'Gem-painting' or ‘jewel-painting' is the collective name given to the technique of reverse glass painting in which a scene is painted onto the reverse of a sheet of glass and usually backed with bright coloured and metal foils to give an iridescence. This example depicts the famous Crystal Palace.

This huge cast iron and glass building was erected in Hyde Park, London to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. This Exhibition was intended to symbolize the industrial, military and economic superiority of Great Britain in the Victorian Age. After the exhibition closed, the Crystal Palace moved to Sydenham Hill in South London and was reconstructed as what was, in effect, a massive Victorian 'theme park'. It was opened by Queen Victoria on 10 June 1854. The card case depicts the building in its new location and is inscribed 'Sydenham'.

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