Annual archaeological exhibitions were a visible symbol of archaeological research. Held mainly in London during the Season, the displays encapsulated a network of archaeologists, artists, architects and curators, and showcased the work of the first generations of trained archaeologists. The exhibition catalogues and published reviews of the displays provide a unique method for exploring the reception and sponsorship of archaeological work overseas and its promotion to a fascinated, well connected and moneyed public. The exhibitions were a space in which conversation and networking were as important as educational enrichment. This paper analyses the social history of the "annual exhibition" in archaeology, highlighting the development and maintenance of the networks behind archaeological research, the geography of London as a way to examine influence in archaeology, and the utility of exhibitions for archaeological publicity during this period of exploration.
Jane Ellen Harrison, eccentric Newnham don and classicist, delivered an annual lecture to first year students. She delivered her lectures in dimness so her lantern slides would be clearly visible, adopting a theatrically high-pitched lecture voice for dramatic effect. 1 In 1903, listening enraptured in the audience, sat Agnes Conway, a first year history student. Conway wrote to her mother afterwards saying: 'it was perfectly lovely -But oh dear, I wish I knew Greek! I am perfectly fired to learn, for it is no good doing Archaeology without it, I have discovered […]'. 2 Agnes Conway's love of archaeology began from that lecture, largely due to Harrison's singular style. Few could match Harrison's delivery; Conway described how another Newnham student's paper on Knossos left her uninspired:I couldn't help thinking how oppositely the same subject affects you when treated by different people […] it is an enthralling subject, but if Miss Harrison had done it, I should have been out of myself by this time and rampant about Archaeology. 3
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