When the Crystal Palace and Park opened in Sydenham in 1854, the Crystal Palace Company had ready a series of small guide books to help visitors explore the attractions of their theme park. The general Guide offered a synopsis for all the attractions: from highlights and general philosophies to practical information about food and conveniences. This general Guide was updated every season to take into account new features (compare 1856 with 1871). Specialist guide books concentrated on single components, such as the Italian Court, the Alhambra Court, and the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. These specialist guides extended the visitor’s experience, providing extra detail and explanation far beyond what could be provided on site. Many of the authors of these specialist guides were well-respected experts in their fields. Their authorships – think of these as celebrity intellectual endorsements – added to the pleasure park’s air of authenticity and respectability. They helped Crystal Palace and Park seem a far more sophisticated experience than would come from simple amusement. Images, such as the famous Baxter cards and prints, added to the splendour. Events, such as the New Year’s Eve Dinner in the Iguanodon dinosaur model and regular visits by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, added even more.
The 1854 Crystal Palace and Park was the second version of that great Victorian attraction. The 1851 “Great Exhibition” in Hyde Park, London, England, United Kingdom, was an extraordinary success, After one season, the famous glasshouse – dubbed the “crystal palace” – was sold to a private company, disassembled, and moved to a new site near Sydenham, Anerley, and Norwood in South London. The “Crystal Palace Company” (CPC) shifted the building to South London and made it the centre piece of a 300-acre pleasure park. This featured the great glasshouse (expanded and filled with cultural galleries and exhibits), elaborate gardens, and the now famous sculptures of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.
The guides published by the Crystal Palace Company provide a unique record of the galleries and visitor attractions in the glasshouse and park. Euston Grove Press is producing a complete set of facsimiles editions for this series of guide books, with completion expected in 2024.
Series | Author | Title | ISBN |
Crystal Palace Guide 1 | Samuel Phillips | Guide to the Crystal Palace and Park | 9781906267094 |
Crystal Palace Guide 2 | Samuel Phillips | Portrait Gallery of the Crystal Palace | 9781906267100 |
Crystal Palace Guide 3 | Owen Jones | Alhambra Court in the Crystal Palace | 9781906267063 |
Crystal Palace Guide 4 | Matthew Digby Wyatt and John Burley Waring | Byzantine and Romanesque Court in the Crystal Palace | 9781906267131 |
Crystal Palace Guide 5 | Owen Jones and Joseph Bonomi | Description of the Egyptian Court in the Crystal Palace | |
Crystal Palace Guide 6 | George Scharf and Owen Jones | Greek Court Erected in the Crystal Palace | |
Crystal Palace Guide 7 | Matthew Digby Wyatt and John Burley Waring | Italian Court in the Crystal Palace | 9781906267155 |
Crystal Palace Guide 8 | Matthew Digby Wyatt and John Burley Waring | Mediæval Court in the Crystal Palace | |
Crystal Palace Guide 9 | Austen Henry Layard | Nineveh Court in the Crystal Palace | |
Crystal Palace Guide 10 | George Scharf | Pompeian Court in the Crystal Palace | |
Crystal Palace Guide 11 | Matthew Digby Wyatt and John Burley Waring | Renaissance Court in the Crystal Palace | |
Crystal Palace Guide 12 | George Scharf and Owen Jones | Roman Court … Erected in the Crystal Palace | |
Crystal Palace Guide 13 | Robert Gordon Latham and Edward Forbes | Natural History Department of the Crystal Palace Described. Part 1: Ethnology. Part 2: Zoology and Botany | 9781906267223 |
Crystal Palace Guide 14 | Anna B. Jameson | Handbook to the Courts of Modern Sculpture | 9781906267117 |
Crystal Palace Guide 15 | Richard Owen | Geology and Inhabitants of the Ancient World | 9781906267360 |
Crystal Palace Guide 16 | Owen Jones | Apology for the Colouring of the Greek Court in the Crystal Palace | |
[no author identified] | Industrial Directory of the Crystal Palace | ||
advertised but not published | Raffaele Monti | How to See the Sculpture in the Crystal Palace |
How many Crystal Palace Guides were published?
The total number of original guide books planned was 18; the total number published was 17. Advertisements identify two other volumes in the guide book series than those physically published. The Industrial Directory of the Crystal Palace (London: Crystal Palace Library and Bradbury and Evans) was published in 1854. Another volume, “How to See the Sculpture in the Crystal Palace,” by Raffaele Monti , was advertised but never completed.