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| 1878Paris | |
|---|---|
 ThePalais du Trocadéro built for the occasion[1] was reused for the1900 Universal Exposition, when this postcard was printed | |
| Overview | |
| BIE-class | Universal exposition |
| Category | Historical Expo |
| Name | Exposition universelle de 1878 |
| Building(s) | Palais du Trocadéro |
| Area | 75 hectares (190 acres) |
| Invention(s) | Icemachine, Electric streetlights |
| Visitors | 13,000,000 |
| Participant(s) | |
| Countries | 36 |
| Location | |
| Country | France |
| City | Paris |
| Venue | Avenue des Nations |
| Coordinates | 48°51′44″N2°17′17.7″E / 48.86222°N 2.288250°E /48.86222; 2.288250 |
| Timeline | |
| Opening | 1 May 1878 (1878-05-01) |
| Closure | 10 November 1878 (1878-11-10) |
| Universal expositions | |
| Previous | Centennial Exposition inPhiladelphia |
| Next | Melbourne International Exhibition (1880) inMelbourne |
The1878 Universal Exposition[2] (French:Exposition Universelle,[ɛkspozisjɔ̃ynivɛʁsɛl]), also known as the1878 Paris Exposition,1878 World Fair, or1878 World Expo, was aworld's fair held inParis,France, from 1 May to 10 November 1878, to celebrate the recovery of France after the 1870–71Franco-Prussian War. It was thethird of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937.[a]
The buildings and the fairgrounds were somewhat unfinished on opening day, as political complications had prevented the French government from paying much attention to the exhibition until six months before it was due to open. However, efforts made in April were prodigious, and by 1 June, a month after the formal opening, the exhibition was finally completed.
This exposition was on a far larger scale than any previously held anywhere in the world. It covered over 66 acres (270,000 m2), the main building in theChamp de Mars and the hill ofChaillot, occupying 54 acres (220,000 m2). TheGare du Champ de Mars was rebuilt with four tracks to receive rail traffic occasioned by the exposition. ThePont d'Iéna linked the two exhibition sites along the centralallée. The French exhibits filled one-half of the entire space, with the remaining exhibition space divided among the other nations of the world. Germany was the only major country which was not represented, but there were a few German paintings being exhibited. The United States exhibition was headed by a series of commissioners, which includedPierce M. B. Young, a formerUnited States Congressman andmajor general in theConfederate States Army andFloyd Perry Baker, a Kansas newspaper editor, as well as other generals, politicians, and celebrities.
The United Kingdom,British India, Canada,Victoria,New South Wales,Queensland,South Australia,Cape Colony and some of theBritish crown colonies occupied nearly one-third of the space set aside for nations outside France. The United Kingdom's expenditure was defrayed out of the consolidated revenue; each British colony defrayed its own expenses. The UK display was under the control of a royal commission, of which thePrince of Wales was president.
The exhibition of fine arts and new machinery was on a very large and comprehensive scale, and theAvenue des Nations, a street 730 metres in length, was devoted to examples of the domestic architecture of nearly every country in Europe and several in Asia, Africa and America.The "Gallery of Machines" was a metallic building, an industrial showcase of low transverse arches, designed by the engineerHenri de Dion (1828–78). Many of the buildings and statues were made ofstaff, a low-cost temporary building material invented in Paris in 1876, which consisted ofjute fiber,plaster of Paris, andcement.
On the northern bank of theSeine River, an elaborate palace was constructed for the exhibition at the tip of thePlace du Trocadéro. It was a handsome "Moorish" structure, with towers 76 metres in height and flanked by two galleries. It had aCavaillé-Coll organ which was inaugurated with a concert in whichCharles Marie Widor played the premiere of hisSymphony for Organ No. 6.[3] The building stood until 1937. On 30 June 1878, the completed head of theStatue of Liberty was showcased in the garden of the Trocadéro palace, while other pieces were on display in the Champs de Mars.
Among the many inventions on display wasAlexander Graham Bell's telephone. Electricarc lighting had been installed all along the Avenue de l'Opera and the Place de l'Opera, and in June, a switch was thrown and the area was lit by electricYablochkov arc lamps, powered byZénobe Gramme dynamos.[4]Thomas Edison had on display amegaphone andphonograph. International juries judged the various exhibits, awarding medals of gold, silver and bronze. One popular feature was ahuman zoo, called a "negro village", composed of 400 "indigenous people". AndAugustin Mouchot's solar-powered engine converting solar energy into mechanical steam power,[5] he won a gold medal in Class 54 for his works, most notably the production of ice using concentrated solar heat.Henry E. Steinway exhibited a grand piano which "attracted extraordinary attention".[6]
Over 13 million people paid to attend the exposition, making it a financial success. The cost of the enterprise to the French government, which supplied all the construction and operating funds, was a little less than a million British Pounds, after allowing for the value of the permanent buildings and theTrocadéro Palace, which were sold to the city of Paris. The total number of persons who visited Paris during the time the exhibition was open was 571,792, or 308,974 more than came to the French metropolis during 1877, and 46,021 in excess of the visitors during the previous exhibition of 1867. In addition to the general impetus given to French trade, the revenue from customs and duties from the foreign visitors increased by nearly three million sterling compared with the previous year.
Concurrent with the exposition, a number of meetings and conferences were held to gain consensus on international standards. French writerVictor Hugo led the Congress for the Protection of Literary Property, which led to the eventual formulation of internationalcopyright laws. Similarly, other meetings led to efforts to standardize the flow of mail from country to country. The International Congress for the Amelioration of the Condition of Blind People led to the worldwide adoption of theBraille System of touch-reading.
The Paris firm of Gruel and Engelmann was known for its deluxe bookbindings. The Book of Hours is aGothic Revival example, for which the celebrated Paris jewelerAlexis Falize (1811–1898) created a relief showing theAdoration of the Magi, surrounded by fantastic animals derived from the amusing, marginal decoration found in some medieval manuscripts. The filigree and granular work is of exceptional quality. Since the binding does not contain a book, it may have been produced solely for the firm's display at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1878.
![Allegorical figure by Léon François Chervet, now at Agde, as Amphitrite[9]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAgde-amphitrite-DSCF1186.jpg)
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