1878
National Central Library
Roma, Public domain
This image looks almost like a snap-shot of the inside of one of the “Oriental” pavilions at the exhibition held in Paris in 1878. The faces of the visitors seem to express their curiosity and fear as they inspect the young salesman and his wares: both appear so “different” from anything they’re used to seeing.
Interior of Kairouan Mosque, Tunis
1850–1892
National Archaeological Museum
Madrid, Spain
Photography was one of the most effective mediums for each country to document itself, not only in terms of artistic heritage but also to show elements of popular culture, such as costume for example. This is one of 89 photos taken by the Tunisian Antiquities Service for the European Historic Exhibition held in Madrid in 1892.
Medal – The Great Exhibition Palace, London 1851
1851
National Museum of Romanian History
Bucharest, Romania
The Crystal Palace symbolised the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. The verso of this celebrative medal reads: “Proposed by H.R.H Prince Albert. Designed by Josh Paxton. Erected by Fox Henderson & Co. Occupies 18 acres.” The recto details the measurements of the building and the weights of the steel and glass.
1854
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
When the Great Exhibition closed on 11 October 1851 the Crystal Palace Company bought the structure and reconstructed it at huge expense at Sydenham. Philip Henry Delamotte photographed the reconstruction of the Crystal Palace between 1851 and 1854. He also took this picture of the “Alhambra Court” designed by Owen Jones and inspired by his extensive studies of the palace.
1854 (publication of the book)
The British Library
London, United Kingdom
This painting of the interior of Crystal Palace is by Owen Jones. It shows how the Exhibition was on two levels, the upper floor hosting exhibitions about “all nations” separated by huge tapestries. Yellow, blue and red dominated the colour scheme used tastefully throughout in accordance with contemporary decorative taste.
The Nubian Court; Interior view of The Crystal Palace in Sydenham
c.1854
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
The Crystal Palace constructed at Sydenham had an additional two storeys added to it; each “Court” of the new Great Exhibition would illustrate a particular period in history. To this end, Matthew Digby Wyatt and Owen Jones travelled the world making plaster casts of significant sculptures and monuments. This print shows the “Nubian Court” designed by Jones. The life-size replicas of Pharaohs and Sphinxes provide a sense of the building’s scale.
1863
Soares dos Reis National Museum
Porto, Portugal
Palacio da Cristal, built a decade after its template in London, was designed by Thomas Dillen Jones for the International Exhibition held in Porto in 1865. By hosting this exhibition with around 3,000 international exhibitors, Portugal sought not only to keep pace with progress but also to promote its colonial empire.
The Exhibition!! The triumph of industry
1867
National Library of France
Paris, France
This caricature pokes fun at the “universal cult” of Industry, which here is seen seated on a throne alimented with carbon, while all the people of every nationality that surround her are totally oblivious to the pollution. It seems that even works of art can now be produced by machines!
Medal of Emperor Franz Joseph I
1873
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Coin Cabinet
Vienna, Austria
The celebrative medal struck for the exhibition held in Vienna in 1873 depicts the “Rotunda” pavilion designed by Scott Russell; there is a portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph I on the obverse. The medal commemorates the 25th anniversary of the emperor’s reign and, after several military defeats, it also represents the Austrian Empire’s integrity while also celebrating the renovated city.
Geographical Society, Portugal’s Room
1875
Photography Archive, Lisbon City Council, CML
Lisbon, Portugal
Algerian Shoemaker at the Trocadéro [Paris Exhibition, 1878]
1878
National Central Library
Rome, Italy
The catalogue for the exhibition held in Paris in 1878 describes in detail the work of the artisans who were “exhibited” in the “Oriental Bazaar” next to the Trocadéro Park. Seen here is a member of the Kabyle people, traditionally slipper-makers, from the province of Constantine. The report is not free from the usual generalised statements and the inevitable comparison with occidental costume.
'Ethnographic Exhibition' [Paris Exhibition, 1878]
1878
National Central Library of Rome
Rome, Italy
At the Paris exhibition of 1878, Colonel le Clerc’s so-called Ethnographic Exhibition was organised in three rooms, in which 72 human “types” from around the world were represented, dressed-up and armed as warriors. A great deal of attention was paid to rendering the face and physical appearance generally; le Clerc wanted to assimilate the “theoretical” with the picturesque.
Exposition in Algiers - façade of the Pavillon des Beaux-Arts, in the Place du Gouvernement
1880
National Library of France
Paris, France
The first “Algerian” exhibition held in Paris in 1889 was France’s opportunity to promote the benefits of colonisation. The paintings exhibited there demonstrated that the colonisers were totally estranged from the local culture. This can be seen on the left, in the Mauresque jouant avec son enfant (Moor playing with her child) by Émile Charles Labbé, which is a singular reassessment, in the Orientalist style, of the famous Madonna del velo by Raphael.
1888
Photography Archive, Lisbon City Council, CML
Lisbon, Portugal
The 19th-century World’s Fairs signal the transnational networks between the European and the Arab worlds. In 1888, Lisbon, the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire, organised an Industrial Exhibition. This photo, depicting a group of people under the entrance arch, captures the event.
Portuguese Industrial Exhibition, General view of Avenida de Liberdade
1888
Photography Archive, Lisbon City Council, CML
Lisbon, Portugal
In this general view of the Avenida da Liberdade (Avenue of Liberation) in Lisbon, the top of one of the pavilions built for the Exhibition of 1888 is visible. The image contextualizes the popularity of this exhibition showing the surrounding area populated by people, vehicles, trees and buildings.
Gustave Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower in 1889
1889
National Library of France
Paris, France
The Eiffel Tower, depicted on a poster for the exhibition held in Paris in 1878, is seen as a symbol of France’s industrial innovation and vitality. The other images represent the Palace of Industries where the “Dôme Central” was the first building to use electricity to large extent, and the “Machine Gallery”, intended to promote modern industrial machines, had some exhibits that looked well into the technological future.
The opening of the exhibition, by Blass. M. Carnot and his entourage, pass under the Eiffel tower
1889
National Library of France
Paris, France
The iconography connected with individual International Exhibitions was sometimes employed by magazine and newspaper journalists to reveal the “hidden side” of the official narrative connected with them. In France, for example, this cartoon was published to mock good naturedly the auto-celebrative use of the 1889 exhibition which was held during a difficult political period in France.
Oussman Gassi, King of Bundu, 42 years, born in Sendou
1889
National Library of France
Paris, France
This series of 41 anthropological photographs was presented at the exhibition held in Paris in 1889. The photographic medium was used in order to satisfy the public’s curiosity about African and Asian peoples, but their curiosity was fuelled by exhibitions and studies that at the time were considered “scientific”.
1890
National Library of France
Paris, France
1893
Istanbul Archeological Museums
Istanbul, Turkey
This is a memorial volume for the World’s Columbian Exposition, or Chicago World’s Fair, which was held in 1893 to celebrate the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World in 1492. The Ottoman Empire was invited to participate in this extremely influential social and cultural event.