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Latting Observatory broadside

ca. 1853

Engraving

9 5/8 × 6 in. (24.4 × 15.2 cm)

Collection of Edmund Witkowski

The Latting Observatory was a structure near the Crystal Palace that offered the highest viewpoint available in New York. In addition to the view, the observatory also provided visitors with dining options. This advertisement featuring a ladies’ saloon demonstrates the rising role of women as consumers in the world of dining. Ice cream became a popular treat in eateries catering to respectable women, who did not want to be seen where liquor was served. Restaurants in the 1850s began to accommodate middle-class women by offering well-decorated, gender-segregated spaces.

—Elizabeth Muir

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New York Crystal Palace 1853 Digital Publication

Director’s Foreword Susan Weber
Foreword Ivan Gaskell
Introduction David Jaffee

The digital publication for New York Crystal Palace 1853 is based on a 2017 Focus Gallery exhibition at Bard Graduate Center that emphasizes the experience of those who entered the Crystal Palace through the objects they may have seen.

Essays

Exhibition Objects

  • Official Catalogue of the New-York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, 1853

  • Burning of the New York Crystal Palace, 1858

    Currier & Ives
  • Crystal Palace Musical Revue at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, 1939

  • Piece of fused glass, 1858

  • Crystal Palace soda water bottle, 1850–60

    Union Glass Works
  • New York Crystal Palace Polka sheet music composed by Francis Rziha, 1853

    T. Pfleger
  • Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations medal, 1853

  • Souvenir coin for H. B. West’s Famous Trained Dogs, 1853

  • Token for the Fitzgibbon Daguerreotype Gallery, 1853

  • Commemorative medal, 1853

    Anthony C. Paquet
  • Silver award medal, 1853

    Charles C. Wright and J. A. Oertel
  • Commemorative medal, 1853

    G. H. Lovett
  • New York Crystal Palace window shade, 1853

  • “Crystal Palace” shelf clock, 1853

    William L. Gilbert & Co
  • Candlestick, 1853

    United States Pottery
  • Plaque, 1853

    United States Pottery
  • Doorknob and plaque, 1853

    Charles Cartlidge & Co.
  • Coffee pot with lid, cup and saucer, 1850–54

    Tielsch Porzellan-Manufaktur
  • Sugar bowl with cover, 1851–57

    Brooklyn Flint Glass Works
  • Tumbler, 1850–60

    New England Glass Company
  • “Cascade” pitcher, 1852–58

    United States Pottery Co.
  • Presentation pitcher, 1853

    Josiah Jones
  • Pitcher, 1834–51

    John Chandler Moore
  • Hat and hatbox, 1855

    John N. Genin
  • Putto sculptural element from a sideboard, 1853

    Ernst Plassmann
  • Armchair, 1853

    Julius Dessoir
  • View in the East Nave (The Greek Slave, by Power [sic]; from Recollections of the Great Exhibition), London Crystal Palace, 1851

    John Absolon
  • The Greek Slave, 1849

    Hiram Powers
  • Interior View of the South Nave of the Crystal Palace, 1854

  • Number 1 “Standard” sewing machine, 1856

    I. M. Singer & Co
  • The New York Crystal Palace: Exterior View, 1853–54

    Victor Prevost
  • The Moon, 1853–54

    John Adams Whipple
  • Daguerreotype camera, 1853–54

    Charles C. Harrison
  • Colt Model 1851 Navy percussion revolver, serial number 29705, with case and accessories, 1853–54

    Samuel Colt
  • “Cradle of Harmony” hollow-back violin, 1852

    William Sidney Mount
  • The Power of Music!, 1848

    William Sidney Mount
  • Interior view of the New York Crystal Palace for the exhibition of the industry of all nations. Taken on the first of December 1853 . . . Carstensen & Gildemeister architects, 74 Broadway N.Y., 1853

    Nagel & Weingärtner
  • A Panoramic Representation of the Interior of the Crystal Palace, New York, 1854

    Frederick J. Pilliner
  • The World of Science, Art, and Industry Illustrated from Examples in the New-York Exhibition, 1853–54

    Benjamin Silliman and Charles R. Goodman
  • A Day in the New York Crystal Palace and How to Make the Most of It, 1853

    William Carey Richards
  • Official Catalogue of the New-York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, 1853

  • Nightstick belonging to George Washington Matsell, Chief of Police, 1850–70

  • Badge belonging to George Washington Matsell, Chief of Police, 1845–57

  • The World’s Industrial Exhibition of 1853: Season Ticket No. 12342, 1853

  • Latting Observatory broadside, 1853

  • New York, 1855. From the Latting Observatory.

    B. F. Smith Jr
  • The New York Crystal Palace and Latting Observatory, 1853

    Capewell & Kimmel
  • Present Appearance of the Crystal Palace, 1853

  • Birds Eye View of the New York Crystal Palace and Environs, 1853

    John Bachmann

Bibliography

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Richards, William C. A Day in the New York Crystal Palace and How to Make the Most of It: Being a Popular Companion to the “Official Catalogue”, and a Guide to All the Objects of Special Interest in the New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations. New York: G.P. Putnam, 1853.

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