Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 3.djvu/69

 io*s. in. JAX. 2i, wo*] NOTES AND QUERIES.

53

There was an " Ascending Room " for the use of visitors, which we are told was " raised by secret machinery to the required elevation." This was doubtless what we now know as a " lift," which is met with in almost every large building. The chief attraction was, of course, the 'Grand Panorama of London,' which this catalogue tells us was 'almost entirely repainted by Mr. E. T. Parris," as, owing to a variety of causes, that

gentleman had been prevented from " doing imself complete justice." With reference to this painting, it says :

"This extraordinary, and, in its peculiar style, unequalled effort of human ingenuity and perse- verance was projected and commenced by Mr. Homer, and completed by Mr. E. T. Parris and assistants, under the latter gentleman's direction."

It will be noted that the name of Horner is spelt with only one o, as is the case in 'Old and New London,' and not, as Elmes spelt it, " Hornor."

The feature of this catalogue is the eight embossed plates of the panorama, with an engraved key-plate to each section. They are stamped upon a coloured ground, show- ing the Thames in a bright blue, and the sky in pink and blue tints, making very effective pictures, and helping one admirably to form a faint idea of what the whole thing was like. The buildings on the painting seem to have stood out well, notwithstanding the "extreme inaccuracy as to architectural details," which perhaps in a work of such magnitude might almost be looked for. It is hardly necessary to say that the view was taken from a staging erected above the dome of St. Paul's, which appeared immediately below the spectator's feet.

There were also conservatories, a Gothic aviary, an exterior promenade, a repre- sentation of the Mer de Glace, Mont Blanc, a mountain torrent, and stalactite caverns, all of which are duly pictured in this little book. There was also what is notified as being an "Entirely New and Extraordinary Panorama of London by Night, projected and carried out by Mr. Win. Brad well, and painted by Mr. Danson and Mr. Telbin." This was a very fine work of art, and probably the truth was hardly exceeded when it was proclaimed "that nothing short of reality can equal the amazing coup d'oeil before us." There was also a "Glaciarium" of artificial ice for skating at all seasons of the year, and a camera obscura " on a scale never before attempted," presenting a "living moving picture," another panorama of the north-west quarter of London. This was sixty years ago, yet

we must say that pleasure-seekers seem to bave been well catered for in those days, and, making allowance for the change of taste, it is perhaps permissible to think that the new Coliseum can hardly in some respects give a better entertainment than that pro- vided by the old one.

In this catalogue there is no mention of there having been a bazaar upon the premises,, but there may have been one at an earlier date; neither at this later date is there any allusion to a panorama of Lisbon by night, nor to the exhibition of the earthquake there spoken of by MR. E. DYSEY. It would be of considerable interest if the name of the proprietor in 1845 could be put on record. W. E. HARLAND-OXLEY.

Westminster.

I can corroborate MR. DYSEY' s recollections, as I was a frequent visitor to the old Colos- seum in the forties and fifties, when I lived in the neighbourhood. Although called the Coliseum in some of Elmes's plates, the official designation was "The Royal Colos- seum." I still possess some of the old pro- grammes, from which I learn that the "Magnificent Diorama of Paris by Night, painted by Messrs. Danson, covering an area of Forty-Eight Thousand Square Feet," was- presented at the evening entertainment, and the " Colossal Panorama of London by Day, painted by E. T. Parris, Esq.," and covering the same area, was exhibited in the morning. The great earthquake at Lisbon was, as- stated by MR. DYSEY, shown in another part of the building ; but London and Paris, though described respectively as a panorama, and a diorama, were more properly cyclo- ramas, as they extended over a circular area, and were seen by spectators from the centre. The fact that London and Paris covered the same area, Paris being substituted for London in the evening, may have given rise to the joke that a portion of the canvas was utilized for both representations. The building was a fine one, though the dome was rather squat, and it may be doubted if Sir Walter Gilbey's handsome villa sufficiently compensates for its loss.

Particulars about the Leicester Square entertainments will be found in Tom Taylor's ' Leicester Square ' ; vide the chapter on ' The Shows of the Square,' pp. 447-76.

W. F. PRIDEAUX.

The following is extracted from The Times of 12 March, 1875 :

"The Last of the Colosseum. Her Majesty's Commissioners of Works and Public Buildings have at length found a purchaser for the building and site of the Colosseum, which is now being rapidly