This is a beautiful colour view of London from the perspective of an aerial balloon, looking southwards from Hampstead. Printed in 1851, it shows the brand new Crystal Palace - erected to house the Great Exhibition - as well as the early London railways, Victorian Oxford Street, the Tower and eight of the city's bridges, many of which were recent constructions. This is a stunning and unexpected window on a city that was at the centre of a vast empire and at the height of its pomp.
