EDWARD VII

Sir Francis Philip CUNLIFFE-OWEN (1828-1894) was an exhibition organiser and the Director of the South Kensington Museum in London. He acted as director of the foreign sections for the 1862 International Exhibition in London. He helped Cole as assistant executive commissioner for the Paris 1867 Exposition Universelle. He was appointed secretary of the Royal Commission and to represent Britain at the 1873 Weltausstellung in Vienna, Austria, reporting to the Edward, Prince of Wales. Cunliffe-Owen is known to have worked closely with and directly under Sir Henry Cole, one of the king’s closest allies in his royal work in promoting the arts and sciences of Great Britain. Henry Cole was the first Director of the South Kensington Museum, later called the Victoria & Albert Museum, and from 1860 Cole's second-in-command was Cunliffe-Owen, whose title was Assistant Director. Cole is credited with devising the concept of sending greetings cards at Christmas time, introducing the world's first commercial Christmas card in 1843. He held such sway in the arts in Victorian England that his nickname was “King Cole”.