Liverpool on Display: the International and Jubilee Exhibitions, 1886 and 1887.

In the years following the Great Exhibition of 1851, several ’crystal palaces’ appeared, showing off the industrial and artistic wares of Britain and other developed countries. Some were massive structures, covering ten acres or more, but with the exception of the original Crystal Palace, they usually disappeared once their purpose was served, leaving no visible evidence of their former existence. One such ’palace’ was built in a Liverpool suburb for the 1886 International Exhibition, and used again the next year to celebrate the Golden Jubilee. It is a tale of initial triumph, culminating in the grandeur of an opening by Queen Victoria, but one that was to end in disappointment and loss. Using contemporary newspapers and the few surviving documents, this illustrated booklet outlines its progress, with descriptions of what it offered to visitors. It will appeal to those interested in Victorian Britain, and in the staging of major public events in the later years of Queen Victoria’s reign.