OFFICIAL DESCRIPTIVE AND ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE.

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memorative of the great event. In connection with thisdecision, we have received a suggestion which we deemwell worthy of the consideration of ‘ the powers that be.’It is, that each medal should he accompanied by a copy ofthe Official Illustrated Catalogue. The Illustrated Cata-logue contains a mass of valuable information upon everybranch of science, art, and manufacture, which renders itan invaluable work of reference; and its extensive dif-fusion among the industrial world, could not but be pro-ductive of the most beneficial results. And we cannotdoubt that Messrs. Spicer and Clowes, the contractors,who have throughout carried out their arduous under-taking in so spirited and satisfactory a manner, wouldstill further aid the views of the lloyal Commission, bynot permitting the question of expense to be altogether aninsuperable element in the carrying out of what appearsto us a very admirable idea.”

Atlas.

“ An enduring and valuable record of the industrialmarvels which the Crystal Palace contained. The timetaken by the editors in preparing this Catalogue has beenexcellently bestowed. It was, indeed, not a work to bedone in a hurry. By way of vade mecmn to the Exhibi-tion visitors, there was many another volume of moremanageable size devoted to special countries, departments,or branches of industry, besides that marvel of highpressure — the Official Catalogue. In the IllustratedCatalogue the attribute most desired was the perma-nency of its interest. By accurate well-sifted information,lucid arrangement, and wealth of explanatory designs, thisend has been effectually! achieved. Long after the rareand curious contents of the Crystal Palace have beenscattered over the world, this work will be valued as amemento and reflex of that marvellous collection. And ifat some distant jubilee year another Exposition of humanindustry should take place under other conditions, andoccupying, probably, a vaster space even than that whichis now presented to our eyes, the exhibitors of that daywill eagerly turn to the Illustrated Catalogue as supplyinga standard by which to measure the advances they shallhave made in their several metiers since the memorableyear of 1851.’

Times.

“ Although, in compliance with the original design ofits projectors, the Great Exhibition has itself only anephemeral existeuce, it is satisfactory to think that themost ample and complete records will be preserved of itscharacter and details. Few events have attracted suchan amount of contemporary publicity. The pen andpencil have both been incessantly at work in perpetuatingits industrial triumphs, and when all the material vestigesof the display are removed from our eyes, it will still livein a form the most valuable and enduring. The reportsof the Juries in each class will obviously prove animportant repertoire of facts and observations, and theinformation which has been collected in newspapers, inperiodicals, and in other channels of instruction, mayalso be turned to excellent account; but it is to the ‘ Illus-trated Catalogue ’ that we must look as capable of beingmade the most complete and satisfactory work of referencehereafter on the great industrial pageant of 1851. Thatpublication now approaches its completion, for three partsof it have already appeared, and the fourth will soon beready. It is intended that it shall be issued in threevolumes, the first two of which will be dedicated to theproducts of Great Britain and her colonies, while the lastembraces the contributions of foreign countries. As faras our own exhibitors are concerned the work is complete,and from the portions that have already been given tothe public we are enabled to form a pretty fair estimate ofits character and the style of execution. Of all literary-labours, that of getting up books of reference is, perhaps,the most tedious and the most thankless. The bare nameof a catalogue kills the interest of the most indefatigablebookworm, after the collection of objects to which it wasintended as a guide has ceased to be accessible. The pre-sent, however, is an exceptional case, and we predict forthe ‘ Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition ’ a

standard reputation, and a large share of public patronage,when the grass has once more grown over the site of theCrystal Palace , and the great event of this year has be-come a thing of the past. From unavoidable causes, thecontractors, Messrs. Spicer and Clowes, are only complet-ing the last pages of their work as the spectacle to whichit relates is about to close; but they need be little alarmedat such a consideration. It has an enduring interest in themass of valuable information of almost every descriptionwhich it contains. To put the industrial products of theworld under a glass case was a wonderful feat to perform;but here we have a still more extraordinary example ofcondensation, partly executed and in process of successfulcompletion. The Great Exhibition is reduced within thecompass of three not very unwieldy volumes, and to theintellect in all respects, and in most important respects tothe eye, its features and significance are preserved. Everyobject in the collection will be found noted down anddescribed with the amount of particularity due to it. Thepromptings of partiality and the infirmities of judgmentare equally excluded from this unbiassed record. Anextensive series of illustrations is made to embrace everyobject worthy of elucidation by the artists’ power; andin order that the instructive character of the work may-be fully sustained, annotations written by men of thehighest qualifications are introduced to explain processes,point out the character and uses of objects, and develop inbrief terms the rationale of the more remarkable or leastunderstood branches of human industry. With these fea-tures of interest, the popularity of the ‘Illustrated Cata-logue,’ when completed, seems secure. It will prove acomplete literary- type of the original to which it refers,opening up sources of amusement or instruction to everyclass of taste, and proving equally at home on the draw-ing-room table, handled by fashionable dilettanti, in thestudy, pored over by the scholar or the man of science, atthe merchant’s desk as a book of constant reference—inthe factory, the foundry, the workshop, as a repertoire fordesigns, and as highly- suggestive for future progress. Amore pleasant work to dive into during an idle hour canhardly be imagined, for wherever it is taken up there issomething new and striking, and worthy of attention.The necessity for condensation renders prosing impos-sible, and the classification of subjects secures an agreeablevariety of subjects without monotony on the one hand, ora miscellaneous effect upon the other. Illustrations havebeen sparingly resorted to in the first portion, which re-lates to ratv materials, but, as a substitute for this, wehave tables and statistics of great value, and a large massof information entirely original in its character. In thesecond part, which is devoted to machinery, numerousdiagrams and sketches are introduced explanatory- of thedifferent objects exhibited. The chief interest of theCatalogue, however, iu this respect lies in the third andfourth parts, the latter of which is still unfinished. Thethree volumes will contain, altogether, about 1,200 illus-trations, and the greater number of them will be given inthe last volume, which will be dedicated to the foreignhalf of the Exhibition.

“ This is the proper course to pursue, for the foreigncontributions are those which it is most important to havesketched. We are informed that original information ofmuch value and interest has been communicated to thecompilers of the Catalogue from the different countrieswhich have taken part in the Exhibition, and that this willform a prominent feature of the work when completed.At present, while the public mind is saturated with thesubject, the introductory position of the book may notattract the notice to which it is entitled; but when we areable to look back upon the whole undertaking from a pointin the future, and proceed to take its exact measure as anhistorical event, we shall not fail to be duly impressedwith the remarkable character of the information therecontained. Within the limits of 107 pages are compressedMr. Cole’s account of the way in which the Exhibitionwas got up ; Mr. Digby Wyatt's description of the Crystal Palace ; Dr. Lyon Playfair ’s classification of the artificialworld; the directory' of the scheme; the list of jurors;and the preliminary notice of the Catalogue by Mr. liobertEllis, its editor. Mr, Cole’s narrative is especially worthy'

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