People living in opera boxes and using them as hotels during the Great Exhibition in London. Etching by George Cruikshank, 1851.

London (86 Fleet St) : Bogue

1 print : etching ; sheet 22 x 28.5 cm

The opera boxes during the time of the Great Exhibition. "In consequence of the great pressure for lodgings, the proprietor of Her Majesty's Theatre, with his usual readiness to meet the wishes and to give every possible accommodation to the public, allows parties visiting the opera, to retain their boxes, as dormitories, untill the following day". (This plan will doubtless be followed by all the London theatres.) George Cruikshank.

Wellcome Collection 32529i