was in 1851 recognised by the whole civilised world, not as a poetical fiction, but as a practical, we had almost said a political, truth. Hence the Crystal Palace, that glorious Temple of Concord, which those potent genii Fox and Henderson, at the bidding of the arch-magician Paxton, raised before our eyes, to put to shame the visionary glories of the _Arabian Nights_;--and hence the avidity with which, like ministering sprites, all the great manufacturers and producers, artists and artizans, vied with each other in assembling beneath its fairy dome the masterpieces of their respective skill, ingenuity, and science. Hence, too, the unfading interest with which, day after day, from May until October, did thousands upon thousands press forward to gaze upon a scene unparalleled in the world's history, whether for costliness of display or moral grandeur. Of such an event--of such a scene, which it was acknowledged fairly represented the productive genius of the whole world, all may well desire to preserve some remembrance; and whatever may be the fate of the Crystal Palace, the great gathering of the nations which assembled under its roof has found an imperishable monument in the three handsome octavo volumes which form _The Official Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition_, 1851. In this great and useful record--the raw materials for which were furnished by no fewer than _fifteen thousand authors_--we have not only an account of every article exhibited, accompanied in many instances by valuable notes from the ablest scientific pens, pointing out the leading features of interest in the objects described--which annotations again are rendered still more valuable by the twelve hundred woodcut illustrations which are scattered through these pages,--but we have also Mr. Cole's valuable Historical Introduction, illustrating the Rise of the Exhibition, its Progress and Completion; Mr. Digby Wyatt's able account of the Construction of the Building and of the mechanical applications employed; and Mr. Ellis' interesting description of the Revision and Preparation of the Catalogue; when we add that it contains, moreover, all sorts of Indices and Lists for facilitating references--our readers will, we think, agree with us that this most complete, instructive, and extraordinary Catalogue may fairly be regarded as _An Encyclopædia of the Industry of all Nations in 1851_, and as such should find a place not only in every factory and workshop, but in every study and educational establishment within the realm. To meet the requirements of those who cannot purchase the _Illustrated Catalogue_, Messrs. Spicer have issued a corrected and improved edition of the _Official Catalogue, with Alphabetical Indices of Names and Subjects, and British and Foreign Priced Lists_: while to enable the non-scientific reader to understand, and to furnish the scientific reader with the results, or, as we might term it, a