Taken from the Archive of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, this collection consists of a selection of material published by the Commission.

Included are the first four volumes of the Commissioners’ Reports to Parliament, for the years 1852, 1856 and 1861. They were presented to both Houses of Parliament and reported on all aspects of the Exhibition and later on the use of the surplus fund and further activities of the Commission.

The remaining volumes in the collection consist of Edgar Bowring’s presentation copies of the Reports by the Juries. The reports are made up of four volumes recording the decisions made by the jurors in awarding medals across the thirty classes into which the exhibits were divided. They were printed in 1852 and are illustrated with photographs of a selection of exhibits, plus interiors and exteriors of the Crystal Palace.