Crystal Palace Dinosaurs Archives

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[ 2025-08-14 ] Bernissart Iguanodons in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels Blog
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[ 2025-08-12 ] History of the Great Exhibition (1851) from The Art-Journal Illustrated Catalogue Great Exhibition 1851
[ 2025-08-12 ] Great Exhibition As a Lesson in Victorian Taste, by Ralph Nicholson Wornum (1851) Great Exhibition 1851

Bernissart Iguanodons in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels

The Dinosaur Gallery in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Brussels Museum of Natural History) includes the famous Bernissart Iguanodons. This consists of thirty complete or nearly complete skeletons excavated from an underground coal […]

150,000,000 B.C. - The Prehistoric Monsters of Crystal Palace - rare 1968 pamphlet features this photograph of the standing Iguanodon in camouflage painting.

Crystal Palace Dinosaurs – Rare 1968 Pamphlet – 150,000,000 B.C.

“150,000,000 B.C.” is a rare pamphlet about the Crystal Palace dinosaurs and other statues by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins created in the 1850s in Crystal Palace Park, Sydenham. It was published by the Greater London Council […]

Sketch of Dinner in Iguanodon Model as remembered by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, 1862. Source: Letter from Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins to Edward James Alfred Trimmer, 27 August, British Library Add MS 50150 f215. Photo: ProfJoeCain CC BY NC.

Remembering Dinner in the Dinosaur: Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ 1862 Sketch

Near the end of August 1862, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (1807-1894) wrote to Edward Trimmer (1827-1904) with a brief mention of the New Year’s Eve dinner in Iguanodon mould. The letter included a small illustration of […]

Crystal Palace in Sydenham. Undated postcard 61 showing glasshouse, gardens, and fountains.

Crystal Palace Company – First Annual General Meeting 1853

Crystal Palace Company formed in 1852 to purchase the glasshouse and remains of the 1851 Great Exhibition and somehow – no plan was clear at the start – restart it in another location. Sydenham was […]

Dinner in the Iguanodon Model, at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham

Studio for Crystal Palace Dinosaurs: Enter The Extinct Animals Model-Room

The famous engraving of New Year’s Eve Dinner in Iguanodon, published in Illustrated London News on 07 January 1854, appeared only one week after readers of the popular weekly magazine were given a glimpse inside […]

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. 1854 Photograph.

Queen Victoria Visited Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Crystal Palace Dinosaurs several times during the site’s construction in 1853 and 1854. In November 1853, the Royals visited the Model-Room, or Studio, of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and observed […]

“The New Crystal Palace at Sydenham,” The Illustrated London News, 21 August 1852.

New Crystal Palace at Sydenham – 1852 – First Look

In August 1852, The Illustrated London News published a first look at the new Crystal Palace attraction at Sydenham. This included a design vision for the revised glasshouse and the pleasure gardens in which that […]

Close-up bottom row. “A Reverie at the Crystal Palace” in Punch magazine, 1854, volume 26, pages 250-251. Published 17 June 1854.

Reverie at the Crystal Palace – 1854 poster in Punch magazine

No-one was surprised when Punch magazine celebrated the grand opening of the Crystal Palace in Sydenham, with opening ceremonies on 10 June 1854. Illustrated London News, its competitor on the weekly magazine market, did the […]

Close-up. Cartoon appearing in Punch 1855, volume 28, page 50, “The Effects of a Hearty Dinner After Visiting the Antediluvian Department at Crystal Palace,” featuring Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.

Punch 1855 Cartoon Dreaming of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

The cartoon depicting a man dreaming of monsters is one of two famous illustrations from Punch magazine referencing Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. In a previous post, I presented the other 1855 cartoon, “A visit to the antediluvian […]