Louis Haghe (1806-1885) The Great Exhibition: Moving machinery c. 1851-2, pencil, pen and ink, watercolour with touches of bodycolour and gum arabic

Amazing clarity and detail have been achieved by using a combination of pencil and pen-and-ink with watercolour in this image.

The watercolour was reproduced as a chromolithograph print to demonstrate a new mechanized colour-printing process.

This image is a good example of how drawing has been a valuable means of recording historical events. The Great Exhibition was organized by Prince Albert to spread awareness of industrial progress and stimulate British industrial design. It was held in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park in 1851, where six million people visited the exhibition to see over 100,000 exhibits from around the world.