DESCRIPTIVE PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT BY HER MAJESTY.

Wood-engraved single sheet panorama in four strips (565 x 450 mm), crudely coloured and folded, with title at top left, some splitting to joints; in the original green publisher's wrapper, titled in black, lower wrapper lacking, some chipping to edges and lightly dust-soiled, but a remarkable survival nonetheless.

Rare panorama depicting the State Opening of Parliament, likely sold on the day to crowds lining the procession route. The panorama itself, presented as four strips, one above the other, on a single sheet, has been printed from the same blocks as another we have seen by T. Goode, but with new references set beneath the panorama image (see below).

The procession advances from right to left with the Queen accompanied by Prince Albert, and captioned where appropriate: 'Entrance to Parliament House'; 'Beefeaters'; 'Carriage of the Prime Minister'; 'Herald'; 'Her Majesty's Spokeman's Carriage'; 'Officer of the Life Guardsmen'; 'Queen's Carriage'; 'Life Guardsmen'; and 'Lord John Russell's Carriage.' The procession advances from r. to l. The Queen is accompanied by Prince Albert. Earlier the block for 'Beefeaters' had been used for T. Goode's 'Panorama of the Lord Mayor's Show'; as too had the block for 'Her Majesty's Spokesman's Carriage' (previously uncaptioned), and 'Lord John Russell's Carriage' (previously 'The Recorder in his Carriage', explaining why Lord Russell seems to be holding a mace). It would be the Horse Guards who would have taken part in the procession; the beefeaters would have been awaiting the monarch in the House of Lords.

It is curious to note that the 'Entrance to Parliament House' bears no resemblance to the Royal Entrance in Victoria Tower, and instead looks more like the Soane entrance, but that was destroyed in the fire of 1838, so perhaps more evidence of earlier blocks being repurposed.

In the London directories William Sutton's name replaces Georgina Duggan's at 2 Bartlett's Passage in 1860. The Prime Minister at the time was Palmerston and Lord John Russell was Foreign Secretary. The panorama also represents one of the final depictions of Queen Victoria accompanied by Prince Albert, who died in 1861.

Not in OCLC.