British Universities Film & Video Council

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Great Exhibition, The: An Exercise in Industry

Synopsis
Follows the complex circumstances under which the Crystal Palace was designed by Joseph Paxton, using models at the Museum of London and identical old iron castings from Oxford station, and drawings published in the ‘Illustrated London News’. Discusses mechanical/technological items in the Exhibition and concludes that innovatory exhibits, like the Colt repeating revolver and McCormick’s reaper, were treated as interesting novelties rather then as products of the future. This lack of foresight is attributed to the fact that both were produced by, or were of more use to, the emerging mass societies of the USA, for example, rather than Great Britain. The real lesson of the Exhibition was the application of mass production techniques to the construction of the Palace itself, rather then any specific exhibits.
Series
Arts Foundation Course, An: Course A102
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 25 min.
Year of production
1987
Availability
Off-air recording licence
Sale; 1998 sale: £120.00 (+VAT +p&p) pair
Notes
Paired with THE GREAT EXHIBITION: A LESSON IN TASTE?, A102/17V.
Subjects
History; Sociology
Keywords
architectural design; exhibitions; history of technology; social history

Credits

Producer
Tony Coe
Writer
Colin Cunningham
Cast
Colin Cunningham 

Production Company

Name

BBC Open University Productions

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web
http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window
Phone
+44 (0) 1908 274066
Address
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
Notes
NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk

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