1-191-572 - © London Museum/Heritage-Images

'The Dancing Platform at Cremorne Gardens', 1864. Scene at the famous venue showing men and women flirting in the foreground. The atmosphere of fairground exoticism is emphasised by the monkeys and black children in the centre. Behind are the dancers on the platform which was said to hold a thousand people. Beyond is the orchestra in the central pagoda, with supper boxes in the background. The 12-acre gardens, which opened in London in 1842, were situated west of Battersea Bridge between King's Road and the Thames.