Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 3.djvu/234

 NOTES AND QUERIES. [io*s.m. MARCH 11,1005.

frieze, &c., and rows of life-size figures, as at the Crystal Palace ; this was called the ' Glypto- theca,' and concerts were held there, and, being carpeted, it formed an attractive promenade.

" The new picture, ' London by Night,' was de- signed and contrived by Mr. W. Bradwell, and painted by Messrs. Danson and Telbin, the latter the father of the present scenic artist, and was painted in sections on large frames covered in canvas, which all folded down below the day picture out of sight, and by a mechanical arrangement were drawn up to the horizon for the night, a space being retained behind for the lighting-up the windows of the buildings and gas lights. Also cloud effects were managed by lantern slides passing across the moon, c.

" The drawing of the night picture was obtained by tracing on linen the whole of the original picture, and then transferring it to the frames in sections, which was a work of great labour, and required a great number of assistants. I niyself formed one, being a very young man at the time.

"MR. OXLEY mentions notseeingany bazaar stalls. I think the only ones were in the Swiss chalets for Swiss articles, and these were also used for refresh- ment rooms.

" The ' Cyclorama ' with the earthquake of Lisbon was in a building purposely built in Albany Street. Although connected with the Colosseum, it was quite a separate exhibition. It was a very elaborate affair, with many moving and mechanical effects, and was also designed and carried out bv Mr. W. Bradwell.

" I may mention a curious incident which took place at the private press view. When the earth- quake was proceeding with every sort of con- trivance for thunder and lightning, and in the midst of the din, there came suddenly a tremendous crash, which shook the visitors in their seats. They thought that was the finest effect of all. My uncle, who was sitting with them, jumped up and went round to the back. When he returned he said he was sorry they would not be able to repeat that effect again. He explained that a as explosion had just taken place in a shop in Albany Street, and blown nearly the whole of the front of a house out opposite the exhibition. I had these particulars from the late Mr. E. L. Blanchard, who was present at the time.

" When the property was sold, the building was pulled down, and the ground is now covered by the houses of Colosseum Terrace."

There is a good wood engraving of the exterior of the Colosseum in the second volume of Orr's ' The Land We Live In.'

F. A. RUSSELL.

4, Nelgarde Road, Catford, S.E.

Even now the wonders of the old Coliseum in Regent's Park have not been exhausted. The name of the proprietor in 1845, which MR. W. E. HARLAND - OXLEY points out would be of considerable interest if placed on record, was that of Mr. W. Brad- well, formerly of Covent Garden Theatre. It was^ this gentleman, whose genius in decorative art and in the production of wonderful scenic effects was at the time well known, who undertook to revive the

drooping fortunes of this prodigious world of wonders. He remodelled and renovated the whole of the interior and the artificial gardens, embellishing them with a thousand- and-one ayre'mens, outdoing the enterprise of the first projector, Mr. Hornor, about three- and-twenty years previously. The Panorama of London was almost entirely repainted by Mr. E. T. Parris, who originally received from Mr. Hornor the drawings which con- stituted the material for the great picture. At its renovation it was said to have possessed a higher interest than ever. It should be noted that Braham, the vocalist, had had a hand in its proprietorship, having some years previous to Brad well's advent purchased the place for the giving of concerts, theatrical performances, &c. ; but he failed to put new life into it, so the interior of the rotunda was entirely recon- structed from designs by Mr. Bradwell. The frieze of the dome was enriched with the entire Parthenaic procession from the Elgin marbles, over which, in panels, were twenty allegorical subjects painted in fresco. The mountings, cornices, &c., were in gold, modelled by Mr. Henning, Jun., and painted by Mr. Absolon. Amongst the ruins were those of the Temple of Venus, the Parthenon, a Roman fountain, the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Theseus, and the Temple of the Sibyls at Terni. The appointments of the Swiss Cottage were "surprisingly improved." And here were the lake, the distant mill, the cottage, the bridge, and the mountain firs. Beyond the lake to the left was the Mer de Glace, in the centre the towering Mont Blanc, with huge piles of rocks and glaciers below, all admirably painted by Danson. Down the rock rushed a cataract, discharging water at the rate of 800 gallons in a minute. See further The Illustrated Family Journal, 1845.

J. HOLDEN MACMlCHAEL.

The Times, 13 January, 1829, gave a very favourable account of the private view of the Colosseum, then in a somewhat unfinished state, and again when completed, 13 August. The price of admission was 5s. each person. On the failure of Mr. Hornor, in 1831 or 1833, it changed hands several times, and finally closed in 1863, remaining empty until demolished in 1875.

In the British Museum is a collection of Colosseum programmes from 1836 to 1840, of a most miscellaneous description. During this time the entertainments included marble groupings, dissolving views, Swiss Cottage, conservatories, Bedouin Arabs, French plays, English ballads (Mr. Braham, Madame Sala,