Panorama

Description and illustrated plan of the panoramic view of the Battle of Waterloo exhibited at Barker's Panorama on Leicester Square in 1852. Stored within buff covers with a handwritten title, the booklet comprises a twelve page written description and a folded illustrated plan with a key.

Opened in 1793 by Robert Barker, Barker’s panorama on Leicester Square was pioneering in its immersive panoramic displays and public interest was secured through the display of paintings relevant to the time. The panorama of the Battle of Waterloo, for example, was first exhibited just one year after the battle which took place in 1815. In order to properly capture the landscape and emotion Henry Aston Barker travelled to the site of the battle and to Paris to interview soldiers. It was so succesful that it re-exhibited a number of times thereafter, drawing around £10, 000 in total.