Egyptian Hall of Mystery

Picadilly between St. James and Duke Streets, backing onto Jermyn Street.

At the Egyptian Hall, stage magicians GeorgeACooke and JohnNevilMaskelyne performed exceptional illusions. Maskelyne and Cooke billed themselves as 'Royal Illusionists and Anti-Spiritualists', and apart from their work as illusionists they were also in the business of demonstrating that spiritualist mediums^? were frauds.

• advertisement in Charles Dickens, Jr., Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879

• Text at The Dictionary of Victorian London, but the link to the original is broken.

The Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, erected in 1812 in the Egyptian style of architecture, was originally built by Mr. Bullock, for the reception of his museum that long exhibited in Liverpool with considerable success was at length brought to London, and here terminated its fortunate career. The Egyptian Hall, since the removal of Mr. Bullock's Museum, has been devoted to the display of various exhibitions.

• Mogg's New Picture of London and Visitor's Guide to it Sights, 1844

Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly.—This building has long been celebrated for excellent entertainments, such as those of Albert Smith, Artemus Ward, and “Mrs.Brown.” For some years the principal hall has been successfully occupied by Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke’s Entertainment. The exhibitions of pictures and drawings known as the “Dudley” also take place here. NEAREST Railway Station, St. James’s. park; Omnibus Routes, Piccadilly and Regent-street Cab Rank, Albany.

Charles Dickens Jr., Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879

The Egyptian Hall next to 170 Piccadilly was built in 1812, for a museum of Natural History, collected by Mr. Bullock in Central America, which was exhibited here until 1819, and was then dispersed by auction. The hall was built and decorated in the Egyptian style of architecture by G. F. Robinson; its entablature is supported by colossal figures of Isis and Osiris. Among the numerous exhibitions which have taken place at the Egyptian Hall may be mentioned the Siamese Twins (1829), Haydon's Pictures of Xenophon, &c. (1832) Siborne's Model of the Battle of Waterloo (1838 and 1846), with 190,000 figures, now in the museum of the United Service Institution, Whitehall; Tom Thumb, the American Dwarf (1844) who in one room drew crowds to see him, and made over £100 a day, while in the adjoining apartment poor Haydon's grand pictures scarcely attracted as many shillings a week. In 1852 Albert Smith gave his Ascent of Mont Blanc here for the first time. The Dudley Gallery of Pictures has worthily occupied for some years of the chief exhibition rooms in the Hall; as also the Society of Lady Artists. Maskelyne and Cooke's with other popular entertainments are given here.

• Herbert Fry, London, 1889

See Bill Douglas's site for a little more information. See The Dictionary of Victorian London for more citations and some images.

-- ChrisLehrich^? - 28 Dec 2004

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