The Victorians took a profound interest in decor and ornamentation, and between May and October of 1851, 6 million of them flocked to the grand world's fair known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition. Inside a massive greenhouse-like structure in London's Hyde Park, they admired the greatest assemblage of the era's applied and decorative arts. The ambition and optimism of the exhibition symbolise the nineteenth century's finest aspirations, and its dense catalog of engravings serves as a primary source for Victorian design.This exclusive gallery of items pares the exhibition's 400-page catalog down to a sparkling selection of more than 640 items. Brief captions accompany illustrations of a tremendous range of exhibits, from chairs, mirrors, and carpets to statues, ceramics, and jewelry. An authentic source of images representing the quintessence of Victorian design, this splendid resource includes a bonus CD-ROM that contains every image from the book.