowded slum as people flooded into the historic closes and wynds looking for lodgings and work." ["The 19th Century Old Town of Edinburgh."]
The broad main entrance to the permanent building . . . is flanked by imposing towers, and embellished with groups of sculture and a statue of Her Majesty.
Above: Lower panel of The Opening of the Exhibition at Edinburgh by Prince Albert Victor — the Queen's statue and Exposition of Industry, Science, and Art at Edinburgh, which covered thirty acres and admitted some 2,770,000 visitors between its opening on 6 May 1886 and its closing of 30 October that same year.
Related Material
Scanned images, formatting, and text by Philip V. Allingham. You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
Bibliography
The Opening of the Exhibition at Edinburgh by Prince Albert Victor; The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper, No. 859, Vol. XXXIII (15 May 1886), p. 515.
"The 19th Century Old Town of Edinburgh." Museums & Galleries Edinburgh. edinburghmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/19th-century-old-town-edinburgh. Accessed 30 March 2025.
Created 30 March 2025