| Brief Description |
This woven silk bookmark commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, celebrating 50 years of her reign.
Celebrated in June 1887, she travelled by train on the 20th from Windsor to Paddington and across the parks to Buckingham Palace for a royal banquet in the evening. Fifty foreign kings and princes and the leaders of Britain's overseas colonies and dominions attended the feast. The next day she rode in the gilded state landau, drawn by six cream-coloured horses, to Westminster Abbey, escorted by Indian cavalry. She wore, not a crown, but her usual bonnet and gown. Ranks and ranks of soldiers marched past spectators, who watched from terraced benches secured to 10 miles of scaffolding erected for the purpose. She later appeared on the balcony of Buckingham palace, where she was cheered by the huge crowds.
Commemorative souvenirs have marked royal events such as Jubilees for centuries. Popular Victorian items included coins, stamps and ceramics with transfer prints on affordable items such as cups, bowls, jugs and vases.
Other Victorian Jubilee pieces included teapots, butter dishes, mirrors, handkerchiefs and woven silk pictures.
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