“Seen With Great Delight”: Spectacle in Georgian London

What was considered a “spectacle” in Georgian London? Was it a balloon ascent, a sophisticated silver swan that could mimic the appearance of life, a handsome Irish giant, an exhibition of paintings? This talk considers the broad spectrum of exhibitions that were presented to the fee-paying public during this period. From displays of art and mechanical ingenuity to scientific experiments and wondrous beings, all were commercialized in the bustling metropolis. Drawing upon materials in the Lewis Walpole Library, this talk considers what was regarded as eminently remarkable in this context. It also illustrates how some hapless spectators were satirized, making spectacles of themselves at the exhibitions that they had paid to see.

Alison FitzGerald is Associate Professor in History at Maynooth University, Ireland. Her publications include Silver in Georgian Dublin: making selling consuming (2016),  Studies in Irish Georgian Silver (2020) and (edited with Toby Barnard), Speculative Minds in Georgian Ireland: novelty, experiment and widening horizons(2023).  Her current research focuses on exhibitions and urban spectacle during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.