2-982-587 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Birds from the Crystal Palace Show, 1858. 'The severity of the weather...failed to chill the ardour of the lovers of birds. In crowds they rushed to the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, to see one of the most interesting and novel exhibitions ever witnessed. The show of canaries was first rate. The same may be said of the mule birds. Then there were some marvellously beautiful hybrids; and of foreign birds, parrots, parrakeets, waxbills, mocking-birds, cockatoos, etc., there was a choice variety. The directors had done their utmost to give eclat to the occasion, and by their arrangements may be said to have achieved the perfection of comfort, not only for the feathered tribes but also for the numerous visitors; and the public seemed to be keenly alive to its enjoyment, A happier set of faces could hardly be met with, and their involuntary exclamations testified the delight they felt in witnessing so much natural beauty. The tropical department of the Palace is well suited for exhibitions of this kind, and the birds were, no doubt, sorry to quit their delightful quarters'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.