Summary

View of the German Imperial Tent on the balcony of the north transept of the Great Hall of the permanent Exhibition Building at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition held at the Exhibition Buildings, Carlton Gardens, between 1 October 1880 and 30 April 1881.

While the official plans for the exhibition show Germany having been allocated various court space in at least three different areas, the German commissioner would complain in a letter to Melbourne's press that lack of coordination between London and Australia in the early planning stages meant that German exhibits were spread across no less than eight locations around the exhibition buildings, one of these being the Imperial Tent in the north transept.

The Imperial Tent housed the German Court's displays of fine jewellery and was described as 'one of the most interesting portions of the Exhibition':

'Diamonds and emeralds of fine quality are conspicious in the gold sets, and there is one diamond of 10 carats. Various forms of bracelets are shown, and one of massive shape contains a single stone of great brilliance. The pendants are of many patterns, and amongst the most noticeable are some in the Renaissance style. As a rule, the diamonds are set in gold, but a fine effect is also obtained with combinations of diamonts and silver, of which an imitation of the Alphine flower, Edelweiss, is one of the best examples. Lockets set with diamonds, chased, or ornamented with wreaths and birds, with lustrous wings, are worthy of inspection.'

In the foreground at ground level can be seen the exhibits of August Klein, a Viennese dealer of 'leather and bronze fancy articles and trinkets', and the British piano manufacturer, John Brinsmead and Sons of London.

Description of Content

International Exhibition, Melbourne, 1880. Interior view of the Exhibition Building showing the exhibits in the Imperial German Tent on the mezzanine of the Great Hall, and other exhibitors at ground level in the northern transept.

Physical Description

Monochrome, landscape format, photograph.

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