ABSTRACT
The services of the Contracts Department at Chesham House were in great demand during the eighties. Charity bazaars in aid of worthy causes were a recurring feature of Victorian high society life, and Liberty's were often called upon to transform the ugly public buildings in which they were usually held. Exhibitions, also, were fashionable - symbolic of the earnest culture of the Victorians and of their pride in Britain's industry and her Empire. During the eighties, four major exhibitions were held in the old grounds of the Albert Hall, the site of the future Indian Museum. The Albert Palace was a glass and iron building, similar to the Crystal Palace. ‘Regent Street was profusely decorated with flowers, beflagged and illuminated at night, when Londoners first saw the full power of the electric light which, although no longer a novelty, had never been seen on such a scale.
