The New York Crystal Palace Records
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Abstract
The Crystal Palace, constructed in 1853 in New York City, was a glass and iron exhibit building built for the World's Fair of the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations. The New York City Crystal Palace papers contain the correspondence, financial, and organizational papers of Theodore Sedgwick (1811-1859), who was president of the Association between 1852-1854.
Historical Note
The Crystal Palace was an exhibition building for the 1853 World's Fair Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in Reservoir Square (present day Bryant Park). The Crystal Palace was inspired by the Crystal Palace in London's Hyde Park, which was constructed for the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Continents in 1851. The Palace, constructed from iron and glass, was designed by Karl Gildemestier and Georg Carstensen. The building featured a 100-diameter glass dome and housed four thousand exhibitors who displayed the industrial wares, consumer goods, and artworks of their nation.
The mission of the Association of the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was to build the New York Crystal Palace and mount an international exhibition of industry, on the model of the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London. The Exhibition opened on July 14, 1853, with President Franklin Pierce in attendance, and received over a million visitors before it closed on November 1, 1854. The Crystal Palace remained standing after the Exhibition and was leased for a variety of smaller events, most notably the annual Fair of the American Institute.
The Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire on October 5, 1858. Witnesses described the flames spreading so rapidly that the central dome collapsed in less than fifteen minutes and the entire structure collapsed in less than thirty minutes. Fortunately, though the fire erupted while the Fair of the American Institute was in progress, no lives were lost.
Arrangement Note
The New York City Crystal Palace Papers are arranged into the following series:
Scope and Content Note
The New York City Crystal Palace Papers contains Theodore Sedgwick's correspondence and papers when he was president of the Association for the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations. The bulk of this collection is correspondence from high-ranking members of the Association regarding the construction of the Crystal Palace, and organizing, financing, and obtaining items for the exhibit. Most of the correspondence is addressed to Theodore Sedgwick, but a portion of the correspondence contains copies of letters written by Sedgwick. While most of the collection is dated before the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire on October 5, 1858, it contains a letter written by George S. Badger on October 7, in which he describes seeing the Crystal Palace collapse in flames.
The organizational records housed in this collection document the progress of the Association toward constructing the Crystal Palace and organizing the Exhibition. Records in this series include resolutions, reports, circulars, memorandums, bylaws, proposals, agendas, a catalogue of items in Italy's exhibit, office drafts of speeches and articles written by Theodore Sedgwick, and personal notes. The personal notes in this series have been grouped together because their subjects are unclear, they are undated, and their provenance is unclear. Financial records in this collection include contracts and drafts of contracts with contractors and vendors, bills, and receipts. These records range from detailed bills and receipts listing the expenditures of the Association on a given year to individual receipts for building materials and services. The smallest series in this collection contains newspapers published between 1852 and 1854, which contain both articles and letters to the editor written by Theodore Sedgwick regarding the Exhibition and the Crystal Palace.
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Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
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Preferred Citation Note
This collection should be cited as the New York City Crystal Palace Papers, MS 443.13, The New-York Historical Society.