The first sight visitors encountered at London’s Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in 1851 was a 27-foot glass fountain that continuously dispensed Schweppes naturally carbonated spring water sourced from the Malvern Hills in England.

Then as they looked around, they were awed by the gargantuan size of the Crystal Palace they had entered, the largest enclosed space that had ever been built. Constructed in Hyde Park of glass panels supported by a cast iron frame, the structure was 1,851 feet long, a clever nod to the year of the exhibition. The building’s height was also impressive. Rather than chopping down giant elm trees that grew in the park, architect Joseph Paxton simply built the glass ceiling high enough to accommodate them.

The exhibition was largely the brainchild of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband who was a great supporter of both the sciences and the arts. Although the aim was largely to celebrate Britain’s accomplishments, 34 other countries were also invited to mount displays.

The U.S featured Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper, Samuel Colt’s revolver, and Charles Goodyear’s vulcanized rubber. India’s exhibit included the famous Koh-i-noor, at the time the world’s largest known diamond, and of all things, a giant stuffed elephant. France displayed the Gobelin Tapestries, an array of perfumes, and “Zinc White,” a synthetic zinc pigment produced by combining zinc vapour with oxygen that was promoted as a non-toxic alternative to lead paint. Germany showed off Alfred Krupp’s flawless steel ingots, and Russia displayed furs, Cossack armour and beautiful vases made of green malachite.

Canada showed off the country’s agricultural wealth with barrels of corn, oats, peas and beans, and of course people got a taste of maple........

© Montreal Gazette