xl
EXHIBITION OF 1851.
Prizes.
While describing the constitution and operation of the Juries, it will be conve-nient to explain the nature of the questions which at several times came before theCommission on the subject of prizes.
In the original announcement of the scheme of the Exhibition by the Society ofArts , it had been stated that prizes to a large amount were intended to be distri-buted among the most meritorious exhibitors, and the Commissioners on theirappointment found that a sum of £20,000 had already been provided and set apartfor the purpose. At a very early period, however, they found that considerableuneasiness existed in many of the most important seats of manufacture on thissubject, and that there was, in particular, a strong objection to enter into competi-tion for money prizes. So decided was this feeling, that the Commissioners hadreason to apprehend that if money prizes were offered, many persons, from whomvaluable contributions were expected, would altogether decline to exhibit. They,therefore, came to the conclusion that the rewards should be almost wholly confinedto the honorary distinction of the grant of a Medal, provision being made for allow-ing pecuniary gifts, in addition to such honorary distinction, in some few possiblecases, such as those in which artisans might have incurred considerable expense inproducing some article of interest for the Exhibition, without the probability ofbeing remunerated for the outlay. Acting upon this resolution, they publishedtheir intention of striking bronze Medals of various sizes and designs, and theyinvited public competition for designs for the reverses of three Medals. * By thisstep the jealousy with which the prizes had in the first instance been regarded wasto a great extent allayed; but there still existed an apprehension in some quartersthat the Medals would be given as rewards of different degrees of excellence, andthe objections entertained and previously urged against the granting of money prizeswere again brought forward on the part of some of the local Committees. It wasfeared by many manufacturers of eminence that if one highest prize were given ina particular department of the Exhibition, the gainer of that prize, though possiblyvery little superior to his competitors in the same department, or being perhapsindebted for his success to some fortunate accident, would by that circumstanceobtain great notoriety and a pre-eminence above other manufacturers which woiddbe seriously detrimental to them. Rather than run the risk of being thus injuredby a defeat, some leading firms considered it desirable to abstain from exhibitingaltogether, whilst others sought permission to mark their goods as not entered forcompetition. After attentively considering the subject, the Commissioners decidedthat, as the object of the Exhibition was rather to encourage all kinds of industrythan to stimulate individual competition, and as it would be extremely difficult, if
* The successful competitors for these designs were—
1. M. Ilyppolite Bonnardel, of Paris .