Description

A renowned chemist, photographer and scholar, Robert Hunt was a passionate advocate of popular education and the ideal choice to write an accessible but informative handbook to the Great Exhibition of 1851. Published while the event was still welcoming visitors in Hyde Park, Hunt’s Hand-Book is an encyclopaedia of Victorian material science, chemistry, engineering and design. Aided by small sectional plans of the building and tables of classification, in Volume 2 readers continue their vicarious journey through the Crystal Palace, while receiving clear and lucid lessons on the physics, mechanics and chemistry that enable such innovations as the hydro-pneumatic elevator and the railway system. Including exhibits as varied as enamelled glassware, woven flax, upholstery, diamonds and cement, Hunt’s work constitutes one of the most valuable sources available on an age defined by innovation, industry and empire.