Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/840

Rh 804 EXHIBITION countries, even the tents of some of the nomad tribes, such as the Kirghis Tartars, Samoyeds, Bedouin Arabs, &c., being exhibited. In addition, all kinds of civil and mili tary erections of general importance were represented. In May 1873 an international exhibition was opened in the Imperial Park at Vienna. The building in which it was held was of enormous size, covering about 40 acres. The principal part of the edifice was a grand nave nearly 1000 yards long, in the midst of which rose a vast rotunda or dome of great height. In this part of the building objects of a trophy character were exhibited, and presented a coup d oeil of surpassing grandeur. An immense number of prizes and diplomas were distributed, and the awards were shared by almost every nation in the world. This ex hibition was closed in November 1873. It was not a success financially, there being a considerable deficit in the receipts. The building has been converted into a national museum. In 1876, after five years of preparation, the great inter national exhibition of America, a centennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence, was opened in Fair- mount Park, Philadelphia, on the 10th of May. The main building was in the form of a parallelogram extending east and west, 1880 feet in length and 464 feet in width. Its central span, in which was situated the grand avenue, was 1832 feet long by 120 feet wide, being the longest of such a width ever introduced into an exhibition building. The greater portion of the structure was one story high, the in terior height being 70 feet. In the centre were four square towers 120 feet high. The frame work was of iron, filled in with glass and wood; it covered 20 - 02 acres. With the other buildings attached to the exhibition, a total space of 60 acres were covered. Besides the main building there were the machinery hall, the horticultural hall (built in a Moorish style), the agricultural hall, the memorial hall or art gallery, the Government building, covering about 2 acres, in which were illustrated the functions of the Government in time of peace and its resources as a war power. Besides these there were the women s pavilion, the judges hall, and a great many smaller erections, including a Swedish schoolhouse, a timber-framed house somewhat in the style of the 16th century, which formed the head-quarters of the British commission. A structure having the homely designation of &quot; department of public comfort &quot; was used as a place of rest and convenience. The total number of buildings within the inclosure was over 160, and their cost was 1,600,000. The number of exhibitors was 60,000, derived from 37 nations. The promenades in the main building were 25 miles in length. In England, after the great displays of 1851 and 1862 a feeling began to gain ground that as the activity and in genuity of manufacturers and designers were constantly directed to fresh efforts, universal expositions would attain such gigantic proportions as to become quite unmanageable. A resolution was therefore come to by the British commis sioners, as trustees of the fund derived from the proceeds of the great exhibition of 1851, that the objects suitable for ex hibition should be divided into groups, and that exhibitions of selections from these groups should be held at more fre quent intervals. A plan was then arranged for a series of exhibitions of the fine arts, recent scientific inventions and discoveries, and two or three branches only of manufactures, providing at the same time for the representation of each distinct manufacture once in ten years. Exhibitions were accordingly held in 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1874, but at last it was found that they lost the attractiveness of novelty, and failed to draw the multitude of sight-seers who flocked to the great exhibitions of 1851 and 1862. Notwithstanding these views of the British commissioners, an Exposition Universdle on a great scale was opened in Paris on 1st May 1878 by the President, Marshal MacMahon. It is expected to unite the civilized world, as the sciences are represented as well as the arts. The building, or Industrial Palace, is an enormous erection in the Champ de Mars, consisting of a series of rectangular galleries in which each country has been allotted a division more or less important. Besides the main building, there are about a dozen annexes without the enceinte of the palace. Immediately across the Seine there is a second palace situated in the Trocadero (so named from a Spanish fort in the harbour of Cadiz, captured in 1823), amidst ornamental gardens with cas cades. This is devoted to the fine arts and music, and is to remain a permanent monument of the exhibition. It contains a music gallery even larger than the Albert Hall, London. The space occupied by the exhibition is about 140 English acres; and the total expense has been an nounced by the minister of commerce as about 1,800,000 sterling. An international exhibition is proposed to be held in 1879 at Melbourne, a city which in 1851 was a town of but 20,000 inhabitants. Of the London Great Exhibition of 1851 an official cata logue was published the same year in 4 vols. 8vo, and in 1852 a volume of reports by the juries on the subjects in the 30 classes into which the exhibition was divided, in royal 8vo. A sumptuous edition of this catalogue on large paper was printed, of which copies were presented to dis tinguished personages and public libraries. Of the exhi bition of 1862 an illustrated catalogue was printed by the commissioners the same year in 4 vols. 8vo. Of the Paris exposition held in 1855 there was an official catalogue published the same year; and a Rapport sur V Exposition Universdle (also published) was presented by Prince Napoleon to the emperor in 1857. Of the exposition of 1867 there was published in London the same year a translation from the proof-sheets of the French official cata logue. Of the Vienna exhibition of 1873 there was an official illustrated general catalogue, with a large number of reports of the juries, &c. Of the Philadelphia exhibition there was an official catalogue printed in four languages English, French, German, and Spanish; a series of reports and awards under the different groups into which the ex hibition was divided is now being published. Besides the general catalogues of the great international exhibitions, there have been published an immense number of catalogues of the exhibits of the different countries at each, which are to be found available for reference in the South Ken sington and other industrial museums. Various beautifully illustrated books, representing the works of art exhibited, have been published both in London and Paris; and one, iZtiides sur f Exposition de 1878, intended to be a complete record of the progress made in all the arts up to the present date, is about to be issued under the direction of E. Lacroix. The following table shows the statistics of the first six great international exhibitions : Acres. Exhibitors. Cost. Days open. Receipts. Number of Visitors. London of 1851 21 24 234 37 40 60 17,000 21,779 28,653 50,226 42,584 60,000 292,794 1,000,000 460,000 800,000 2,200,000 1,600,000 144 200 171 217 186 159 506,100 128,099 408,530 420,735 206,470 762,744 6,039,195 5,162,330 6,211,103 10,200,000 7,254,687 9,910,966 Paris of 1855 London of 1862.. Paris of 1867 Vienna of 1873 Philadelphia of 1876