iv                                               Pkefacb.

corrected. Those parties who have failed to send their goods, have been
excluded from the lists, with the rare exceptions of a few whose contribu¬
tions were unavoidably delayed, and are known to be forthcoming at an
early day. The names and objects of foreign exhibitors have been care¬
fully corrected by their printed cards, or by the original invoices from
their own hands.

The history of the London catalogue of 1851 was so remarkable, that
it was told at gi'eat length in the Times and other journals, and eventu¬
ally incorporated into the catalogue itself. The first edition of that work
was still more imperfect than the now superseded edition of this catalogue,
and it is well known that the fourth and last revised edition of it appeared
but a very short time before the close of the Exhibition. The story of the
London catalogue, with its toils, its difficulties, its delays, and its demands
upon the patience of its compilers and the pubhc, is not inapphoable to
the present work. The difference is not in the nature, but in the extent of
the labor, and to those who comprehend both, the history of this manual^
like that of its great prototype, is not without interest.

The Editor has sought dihgently to make his work perfect, not with
the expectation of literal success, but with the consciousness that only the
highest possible aim would insure the greatest practicable approximation
to perfection.

He begs the indulgence of all who may still detect errors annoying to
themselves, for they have escaped his best intentioned vigilance.

It would be unjust to close this preface without a cordial acknowledg¬
ment of the aid which has been rendered by the various superintendents
' of departments in the Exhibition. Tliey have shared in the solicitude of
the General Superintendents, and of the Editor, to have this catalogue as
correct as possible, and to their co-operation its improved condition is in
a great measure due.

The patience and zeal of the printers in making repeated revisions of
difficult manuscript, and continual additions to the text up to the latest
hour, entitle them to a generous share in these acknowledgments.

It is gratifying to reflect that whatever errors may still be found in the
following pages, they are not beyond the reach of correction; and to no
one will amendment be more grateful than to

THE EDITOR.