Celebrated Pictures exhibited at the Manchester Royal Jubilee Exhibition.

Turner, J.M.W. / Millais, J.E. / Hunt, W. / Leighton, F. / Ward, E.M. et al (artists) / Armstrong, Walter (text). Celebrated Pictures exhibited at the Manchester Royal Jubilee Exhibition. Fine Arts Section. A Series of 30 Line Engravings and Etchings with Notes and Criticisms by Walter Armstrong, M.A. London and Manchester, J.S. Virtue Ltd., & Palmer and Howe, 1887/88. c. 44.5 cm x 32 cm. Title Page, List of Plates, 59 Text Pages interspersed with 29 (out of 30) Plates in B&W. The missing Plate is ‘The Yeoman’s Wedding’ by J.D. Watson. Each Plate is preceded by a page stating the image title, painter and engraver. Two of these pages are missing. Text block appears complete. Original red cloth with black title on front board. Gilt title and decorations on front board and spine. Top edge gilt. The book is DISBOUND with all text pages and plates being lose. Sold as a collection of plates or candidate for rebinding. Poor condition. Disbound. Original binding rubbed and bumped, faded and in very poor condition. Internally pages are bright and clean. Some text pages show tears and edgwear. Plates generally in very good condition. Please review all images on our web site (westcoastrarebooks.com) to assess the condition of this item!

The Royal Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 was held in Old Trafford, Manchester, England, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria’s accession. It was opened by Princess Alexandra, the Princess of Wales (wife of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII) on 3 May 1887, and remained open for 166 days, during which time there were 4.5 million paying visitors, 74,600 in one day alone.
The site chosen for the construction of the purpose-built exhibition halls was the present-day White City retail park, then the Royal Botanical Gardens. Amusements such as tobogganing slides and a sports arena were also provided, and decorations were provided by Ford Madox Brown, assisted by Susan Dacre.
Designed by the architectural practice of Maxwell and Tuke, the buildings were constructed from cast iron gas pipes, and had large glazed areas. The main building was in the shape of a cross, with a central dome 150 feet (46 m) high and 90 feet (27 m) in diameter from which radiated four long galleries. Temporary sidings for the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway were completed in 1886, to provide convenient access for visitors (Wikipedia).