ABSTRACT
The critical juncture in Hallé’s story is undoubtedly the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857. This is widely recognized as being the point where Manchester woke up to its reputation as a soulless place where money and manufacture ruled, and resolved to enjoy a celebration of culture – ironically, making a contrast with the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace (first erected in South Kensington) of 1851, which, in the more cultured south, had emphasized manufacture.
