The Great Exhibitor The Life and Work of Henry Cole

by Bonython, Elizabeth; Burton, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9780810965751
• ISBN10: 0810965755
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-14
• Publisher: Victoria & Albert Museum

Summary

One of the eminent figures of the Victorian era, Henry Cole (1808-1882) was a visionary whose pioneering ideas helped create the magnificent London museum that is now called the Victoria and Albert. With Prince Albert (consort of Queen Victoria), "Old King Cole" also helped to make London's Great Exhibition of 1851 a rousing triumph. Yet Cole's important contributions to cultural history have largely been forgotten.The Great Exhibitor is the first full-length biography of this museum pioneer who also played a pivotal role in establishing the English postal system, in expanding the railway, and in art and science education. This detailed portrait captures the personality of a man who in his own time aroused both admiration and antipathy, and restores to his proper place in history a larger-than-life Victorian phenomenon.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vi
Introduction The Man and the Achievements	1	(12)
PART I: THE MAKING OF A RADICAL
Childhood and Youth 1808--1830	13	(13)
The Philosophic Radicals 1826--c. 1833	26	(11)
PART II: `A CLEVER AGITATOR'
The Public Records 1830--1838	37	(17)
The Penny Post 1838--1842	54	(12)
Journalism and Railways 1838--1849	66	(13)
PART III: ART AND INDUSTRY
Felix Summerly 1841--1848	79	(20)
Design Reform 1846--1852	99	(16)
The Great Exhibition 1849--1851	115	(30)
PART IV: THE LEVERS OF POWER
Constructing a Stronghold 1851--1856	145	(27)
A Leap Forward and a Relapse 1856--1859	172	(18)
Exercising Power with a Hidden Hand 1859--1862	190	(21)
Consolidating the Stronghold 1863--1867	211	(24)
Supreme at South Kensington 1868--1874	235	(32)
PART V: `OLD KING COLE'
A National Treasure 1874--1882	267	(15)
Conclusion	282	(3)
Abbreviations	285	(1)
Notes	286	(22)
Appendix	308	(4)
Bibliography	312	(8)
Illustration credits	320	(2)
Index	322