250 Years of The British Museum

A group of uniformed guards stand around the priceless gold death mask of Egyptian King Tutankhamun
Express Newspapers / Getty

Record Breaker
A group of uniformed guards stand around the priceless gold death mask of Egyptian King Tutankhamun. The 1972 exhibition attracted a crowd of 1,694,117 visitors, making it the most successful in British history.

Get the Latest Photos from Time.com
Get TIME photos and pictures of the week delivered directly to your inbox.