[5] - Of all the records of our race there are few more ancient than the records of its trade, and even in this nineteenth century there are countries in which traffic is still conducted almost as in the days of the Pharaohs. Says Ebers, in his Agypten und die Bücher Moses: "The traffic of the Nile with the East is still carried on about as in Joseph's time, the caravans bringing in their goods with Ishmaelites as leaders."

It was not until the days of Solomon that the Hebrews had an established foreign trade; nor was this trade, as some would have us believe, of a purely maritime character; for by Solomon were built and fortified the cities of Palmyra and Tadmar, the former as a caravan station for traffic with eastern Asia, and the latter as a point on the great caravan route between Babylon and Damascus. In the first book of Kings we have mention of a toll being levied on this traffic, and the cities of store there alluded to were merely bazaars or periodical fairs.

Among the Ph�nicians, for centuries the foremost of commercial nations, the fair does not appear to have been a favorite institution; but those of other countries were largely attended by Ph�nician merchants, who knew how to turn them to their own advantage. "They frequented," says Movers in his Die Ph�nizier, "the great and small festivals of the Israelites, which were connected with fairs, and the festivals of lower Egypt were connected with the arrival of the caravans from Ph�nicia twice a year." Elsewhere, as this writer remarks, eastern trade was facilitated and promoted by the old custom of holding fairs at the sacred places in connection [6]with the great festivals, and with the scattered and often disunited nomadic tribes of Arabia and Africa such festivals were the only means on intercourse.

At the fairs held in many of the principal seaports and inland towns of the ancient world, Ph�nician merchants were present; for almost until the downfall of Carthage their commerce extended in every direction, penetrating by way of the Persian gulf to the coasts of Africa and Hindostan, while through the straits of Gibralter their vessels passed north to the British isles for cargoes of tin, and to the shores of the Baltic for amber. All the products of their own and other lands, whether articles of common use or such as would cater to luxury and fashion, were carried from far and near between the leading marts of traffic by these eager and covetous traders.

Among the ancient Greeks there were fairs in connection with their popular assemblies, especially those held for political purposes, and even at the Olympic and other games, where trading was an important feature. Such at least is the statement of Cicero, who relates that as far back as the days of Pythagoras the religious games were frequented by merchants for the purposes of traffic. At Delphi annual fairs were held, partaking of a religous character, as was the case in most European countries until far into the middle ages. In Rome, the market-place where Horace loved to stroll while bargaining for his corn and oil, was thronged with vast multitudes on occasions of festive and political gatherings, and on such occasions the special facilities for trade gave to these markets the character of fairs.

Among African nations, whether savage or civilized, the commercial instinct is strongly developed, and even in the interior of the dark continent most of the tribes are to a certain extent engaged in trade. For many centuries Cairo was the emporium for some of the choicest productions of the earth, and here annual fairs were held on the arrival of the caravans from Syria, Arabia, and central Africa, bringing with them goodly stores of gold dust ivory and ostrich feathers, aromatics, spices and perfumes, together with bands of slaves, the traffic in human flesh yielding larger profits than all the rest. In the villages scattered throughout the congo basin periodical markets are held for the sale of food and clothing, and on the lower Niger there are fairs once a fortnight at various points, permitting commercial intercourse with neighboring tribes, and forming the nearest approach to foreign commerce of which this region is capable. In the district traversed by Mungo Park fairs were not infrequent. "At Sansanding, near Sego," he says, "there is a very large space which is appropriated for the great market every Tuesday. On this day astonishing crowds of people come from the country to purchase articles at wholesale, and retail them at the different villages."

At Mecca is held, during the annual pilgrimage, the greatest of Arabian fairs, and one of the greatest in the world, the concourse, though largely diminished within recent years, often exceeding 100,000 of the faithful,[7] among whom is a large admixture of merchants and traders. Elsewhere in Arabia there are fairs and festivals in many localities on certain days of the week, attended by the villagers from all the country round, traffic being followed by games, races, recitations, and other amusements. In the province of Hasa the fair is one of the most ancient of its institutions, and among others may be mentioned those held at Hofhoof, and at the town of Mebarraz, toward the north, where the booths are so arranged as to form temporary streets and squares. The goods exposed for sale would appear to be selected more for utility than elegance, and include such articles as brass utensils, coarse clothing and sandals, muskets and daggers, with a miscellaneous assortment of beasts of burden, especially of camels and dromedaries. By professional peddlers are offered, in temporary booths, glass bracelets, beads, and morrors, with arm and ankle rings of copper, brass, or silver, while elsewhere are piled in front of the vendors, both male and female, bags of meal and flour, bundles of sugar cane, and heaps of vegetables and fruit, of charcoal and firewood.

At Ocadh was held, once a year, a general assembly of the tribes, with a fair on the Sabbath of each week. Traffic was not, however, the main object of this gathering, but rather to encourage a friendly emulation among their poets. Nowhere was poetry held in greater esteem than among the Arabs, in greater esteem than among the Arabs, whose orations were often delivered in metrical diction, and by whom no accomplishment was held in such esteem as that of writing smooth and elegant verse. The rise of a new poet was made a subject of congratulation by the neighboring tribes, and only on two other occasions were such congratulations tendered, these being the birth of a boy and the dropping of a foal of superior breed. The assembly, with its attendant fair, was suppressed by Mohammed, in whose days poetry could not go hand in hand with the Koran and the sword.

In India the local traffic of the larger towns is conducted at the bazaars, which are in the nature of permanent markets, while, at many of the villages, weekly markets or fairs are held at Hurdwar, on the upper Ganges during the season fo the vernal equinox, and is attended by 200,000 to 300,000 visitors, while at the sacred festival, held every twelfth year, it si said that no less than 2,000,000 pilgrims and merchants are present. On such occasions every article of home production is offered for sale, and thousands of the smaller class of traders add to the collection everything that can be packed into a peddler's wallet.

But it is with the fairs of Europe and America that we are more immediately concerned, and before presenting a brief outline of their history, a few remarks may be of interest as to their origin and characteristic features. In the majority of instances the ancient fairs of Europe were established in connection with religious festivals, and hence were held within or near some place of worship, or on some sacred spot, as around the shrine of a martyr, or the tomb of a saint. At first these gatherings were purely for devotional purposes, but presently a certain business was transacted in provisions, the demand for which increased with the influx of worshippers. Then came the idea of profiting by this traffic, followed by the attendance of merchants who offered for sale a variety of wares. In describing a miracle wrought at the tome of St Eugene, it is related by Gregory of Tours that, on the anniversary of his martyrdom, merchants offered their goods for sale in the atrium of the church, and, says Levasseur, writing of the Carolingian period in his Histoire des Classes Ouvrieres, "The aisles of the cathedral were then in Christian towns what the forum had been in Roman cities." At the fair of St Denis, the origin of which was an indictum, or assembly of the people, summoned by the archbishop of Paris in [8]1109, a piece of wood from the true cross was exhibited, and such was the curiosity of the people that almost until its suppression in 1789, this became one of the most popular of all European fairs.

Before and during the middle ages fairs were of unquestionable benefit, especially to remote and inland countries, where, even in the larger cities, shops were restricted in number, as were the articles offered for sale. Moreover, to many of them were granted valuable privileges, together with special facilities for traffic. For the most part they were exempt from taxation, and those who attended them received the protection of government for their persons and property, advantages duly estimated at a time when travel was difficult, and unsafe, and when commerce was burdened with imposts of every conceivable description. Such institutions were also beneficial as a means in instruction, bringing distant communities into closer contact with civilization, and affording an opportunity for comparing the qualities of home-made and foreign goods. With the development of legitimate commerce, however, they gradually became unnecessary, and now belong to an order of things that is rapidly passing away. In the United States fairs of this kind never acquired a permanent foothold, and if established in a few instances, were not considered of the same importance as among old-world communities.

In England the first fairs of which there are any record were in the opening years of the third century, at which date they were already regarded as a public necessity. As some have it, the word fair is derived from the Latin forum, a market place, though a more probable derivation is from fariæ, the festival days of the church, since in olden times fairs were held on such days in the churchyard, or even in the church itself. In the days of the Plantagenets the revenues proceeding from fairs were granted by the reigning sovereign to the dignitaries of the church, or for charitable purposes, as when King John bestowed a charter on the Stourbridge fair for the support of a leper hospital. Occasionally, however, they were applied to baser uses, the king's jester, for instance, receiving in 1133 a charter for the fair of St Bartholomew, held annually after that date until 1855, when this, the last of all the London fairs, was abolished as had been the rest, as public nuisances, "productive of grievous immorality."

While, during the first half of the present century, national exhibitions, and some almost of an international character, were held at the metropolitan cities of Europe, prejudice and indifference long stood in the way of such enterprises in the United Kingdom. Some minor efforts there were, as in the exposition of 1828, which after a lingering existence of several years, sank to the level of a bazaar; but the only one approaching to national importance was at Birmingham in 1849, and then considered as a marvel of industrial display. At length, after spread of railroad and steamship lines had [10]brought England into closer communication with the industrial and commercial centres of the world, it was determined to hold in London an international exhibition on such a scale as had never before been witnessed. A royal commission was appointed, and on a site appropriated for the purpose in Hyde park, was erected the temple of glass and iron known as the Crystal Palace, afterward removed in sections to its present location at Sydenham. It was in truth a stupendous and yet a tasteful edifice, its length corresponding in number of feet with the date of the year, with a width of 400 feet, and an annex of large proportions, covering in all an area of some 23 acres.

For the design, competition was invited from the architects of all civilized nations, and with the result that out of the 230 plans submitted, that of Joseph Paxton, who adopted as his model the leaf of the Victoria Regia, or African water lily, was the one selected. In the construction of this building, one of the largest as yet erected on the face of the earth, there were used 900,000 square feet or 400 tons of glass, with 3,300 iron columns, and of lumber and other materials sufficient to build a city almost as large as was then the city of Chicago. Within a few months the structure was completed by an army of workmen, mustering at times more than 2,000, and with many additional thousands employed in other departments of the enterprise.

On the first of May this so-called Great Exhibition was opened by the queen in person, in the presence of such an assemblage as had seldom before been gathered on British shores. The inaugural address was delivered by Prince Albert, one of the originators of the enterprise, and among the invited guests were such men as Lord Palmerston and the duke of Wellington. At a banquet given by the mayor of London the prince delivered an after-dinner oration, from which the following extract may be of interest, for his remarks apply with even more pertinence to the days in which we live: "Nobody who has paid any attention to the particular features of our present era, will doubt for a moment that we are living at a period of most wonderful transition, which tends rapidly to accomplish that great end to which all history points, the realization of the unity of mankind, not a unity which breaks down the limits and levels the peculiar characteristics of the different nations of the earth, but rather a unity, the results and products of these ver national varieties and antagonistic qualities. The distances which separated the different nations and parts of the globe are gradually vanishing before the achievements of modern invention, and we can traverse them with incredible speed; the languages of all nations are known, and their acquirement placed within the reach of everybody; thought is communicated with the rapidity, and even with the power of lightning. On the other hand the great principle of the division of labor, which may be called the moving power of civilization, is being extended to all branches of science, industry, and art. While formerly the greatest mental energies strove at universal knowledge, and that knowledge was confined to few, now they are directed to specialties, and these again to the minutest points. Moreover, the knowledge now acquired becomes the property of the community at large. Thus man is approaching a more complete fulfillment of that great and sacred mission which he has to perform in the world."

The exhibiting space was equally divided between home and colonial products and those of foreign lands, while of the 14,000 exhibitors somewhat less than half were of foreign nationality. Here was for the first time presented a general display of the productions of the civilized world, divided into the four departments of raw material, manufactures, machinery, and fine arts, and with 30 classes or subdivisions, of which only one was devoted to art, and contained but an indifferent collection, though including a few such gems as Powers' Greek Slave, for the first time displayed to English critics. Of all the exhibits the one that attracted the most attention was the famous Koh-i-noor diamond, around which clustered a ceaseless throng of the more vulgar sight-seers, eager for the hurried glance allowed them while passing in endless procession between files of the London police.

In the United States the Great Exhibition aroused but a feeble interest, the number of American visitors not exceeding 5,000, while of exhibitors there were somewhat less than 500. Of awards, however, we received a larger proportion than any of the foreign participants, including 107 medals and 53 honorable mentions, among other prizes being thos eawarded to McCormick's reaper, to the woolen and cotton fabrics of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and to American wagons, buggies, and trotting sulkies, whose lightness, strength, and durability were somewhat of a surprise to our English cousins.

During the 144 days that its doors remained open this fair was visited by more than 6,000,000 persons, [11] or an average of 42,000 a day, with receipts of about $2,500,00 against an outlay of less than $1,500,000. It is worthy of note that this, the first of our great world's fairs, was the only one which has thus far proved a great financial success, and that with a smaller expense and shorter existence than any, its earnings were the largest recorded prior to our own Centennial Exposition. As to its minor features it may be mentioned that goodly profits were secured, not only by the managers, but by those to whom special privileges were awarded. Thus the firm to whom was granted, for $16,000, the right of printing catalogues, sold about 300,000 copies for the sum of $75,000, netting from $30,000 to $40,000 by their bargain. But still more fortunate was he who obtained the contract for supplying refreshments, for which he paid but $27,500, against $375,000 as the total of receipts. To the average sight-seer a spectacle loses much of its interest if not accompanied with eating and drinking, and that this was no exception is shown by the enormous consumption of victual and drink, though meals were limited to cold meat, potatoes, bread in some shape, and temperance beverages. Among other articles there was consumed 2,350,000 loaves and cakes, or nearly half a loaf or cake to each visitor, with 700,000 pounds of ice, 70,000 of ham, of been an unknown quantity, and other materials in proportion.

The success of the Great Exhibition, and especially its financial success, led to similar enterprises in every portion of the civilized world, of which mention will be made in connection with the countries to which they belong. In England another exposition was projected for 1861, but the death of Prince Albert caused its postponement until the following year. On the first of May, 1862, it was opened in the grounds of the Horticultural society, London, with one of the most imposing pageants ever witnessed in this land of civic display. The building, incluidng its annexes, covered an area of more than 23 acres, and was surmounted, or rather consisted in part of two immense domes, larger than St Peter's, between which was a nave 800 by 80 feet, leading into a central avenue, and to innumerable glass-roofed aisles, galleries, and transepts. The exhibits numbered about 28,600, and resembled in the main, though on a larger an superior scale, those of the Exposition of 1851, as also did their classification, except for a few additional subdivisions. Among the more attractive features was the display of manufacturing and mechanical processes actually at work, as of needle machines, lithographic and copper-plate printing, type-casting, wood-carving, and the making of gold chains. On account of the civil war the United States was poorly represented, wiht only 128 exhibitors, to nearly all of whom were awarded either medals or honorable mentions. On this occasion the art display was one of which the managers had no cause to be ashamed, including nearly 3,400 original paintings, not a few of which have since become world famous, with 900 pieces of statuary, and a vast array of engravings and architectural designs. Though with 27 more admission days, the attendance was but slightly above that of 1851, and with receipts about $500,000 smaller, yet leaving a moderate surplus to the credit of the enterprise.

That no world's fairs have been held in England since 1862 is due to the prevailing impression that, with the ever-increasing variety of manufactures and mechanical and scientific appliances and inventions, these exhibitions would assume such mammoth proportions as to become unmanageable. It was therefore decided to hold an annual exhibition of the arts, of scientific inventions, and of manufactures, of the last only two or three branches at a time, but in such rotation as would permit all classes of manufactures to be represented at least once in every ten years. Though at first these smaller expositions were well attended, their frequency and the absence of any novel features soon brought them into disfavor.

[12] - In Dublin international exhibitions on a small scale were held in 1853 and 1865, both of which owed their existence to the liberality of private citizens. A feature in either was its art display, that of 1853 being one of the finest then extant, while many of the works in the collection of 1865 were secured by the British government. Though fairly attended they were not a financial success, and failed to arouse more than a local interest.

In connection with art exhibitions should be mentioned the one held in Manchester in 1857, to which were contributed some of the choicest gems in the possession of the Royal Academy and of private individuals, including those of such masters as Holbein and Van Dyke, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Turning to the annals of french fairs and expositions, we find that among the most ancient of the former were those held at Lyons, by permission of the roman conquerors, and probably dating back to the reign of Augustus, who gave to the town its first large public improvements, and made it the seat of an annual assembly of deputies form the sixty cities of Gaul then under roman sway. Early in the fifth century the fairs of Champagne were regarded as long established institutions, and about the middle of the seventh was granted to the monks of St Denys by Dagobert, king of the Franks, one of the first charters for this purpose of which any record remains, "for the glorie of Goddes and the honour of St Denys at hys festival," as a Saxon chronicler has translated the royal missive. It is somewhat of a reflection on the age to learn that human chattels were among the commodities exposed for sale, and it is even related - and that on no dubious authority - that French children were taken in exchange for slaves, to be bartered away in foreign lands. In common with others, the fairs of St Deys were largely attended by foreigners, the Germans bringing for sale their cattle, the Saxons from southern Angleland, or England, their tin and lead, while the Sclavic nations furnished other metals and metallic wares. In the reign of Childebert they were also frequented by Hungarians and Neustrians, though losing somewhat of their importance with the decadence of commerce.

Fairs could be legally established by the king alone, the first one instituted under the dynasty of the Franks being authorized by royal edict, while, several centuries later, we find in the capitularies of Charlemagne a clause forbidding markets of any kind, except such as might be authorized by prescription of the monarch or his ministers. For those held at Troyes regulations were framed by Philip of Valois, which fairly represented European legislation on this subject. There was a presiding judge and a court of justice, often with a jury of merchants or traders; there were police officers for the preservation of order and the execution of the court's decrees; there were notaries for the attestation of bargains, and numerous other officials, among them the prud' hommes, whose duties resembled those of our market inspectors - the examination of goods exposed for sale, and the condemnation of such as were unfit for use. In many districts, however, the jurisdiction of fairs, together with a toll on all moneys received for admission and for the sale of certain commodities, was assigned to the [13]regular or secular clergy, the latter in trust for their churches, in front of which the fairs were opened, with due solemnity and ceremonial.

In what may be called the later feudal period, from the closing years of the twelfth until nearly the middle of the fourteenth century, fairs were held at most of the towns and burghs, and in many of the villages, a series of such fairs forming in some districts a continuous market. By ordinance of 1327, says Bourquelot, in his Foires de Champagne, commissions were gratned by the wardens of fairs for the exchange of money. The men thus privileged occupied a high position, and for their accommodation special stalls were provided, "opening on a square or street, containing a table with a cover, a bench, and scales." Some of them, who appear to have been acquainted with the banking system of the Lombards and Florentines, added banking to their other business, and there are instances where loans of money were made by the money changers of Champagne to French and foreign merchants.

With the development of legitimate commerce fairs decreased in importance, though still affording many privileges, among them a partial exemption from the all-devouring system of taxation inaugurated during the latter dynasty of the Bourbons. In the reign of Louis XVI the right to establish fairs was still reserved by the monarch, and by his simple decree they could be created, modified, or suppressed. Finally, with a few exceptions, they were swept away in the storm of the French revolution. Among those that still survive, the most prominent is held at Beaucaire, during the last week of July, and to this certain privileges were gratned by the courts of Toulouse. In the centre of the town a plaza is devoted to the purpose, in which are erected hundreds of stalls, where is exposed for sale almost everything that forms an article of commerce.

To the French belongs the honor of first adding the national exhibition to the local fair, though by the English this distinction is claimed for the London Society of Arts, whose displays date back to the year 1761. The latter, however, while partially of an industrial character, and including agricultural and other machinery, can not properly be classed as national exhibitions. The first one worthy of the name, though lasting but for three days, and with only 110 exhibitors, was at the Temple of industry, erected by Napoleon in 1798, in the Champs de Mars. Here, also, was established the system of awarding premiums and prizes by the jury system, and with a special gold medal offered to him whose exhibit should suggest the most effectual means of destroying British commerce. Others were held at brief intervals ending with 1806, but followed a few years later by a larger exposition held at the Louvre in 1819, with more than 1,600 exhibitors, to whom were awarded some 800 medals and premiums. All these, and similar expositions continued until the middle of the century, were merely of a national character, not through the indifference of foreign countries, but as a matter of policy, the French minister a national character, not through the indifference of foreign countries, but as a matter of policy, the French minister forbidding the introduction of foreign products as an innovation dangerous to the industries of France.

In 1844, and again in 1849, industrial exhibitions were held in Paris, each one on a larger scale, and containing more varied exhibits than any of its predecessors. Both were located in the Champs Elysées, that [14] of 1849, though still only a national display, almost reaching the proportions of a modern exposition, with 5,000 exhibitors and nearly 4,000 awards. In the exhibits, which consisted mainly of manufactures and machinery in motion, there were no special features worthy of note.

Of the four international exhibitions held in Paris, the first was opened in the Champs Elysées by Louis Napoleon on the 17^th of May, 1855, and in the fine arts and their applications to industrial products contained such a collection as had never before been brought together. Conparing the display with that of the Great Exhibition in London, one could not but admit that Bonaparte's characterization of the British as a nation of shopkeepers was in a measure justified: for in the one the most attractive feature was its representation of the works of living artists, while the other was little more than an exhibit of raw produce, machinery, and manufactured goods.

Even in the Palais de l'Industrie, the arts were well represented, though with a special building, styled the Palais des Beaux Arts, set apart for this purpose, while agricultural implements and other mechanical appliances, of which the London show so largely consisted, were consigned to inferior departments. At the close of the fair, on the 15^th of November, medals were distributed among more than 10,000 of the 23,000 exhibitors, of whom more than one-half were foreigners. The Exposition was an unqualified success, except for its financial affairs, and even this was of little moment, as the loss was borne by the government, and was more than compensated for by the amount expended by half a million of visitors. Among those visitors were the queen of England, the prince consort, and the prince of Wales, with at least 40,000 of their subjects, for here was a more complete representation of British products than at the exposition of 1851.

Somewhat of a utilitarian character was the Exposition Universelle, opened in April, 1867, in the Champs de Mars, a fitting site for a great world's fair, since here was celebrated the festival of federation which preceded the overthrow of the Bourbon dynasty, and here, on the first of June, 1815, the great Napoleon held the last of his coronation ceremonies. At none of our international expositions, before or since, have the monarchies of the world been so largely represented, among those whom the French emperor entertained as his guests being the czar of Russia, the prince of Wales, the kings of Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, the sultan of Turkey, and the khedive of Egypt.

One of the main purposes of the Exposition Universelle was to furnish, as far as possible, a complete exemplification of the industrial resources of mankind, so classified that nearly all branches of industry, as applied to the satisfaction of human wants, were here represented. One of the most interesting features was the [16]architectural display, in which were reproduced the buildings of all nations, including all styles, classes, and periods of civil, military, ecclesiastical, and domestic architecture, from a fortress to a guard-house, from a cathedral to a wayside chapel, and from the palatial residence of a European to the hut of an Eskimo and the tent of a Bedouin Arab. Not the least remarkable among the architectural specimens was the Exposition building itself, in the shape of an oval, covering 37 acres of ground, except for a small open garden in the centre, from which radiated twelve concentric aisles. The design, which was selected by Prince Napoleon, was such as to present the display of exhibits by classes and countries, so that each class of products could be followed in one continuous series through every producing nation.

Though better represented than at former expositions, especially as to the display of machiner and inventive appliances, the United states had but 536 out of the 50,000 exhibitors. This country secured, however, a large percentage of awards, larger indeed than any other nation except France, herself, including five grand prizes, 18 gold medals, 76 silver and 98 bronze medals, with 93 honorable mentions. As the American commissioner remarked, "The high position conceded by the verdict of the juries to American industrial products was not due in general to graceful design, fertile combinations of pleasing colors, elegant forms, elaborate finish, or any of the artistic qualities which cultivate the taste by awakening in the mind a higher sense of beauty; but it was owing to their skillful, direct, and admirable adaptation to the great wants they were intended to supply, and to the originality and fertility of invention which converts the elements and natural forces to the commonest uses, multiplying results and diminishing toil." At a meeting of foreign commissioners, held at the close of operations, it was recommended that other exhibitions should be held in rotation at the leading capitals of Europe; that inasmuch as their usefulness depends not on size, but on selection or quality, the tendency to increase the size of each succeeding exposition should be discouraged; that in future no prizes be awarded; that no goods be removed for sale, thus degrading an exposition to the level of a bazaar; and that for the better comparison of exhibits, arrangement should be by classes rather than by nationalities. Though offered by men whose experience and professional standing should have been given weight to their opinions, it does not appear that these excellent suggestions were adopted at other of the great world's fairs.

On the first of May, 1878, was inaugurated, by President MacMahon, the Exhibition of the Works of Art and Industry of all Nations, the first held in Europe under republican auspices. Again the Champs de Mars was selected as the site of the principal building, the Palais d'Industrie, arranged in a series of rectangular galleries, and with a dozen or more annexes outside its walls, covering in all an area of 54 acres. In the centre of this mammoth structure was the pavilion of Paris, containing the exhibits of the city in its corporate capacity, a neat and tasteful edifice absolutely novel in design. On the rue des Nations space was allotted to foreign participants, where each nation erected its own building according to its choice; and very odd was the choice of some of them, especially that of the United States, for the first time represented at European fairs by a home of its own. On the opposite side of the Seine, beyond the bridge of Jena, and half a mile distant from the Palais d'Industrie, was the palace of the Trocadero, afterward preserved as an exposition monument, and so named after a port in the Cadiz roads, captured by the French in 1823. This was devoted to music and the fine arts, with spacious galleries and open colonnades, and in its centre a vast music hall, accessible from all portions of the building and the grounds adjacent.

As in other of the french expositions, the art display was its most attractive feature, and next to that the machinery departments, especially those of England and the United States, Science and literature were also liberally represented, and some of the more valuable contributions in these and other departments were from the national institutions of France. Among the statuary were such gems as Albert Lefeuvre's Jeanne d'Arc as a Child, the groups styled faith and Charity, by Paul Dubois, from the monument to General de la Moriciére, with others whose modelling, treatment, and design rank them among the classics of modern art. Among the paintings were the masterpieces of Meissonier, Jules Breton, Corot, the elder Daubigny, and artists of all the French schools, whom this nation of artists delights to honor. In the gallery assigned to the United States there were several works of acknowledged merit, as the engravings of Vedder's Marsyas, Coleman's Venice Past and Present, Bunce's Approach to Venice, and a copy by Hovenden of his Breton Interior in 1793.

Though ranking only ninth as to number of exhibitors, the United States secured, as usual, a large proportion of awards, with one diploma of honor, four grant prizes, and medals of honorable mentions granted to 850 out of 1,230 participants. On this, as on other occasions, the comparative insignificance of our display was due to the conservatism of congress, whose appropriations of $190,000 was less than one-third of the amount devoted by France, and below even the amount devoted by several British colonies and minor powers for their representation at the great show of 1893.

Far beyond any of its predecessors was the International Exhibition held in the champs de Mars in 1889, the fourth in the French, and the ninth in the world's great series. So vast was the scale and yet so artistic the design that it became the wonder of the civilized nations of earth, and by all it was conceded that never before had been witnessed such a combination of the grand and beautiful in science, art, and industry. To recognize the merits of this stately panorama, one need not even have entered the buildings nor examined the contents, though representing the highest achievements of which the human race was capable. The conception of the project as a whole, the landscape effect of the site, the unique arrangement of the broad but graceful edifices [17] in one homogeneous and yet diversified plan, were alone sufficient to impress the visitor as a marvellous spectacular display.

Intended, as it was, to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the first republic, its purpose forbade the participation of European monarchies, at least in their official capacity; but of foreign exhibits and visitors the number was larger than at any former international exposition. The character of the exhibits will be learned from the appellation f the buildings, which included palaces of industry, of machinery, and of the fine and liberal arts, with ample space allotted to agriculture, horticulture, and manufactures. Interspersed among the main structures were groups representing, among other objects of interest, a street in Algiers, a Turkish village, the minarets of Tunis, and the dwellings of New Caledonia. Nor should we forget the world-famed Eiffel tower, 894 feet in height, one of the most attractive features of the exhibition, and still one of the curiosities of Paris.

While the art galleries formed one of the most interesting features of this effort, it surpassed, as I have said, all its predecessors as a great international exposition, with a larger scope and variety of exhibits than had ever before portrayed the phases of human industry. There were probably but few who could examine and fewer still who could appreciate in their entirety the treasures and attractions of this great spectacular display. To make the circuit merely of the grounds and buildings, the former occupying 173 and the latter 75 acres, required a journey of fifteen miles, and to form an intelligent estimate of their contents needed months of close observation and study. An enumeration of details, and still more a comparison, would be of itself an arduous task, for here was outlined whatsoever the toil and ingenuity of man had contributed to the welfare of his kind. Here were the costliest merchandise, the choicest products of farm and factory, the most powerful machinery, the most recent inventions and appliances, the decorative art of China and Japan, the priceless art treasures culled from the studios of Italy and France, - all these and other departments without number representing the progress and relative condition of civilization.

And how does Chicago compare with this artistic and industrial achievement after all her lavish expenses and earnest striving to build up an exposition that should prove a credit to herself, and to the nation which she represents? Said American visitors to the Paris fair: "Only in Paris can such marvels be accomplished." And yet in the opinion of critics, not only of American but of foreign critics, the World's Columbian Exposition, taken in its entirety, will as afar excel the Parisian display as the latter outstripped all previous efforts. As an able writer has remarked, "Those who fail to see the exhibition of 1893, will fail to see the most beautiful spectacle which has been offered to the eyes of our generation. But those who have time to see only its general aspect, without studying any of its collections, wonderfully interesting though these would be, will have seen the very best of it."

Of the 55,000 exhibitors at the Paris exhibition of 1889, only 1,750 were from the United States; but among these were distributed nearly 1,000 awards, including 52 grand prizes, 189 gold medals, 273 silver, and 220 bronze medals, with 207 honorable mentions. As to visitors, the United States were more liberally represented, 70,000 out of the 1,500,000 foreigners coming from beyond the Atlantic. Of English there were 380,000, of Belgians 225,000, of Germans 160,000, of Spaniards 56,000, of Swiss 52,000, and of Italians 38,000; no other European country having more than 10,000, though the civilized nations of the world, even far off Australia and New Zealand, contributed their thousands to this gathering of the nations. During the 183 days that this fair remained opened - from the sixth of May t the sixth of November - the total admissions exceeded 28,000,000, nearly twice the attendance at the Exposition of 1878, and nearly thrice that at our own Centennial Exposition. The average daily admissions were 137,000, against 82,000 in 1878, and 62,000 in 1876, the greatest number being on closing day, when no less than 400,000 persons were present, the largest gathering thus far in the annals of great world's fairs. Considering the superior attractions of the Columbian Exposition, an average attendance of 150,000 a day, as anticipated by its managers, is by no means an extravagant estimate.

For the first time in the history of the French, or indeed of any other international expositions, except for those held in London, the undertaking of 1889 proved a financial success. The entire cost, including all articles chargeable to buildings and grounds, with operating and other expenses, was stated at $8,300,000, or $300,000 less than the original estimate, against total receipts from all sources of $9,900,000, thus leaving a surplus of $1,600,000. That such results were obtained was largely due to strict attention to detail, to the perfect organization of every department, and to the experience and ability of managers and officials. But this margin of profit was one of the smallest issues of the affair, considered from a monetary point of view. It was estimated that, during the term of continuance, American visitors alone expended more than $50,000,000, while each of the 1,500,000 foreigners [18]may have expended, on an average, about $100, or $150,000,000 in all. Add to this at least $120,000,000, as the contributions of the French provinces, at the rate of 220 for each of the 6,000,000 sight-seers, and we have a total of $270,000,000 finding is way into Parisian coffers. So great, indeed, was the influx of gold, that the reserves in the Bank of France were larger than ever before, while by storekeepers, theatres, hotels, restaurants, railroads, and in countless other directions, was felt the stimulating influence of this gathering of the nations.

In Austria, Germany, and elsewhere in central and northern Europe, fairs were common in the earlier centuries of the Christian era. At some of them slaves were offered for sale, and not a few were held soley for traffic in human chattels. This custom was later introduced into England, probably by German traders, and though slavery was never among her institutions, differing in essential points from the villeinage for which it has been mistaken, barter in slaves was encouraged under the Norman, and perhaps under the earlier Plantagenet dynasty. Of modern German fairs the largest and most attractive are held at Leipsic, thrice a year, beginning with New Year's day, Easter Sunday, and Michaelmas day, the Easter fair being restricted to the display and sale of books, and attended by the principal booksellers of Germany, and adjacent countries, with new publications to the number of several thousand entered on each of its annual catalogues. Other fairs are held at Frankfort-on-the-Main and Frankfort-on-the-Oder, but are no longer, as in former years, of world-wide interest and celebrity. Thus far no great international expositions have been held in Germany, though the country has been well represented in those of Europe and the United States, appropriating for her building and exhibits at the Chicago Fair the largest amount, with one exception, contributed by any of the foreign participants.

A world's fair opened at Munich in the spring of 1854, with 7,000 exhibits housed in a building modelled after the Crystal palace, but on a smaller scale, was cut short after a three months' existence by the approach of Asiatic cholera. An exposition held at cologne in 165 was limited to agricultural and horticultural exhibits; and in the same year was an industrial display at Stettin, with 1,450 exhibitors. At Berlin, in 1870, was an exhibition of drawing implements, probably the best thus far in its special line, as was, seven years later, the one at Hamburg devoted to the dairy products of European countries.

Fifth on the list of great world's fairs, and first as to hugeness of aspect, was the one held under government control at Vienna in 1873. A commission was appointed for the purpose, selected from the chiefs of departments, and from artists and men of science who had participated in former exhibitions. By the other nations of Europe commissions were also chosen, such as would do honor to the occasion; and never before had been assembled in the Austrian capital such an array of gifted and eminent men. At the head of the British commission was the prince of Wales, and among its members were the marquis of Ripon, Baron Rothschild, and the duke of Teck. Other foreign powers were represented by semi-royal commissions, and as president of the undertaking was appointed Archduke Regnier, with Archduke Charles Louis as protector. But notwithstanding all its pomp and pageantry the affair was not a success. By the almost unanimous verdict, at least of foreign visitors, it was condemned as inconveniently large, as cumbersome in design, and elephantine in proportions, while its defects were further increased by careless and inartistic grouping of exhibits.

The display was made in the Prater, or park, in the suburbs of Vienna, the Central park of the Viennese, formerly a portion of the imperial domain, but in 1776 donated for public use by Joseph II. In the principal building, afterward used as a national museum, was a nave more than half a mile in length, with sixteen intercepting transepts, and a colossal central dome, 350 feet in diameter, at that time the largest in the world. In common with the Machinery hall, with its 2,600 feet of length, and its ten acres of exhibiting space, the main building was remarkable more for the bulkiness than for the beauty of its architecture. Scattered throughout the grounds, amid the setting of their woodland scenery, were buildings erected by many nations.

[19] - In making its public announcement, some three years before the opening day, the Austrian government proposed to represent, as far as possible, the existing condition of modern civilization, together with all the branches of national economy, with a view to promote their further development and progress. As a display of industrial products, processes, and appliances, the collection of exhibits was one of the most complete that had thus far been brought together. The machinery department was perhaps its strongest feature, containing as it did, almost every known variety. Through the centre of the hall extended from end to end an array of machinery in motion, separated by aisles on either side from that which required no motive power. Thus, for the space of half a mile, the visitors passed through unbroken lines of machinery of every conceivable pattern and use, and of every degree of power, magnitude, and workmanship. Among other attractions were the farming experiments conducted in the vicinity of the grounds, where might be seen at work steam and ordinary ploughs, with reaping, mowing, threshing, winnowing, and other agricultural machines and implements.

Diplomas of honor, medals, and honorable mentions were freely distributed among the 70,000 exhibitors, and of the awards 442, including nine diplomas and 284 medals, fell to the 654 exhibits of the United States. As at other international expositions, however, the people of the United States were not represented in a matter befitting their reputation for enterprise. "The very freedom and ease of sending to Vienna," says Edward Everett Hale, "tempted countless quacks to send their humbugs to the show; and in the same proportion the judicious have refrained. It became, to a considerable extent, an advertising display. The American exhibition at Vienna was full of quackeries, advertising themselves at the cost of the nation; and this cannot be avoided, unless the collection of exhibits is made up on a system, as was so thoroughly done by the Japanese government. It is for such reasons that the Vienna Exhibition is certainly too large. If it is a specimen of the world, one wants a smaller museum made which may be a specimen of the Exhibition.

With the largest outlay, and apart from the Paris Exposition of 1867 the largest number of exhibitors, the receipts were the smallest so far recorded at any of our great world's fairs. The reasons for such results are contained in Mr Hale's remarks, though also due in part to the extreme rapacity of hotel keepers, tradesmen, and others who advanced their prices from 50 to 100 per cent, thus not only deterring visitors from distant lands, but hundreds of thousands among the middle classes of Austria, Germany, and adjacent countries. Even within the grounds and buildings extortion was shamelessly practised, charges being made by those to whom concessions had been granted, even for the use of lavatories, chairs, and other conveniences that should have been provided free of cost. The number of admissions for which payment was made at the doors fell to the low average of 19,000 a day; the entire receipts were $1,750,000, against a total outlay of $7,850,000.

In Holland, and in portions of Belgium, the annual fairs held at Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other large cities are the signal for much boisterous merriment and rejoicing among all classes of the people. The theatres and shows are largely patronized, the farmers and villagers looking forward to the occasion as one on which to satisfy alike their household wants, their curiosity, and their taste for amusement. Then does the Dutchman lose his self restraint, parading the streets by day and night with noisy demonstrations and a vast consumption of solid an bibulous refreshments. An exhibition of Dutch industries held at Haarlem, in 1861, was followed in 1864 by one at Amsterdam, which included also an art collection, and again in 1869, at the latter city, by [20] one under the auspices of the Netherlands Society of Manufactures. At Brussels and Ghent industrial expositions have been held at intervals since 1856, for the most part of a local character.

In Russia, fairs are still of frequent occurrence, widely distributed as to location, and of origin so remote as long to antedate those of other European nations. From time immemorial Russian merchants were accustomed to meet those of eastern countries at some point on the middle Volga, the site of the principal fair changing several times from the middle of the tenth century, when it was held in Bakhrimovo, until early in the nineteenth, when it was transferred to its present seat at Nijni Novgorod. At the first of these latter fairs in 1817, it was estimated that goods to the value of $27,000,000 changed hands, the amount increasing to $371,000,000 in 1880, and with an attendance of more than 130,000 traders, gathered from a region extending westward beyond the Russian borders, and eastward into the heart of Asia. The principal commodities include manufactures of all kinds, especially iron and iron wares, with fabrics of cotton, linen, wool, and silk, with furs, skins, and leather, and with flour, fish, salt, tea, wine, brandy, and other articles of luxury and necessity. The prices of many classes of goods, and especially of textile manufactures is determined throughout central Russia by those established at the Nijni fair, as is also in part the amount of production, especially of iron and its manufactures. Fairs at Kiakhta, on the Chinese border, have lost much of their importance within recent years, as the result of the increased facilities of communication and the abolition of monopolies formerly held by Kiakhta merchants. Elsewhere in Siberia fairs are numerous, by largely taking the place of legitimate commerce in this remote and sparsely populated region. In 1860, and again [22]in 1870, industrial expositions were held at St Petersburg, and two years later one at Moscow, the latter illustrating the progress of Russian manufactures. All were on a limited scale, and of a purely national character.

The internal commerce of Turkey is mainly conducted by means of fairs, and is almost entirely in the hands of aliens, the Turks devoting themselves to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, though even from these they are being gradually excluded as their lands pass into the possession of foreign mortgages. Among the more important is the one held at Usundji, in Roumelia, at which the manufactures of western Europe are largely represented. In modern Greece fairs are equally numerous, and at such gatherings held at many a point of historic interest, as at Pharsalia in Thessaly, the Greek trader still displays the shrewdness and business acumen for which he was noted in the days of Pericles. At Athens a national exhibition was held in 1859, and in 1863 one at Constantinople, at which, in addition to Turkish products, there were also exhibits of foreign machinery.

In Italy the principal fair and festival, held in July and August of each year, at Sinigaglia, in honor of St Mary Magdalen, is attended by thousands of traders from southern and central Europe, and even from northern Africa. The wares exposed for sale consist mainly of silk and silken fabrics. In Florence was held in 1861 an exhibition of Italian industries, agriculture, and arts; but though the art collection and the display of agricultural products peculiar to northern and central Italy were varied and rich, they failed to attract more than a local interest. Previous expositions held in Italy, including one opened at Naples some years before, were devoted almost entirely to agricultural exhibits. At Turin was also a display of Italian products in 1870; at Naples in the following year was an international maritime exhibition, and one at Milan of selected branches of industry.

In Spain, the most popular of her fairs and feasts is opened on the 15^th of May in each year, at the hermitage of San Isidro del Campo, when such crowds assemble from far and near as no other Spanish festival has the power to attract. Except for a small dis play of industrial arts at Madrid, in 1854, nothing was attempted in this direction until 1891, when provision was made by royal decree for a series of international celebrations in honor of the forth centennial anniversary of the discovery of America. Among them the most prominent were the Exposicion Historico-Americana, and the Exposicion Historico-Europea, to be opened simultaneously toward the close of the following year. The former was intended to illustrate the civilization of Spanish-America from the close of the fifteenth to the middle of the seventeenth centuries, a period which included the earlier efforts at colonization and settlement. This exhibit also purposed to represent the condition of the native races, their dwellings, arms, utensils, customs, and characteristics, together with the effect of European discovery, influence, and conquest. In the Historico-European Exposition it was purposed to display the connection between European and American history from the year 1492, when the caravels of the great navigator anchored off Española, until in 1620 the pilgrim fathers set foot on Plymouth rock. In connection with these exhibitions other celebrations were held, of which the most interesting was the one at Huelva, consisting of a scientific, artistic, and literary congress, followed by festivals and naval demonstrations.

Turning to our own continent, we find that, early in the sixteenth century, fairs were held by the native tribes of Mexico and Central America at all the larger towns, where agricultural and manufactured commodities were exchanged or sold to itinerant traders. To the Nahua nations stores and shops were unknown, but in their place were daily markets, at which articles of all descriptions were exposed for sale, with special markets or fairs at least once a week, and attended not only by local patrons but by merchants from all the country round. At each of the two market places in the ancient city of Mexico it is said that 100,000 people were not infrequently present, while at the suburbs of Tlatelulco was one larger than that at Salamanca, exciting the wonder of the Spaniards at the variety of wares exhibited and at the perfect order maintained. Here might be seen every species of the native fabric, with countless specimens of feather and metal work, in which the Aztecs excelled, with utensils and weapons, household furniture, provisions of all kinds, both cooked and uncooked, and an assortment of all the manifold products of pre-historic Mexico. By judges of the commercial tribunal disputes were settled, prices and measures regulated, and attempts at fraud or extortion severely punished, while the disorderly element was held in check by watchmen acting under their authority, by whom also taxes were collected on the several classes of merchandise.

After the Spanish conquest daily markets continued to be held in all the larger towns, with fairs at the leading centres of commerce, held at certain seasons of the year. To Jalapa was transferred, in 1820, the annual fair before held at Vera Cruz on the arrival of the fleet from Spain, goods to the amount of $30,000,000 changing hands on such occasions, and the influx of wealth causing the inhabitants to change their simple mode of life for the habits, and too often for the vices, of the Spaniards. At these gatherings, wherever held, was conducted a large proportion of the commerce of the surrounding country, raw and manufactured products being exchanged for linen and other goods, and [23]oil and wine, together with cheap and gaudy trinkets, disposed of at enormous profits. After a day passed in driving bargains, the night was given over to gambling and carousal, not infrequently attended with loss of life. Other fairs there were of a religious nature, as at San de Los Lagos, where throngs of devotees, assembling for worship at the shrine of the Virgin, mingled with the merchants and traders.

Within more recent years fairs and exhibitions have been held under the auspices of the general and local governments, some of them of a national character, representing agricultural and manufacturing industries and works of art, while others were limited to the products of individual states. At brief intervals, beginning with 1849, there were general exhibitions in the city of Mexico, and a project for an international fair, to take place in 1880, was favorably received, but was finally postponed. Meanwhile our sister republic has been well represented at several of the world's expositions, as at those held in Paris in 1855, in Philadelphia in 1876, at St Louis and Chicago in 1879-90, and at New Orleans in 1884-85, at all of which a number of medals, diplomas, and honorable mentions were awarded to her exhibits.

Among the many nations of Central America periodical fairs were held at all the larger towns, at which a multitude of traders assembled from the country round. At the smaller towns and villages were also fairs, at which articles of food and dress, weapons, ornaments, and implements, with other commodities of various descriptions were exposed for ale in the market place or public square, all transactions being regulated by a public official, whose duty was to correct abuses and punish those who attempted to violate the established laws of trade.

As to the other native races of the North American continent, few of them appear to have held either markets or fairs, or indeed to have possessed any form of distributing agency. Some exceptions there are, however, as the Eskimoes, among whom, in addition to local fairs there are others, established probably soon after the Russian occupation of Alaska, at which furs are exchanged for European commodities.

In Peru fairs were held in the days of the Incas at some of the more populous towns, where traffic was conducted merely by the interchange of products; for to the Peruvian, Indian trade in its proper sense was unknown; nor have any traces been preserved of the existence of foreign commerce. With the use of money, in whatever shape, they were entirely unaquainted , though from its mines were to be drawn the treasures which, for centuries after the conquest, should furnish the civilized world with the bulk of its metallic currency.

Among the modern Peruvians it does not appear that the fair was ever a favorite institution, and it was not until July, 1872, that the first national exhibition, on an extended scale, was opened under the auspices of President Balta. It contained a good display of native art and industry, among other objects of interest being a picture representing the funeral of Atahualpa, and statuary carved in alabaster, both by Peruvian artists.

In the United States the word fair is commonly applied only to such industrial exhibitions as are held for the encouragement of agriculture, manufactures, and the mechanic arts. Our first agricultural fair took place at Washington in 1804, and was repeated semi-annually for several years thereafter. Gradually the fair began to be recognized as an American institution, and since that date has spread to almost ever state and county in the republic. The first of our international expositions was held at New York in 1853, followed by one in 1865 at Philadelphia, the display consisting mainly of specimens of American produce and industrial skill. While recognized by the government and by several foreign powers, the former was stamped as a private speculation under the guise of a patriotic movement. So at least it was regarded by rival cities, though at the opening ceremonies commissioners were present from all the European participants. Another drawback was that, through some mismanagement, its doors were not opened until the hot season, or several weeks after the appointed time. The building was planned and named after the Crystal palace of 1851, but on a minor scale, and with certain original features in the design. Among the more interesting exhibits was the display of machinery, in which department the United States excelled all other participants as to number, quality, and variety.

[22] - Such minor expositions have doubtless proved beneficial in promoting improvements in farming, horticulture, and stock-raising, and also in banding together these interests to defeat the machinations of speculators, middlemen, ship-owners, and railroad corporations. Partly to their agency was due, for instance, the establishment, in 1867, of the national grange, whose operations extended, a few years later, over 30 states, with 1,400,000 members and $18,000,000 of capital invested in warehouses, elevators, and factories dependent on agriculture for their supplies of material. By this grange agencies were established for the interchange of products in every section of the republic, and to its patrons the most recent and reliable information was furnished as to the condition of markets and crops.

With the approach of the centennial year came a general desire to celebrate this anniversary of the nation's birth in a manner befitting her material greatness, and in such fashion that all other countries might participate. For the purpose there could be no more suitable location than the city in which the Declaration of Independence had been adopted and proclaimed; and hence it was determined to hold in Philadelphia, in 1876, on a scale that had never before been witnessed, the Centennial Exposition of the World's Industries. The first step was taken in March, 1871, when, by act of congress, a Centennial commission was created, in which all the states and territories were represented, and in the following year a Centennial board of finance. Soon afterward invitations were forwarded to the governments of all the civilized nations of the world, and were very generally accepted, England, whose participation was at first regarded as doubtful, sending a collection of paintings valued at more than $1,000,000, with other exhibits of infinite number and variety, representing all her leading industries. Such, indeed, was the demand for space, that special buildings were erected, not only for several of the foreign exhibits, but for those of states and territories, and even of individuals, so that in all there were more than 150 edifices, built at a cost of at least $7,500,000, and covering an area of 60 acres, with 1,000,000 square feet allotted as the exhibiting space of the United States, 200,000 to Great Britain and nineteen of her colonies, including the dominion of Canada; to France and her colonies 100,000, and to other countries in smaller proportions.

The site selected was a wide level space in Fairmount park. In the grounds adjacent were wooded dells, ravines, and waterfalls, which, together with the venerable oaks that dotted the lawn-like expanse of turf, gave to the location a strong element of the picturesque. The main building, of brick and glass, with wrought iron columns and roof, was a stupendous structure, and one remarkable rather for immensity than for beauty of design. It was more than a third of a mile in length, and nearly a furlong and a half in width, with an interior height of 70 feet, and a floor area exceeding 21 acres. The grand avenue, over 600 yards in length by 40 in width, was probably the longest ever planned in an edifice of this character. There were also side and transverse avenues, and in the centre a vast open space, on which fronted the displays of the leading nations, the exhibits of the United States occupying double the area allotted to all other nations. Next in size were the Machinery hall, covering 15 acres, and the Agricultural hall, with a floor space of somewhat over 10 acres. The Memorial hall, a massive structure of granite, and the Horticultural hall, of iron and glass, in the Moorish style of architecture, still remain on the ground, the former as a permanent representation of industrial art, and the latter containing a [26] choice conection of exotic plants. Others worthy of mention were the Woman's pavilion, in which was for the first time represented as a world's exposition an isolated exhibition of woman's work, and the Government building, where were illustrated all the functions of the United States government in time of peace, and its resources in time of war.

As to the character of the display, it may be said that in variety and value, in magnificence of design and beauty of combination, it had never before been excelled. To the outside world this representation of the marvellous industrial progress of the United States was in the nature of a revelation and especially as to manufactures, machinery, and labor-saving appliances, in all of which were surpassed the exhibits of European countries. In the fashioning of weapons and munitions of war she also taught them lessons which they were not slow to lay to heart. To all the industries of the country this exposition gave a decided impetus, opening to our products the markets of the world as they had never before been opened. The years that have since elapsed have been marked by more rapid development than any in the nation's history, and in no small measure must this result be attributed to the influence of the Centennial Fair. But while in the mechanic arts we had little to learn from foreign exhibits, it must be admitted that in the fine arts, and in the artistic embellishment of articles of ordinary use, we were below the level of other communities. If in this particular we were aroused to a sense of our deficiencies, this was not the least important result of an enterprise than which our industrial annals contain no more interesting feature.

Not only in the multiplicity and excellence of its exhibits, but in the area of exhibiting space, in the number and size of its buildings, in its receipts, and with one exception in the number of visitors, did the Centennial Exposition surpass all previous efforts. Here were represented by thirty-seven different nations, and by nearly 31,000 exhibitors, the choicest agricultural and manufactured products, and the most recent and valuable discoveries and appliances in the field of science, that have ever been gathered from the vast storehouse of human industry and experience. If in their art collections and in some minor features the exhibitions held in London, Paris, and Vienna were deemed superior, none have been more widely appreciated than the one which, on the 10^th of May, 1876, threw open its doors to the most cosmopolitan assemblage ever gathered on New World shores. During the six months of its existence the average attendance exceeded 62,000 a day, or nearly double the average at the great European expositions, and with a total attendance of 9,911,000, the largest recorded up to that date, except for the Paris Exposition of 1867, which, keeping open doors for some two months longer, attracted about 300,000 more visitors. On the 28^th of September, or Pennsylvania day as it is termed, the admissions were 276,000, the greatest number thus far recorded in the history of international expositions.

Out of 13,104 awards, 5,364 were distributed among 21,689 foreign participants. The plan adopted on this occasion differed from all previous methods, substituting for the jury ssytem a number of judges, of whom one-half were foreigners, and all were men of repute, experience, and ability. There were no graduated awards, but simply medals of merit and not of superiority, the reports of the judges alone indicating the comparative qualities of such exhibits as were deemed worthy of this distinction.

From a financial point of view the Centennial Exposition was a failure, as were all the previous world's fairs, with the exception of those held in London. The total cost was stated at $8,000,000, and the entire receipts at $4,300,000, a somewhat discouraging result, but one that compares favorably with several former exhibitions. It is not, however, on the basis of dollars and cents that the success of such an effort can be estimated. Far above this is its industrial effect in stimulating our people to a yet more intelligent rivalry with European [27] nations, in showing to those nations what has been accomplished and what is to be expected from American enterprise, in overcoming their prejudices, and opening among them a wider market for our products. Nor have all traces of the Centennial Exposition disappeared with the dispersion of its exhibits. In Philadelphia its records remain in the Memorial and Horticultural halls, while at the national capitol the display of the United States government is still preserved intact, and to this have been added the government exhibits of nearly all foreign participants, forming with other contributions the nucleus of the national museum oat Washington.

In Boston was held in 1883, with the somewhat ambitious title of The American Exhibition of the Products, Arts, and Manufactures of Foreign Nations, the smallest of our international expositions, and yet with the largest number of foreign participants, though, apart from the Chinese and Japanese sections, the exhibits contained little of special interest. It was purely a local enterprise, conducted by some of the leading citizens of Boston, but with government sanction, an act of congress permitting the introduction of exhibits free of duty, while by the secretary of state letters were addressed to all diplomatic representatives, requesting them to bring the matter before the notice of foreign governments. The building, erected at the expense of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics' association, was afterward used for its own periodical exhibitions. Though not a money-making venture, it led to an increased demand for certain varieties of products, and created a demand for others.

In the southern states the first large public fair was the International Cotton Exposition at New Orleans in 1881, followed some two years later, by the Southern Exposition at Louisville. Except as a display of southern products they were not of special interest, northern and foreign exhibits being few in number, and of inferior quality. Both were, however, introductory to the World's Industrial and Cotton Centenary Exposition opened at New Orleans in December, 1884, the word centenary referring to the inception, in 1784, of our commerce in cotton, when a few bags were shipped from Charleston by way of experiment. In addition to a most interesting show of southern staples, there were valuable exhibits from the northern states, and from the several departments of the national government, all classed in twelve divisions, including among others agriculture, horticulture, manufactures, and mining, together with works of art and illustrations in natural floor space of several acres, was the finest ever displayed by our sister republic. The main building, glass roofed and constructed entirely of timber, covered even a larger space than that of the Centennial Exposition, and with a music hall in its centre capable of seating 10,000 persons. In the grounds were also many attractive features, among them groves of citrus and other sub-tropical fruit trees.

While the larger civic exhibitions have been limited to Europe and the United States, there have been minor expositions at many of the great centres of wealth and population in other quarters of the world. At Madras was held, in 1852, an exhibition of native industry; at Calcutta and Lucknow, in 1864, of agricultural products; at Dunedin, in 1865, of colonial products; at Rio de Janeiro, in 1866, of raw produce; at Melbourne, in the same year, was an intercolonial exposition, and, in 1881, a larger display of an international character; at Agra, in 1867, was one at which the industries of northwestern Hindostan were represented; at Sydney, in 1870, an intercolonial exhibition with nearly 3,000 exhibitors; and an international exhibition [28] in 1879, at which the United States and several European nations were represented; at Kioto, Japan, between 1872 and 1876, was a series of exhibitions of Japanese art and manufactures; and at Cape Town, in 1877, an international exhibition of home and foreign manufactures.

In concluding this sketch of fairs and international expositions, it may be remarked that as to their educational value there can be no difference of opinion. Little more than four decades have elapsed since the first one was opened in London in the spring of 1851, and during the intervening years in this the heroic era of the world's progress, much of our marvellous achievement in all branches of science and art has been due to these potent factors in the civilizing influences of the age. By bringing the nations of the earth into closer intimacy, by destroying their prejudices, and showing them that in some directions each can learn of the other, a generous rivalry has been inaugurated, with improvements in methods and appliances, and a redundancy of inventions such as has never before been witnessed. And to the fine arts, no less than to the mechanic and industrial arts, do these remarks apply. Even the self-confidence of the Briton gave way when the exhibit of 1851 taught him how inferior were his goods in artistic design and finish, causing in this respect a revolution in many branches of British manufacture. And since the Centennial Exposition revealed to us our own defects, more progress has been made in this direction than for half a century before, causing almost a renaissance in art and its application to articles of common utility.