Search the Treasury

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Buildings, Advertisements, Envelopes, Ephemera

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Buildings, Trade cards, Ephemera

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Buildings, Badges, Ephemera

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Art, Badges, Ephemera

Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)

Buildings, Stereographs, Photographs

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Art, Trade cards, Ephemera

Exhibition of Art and Art-Industry (1853 : Dublin, Ireland)

Mariya Levin

This image is a beautiful color lithograph, measuring 25 by 35 inches, which features the main hall of the Great Exhibition Building in Dublin in great detail. The hall was 425 feet in length by 100 in width, and 105 in height. In the back there is a large organ. Displayed high on the walls are flags from different countries.

New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations (1853-1854)

Periodical Illustrations, Buildings, Ephemera

Exposition universelle de Paris en 1855

Matt Linkswiler

These selected images, an exterior view of the Palace of Industry and a view of the interior of the palace during the distribution of awards, are both detailed views from which much can be observed. Since both images are illustrations, as opposed to photographs, they may not be entirely accurate. The image of the interior is a lithograph, which is approximately thirty-five inches by fifteen inches. Because of the medium employed, the details of the image are not very sharp, but many details are included. Emperor Napoleon III can be seen handing out the awards, and his empress is seen seated behind him. The other image appears to have been taken from a French newspaper article. Today, the actual paper is very old, as can be evidenced by the large tear in the middle of the picture and its worn edges. The actual size of the illustration is about f...

London International Exhibition

Art, Catalogs

Vienna International Exhibition (1873)

Ly Y. Bui

Austria hosted a world's fair in 1873, as it aimed to present itself as a world leader and the equal of England and France. The structure that served as the focal point and ideological locus for the Vienna Exhibition was its striking Rotunda, a feat of engineering and design, which is pictured here during the fair's opening ceremonies on May 1, 1873.

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Art, Badges, Ephemera

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Art, Advertisements, Ephemera

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Buildings, Reproductions, Cards, Ephemera

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Handkerchiefs, Buildings, Ephemera

New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations (1853-1854)

Portrait photographs, Cabinet photographs

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Pen works, Drawings

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Manpreet Singh

As had been the case at the Crystal Palace Exhibition twenty five years before, America's industrial and agricultural prowess impressed most foreign visitors, thus giving a boost to American Foreign trade.

Sydney International Exhibition (1879)

Buildings, Catalogs, Pamphlets

Internationale Koloniale en Uitvoerhandel Tentoonstelling (1883 : Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Holly Griffin

The card pictured here is one of a larger deck, comprising a round-style game. Card games were a popular souvenir item among fairgoers. The game was a competition between nations illustrated in the larger cards of the set, measuring 4' 1/2;" by 2'3/4", representing the countries holding colonies at the time, and the smaller cards, 3" by 1 3/4", representing major industries. Represented were the Netherlands, listed as the first country on the direction sheet, England, Germany, Belgium, France, Russia, the United States of America, Turkey, Italy and Spain.

Exposition universelle de 1889 (Paris, France)

Ly Y. Bui

This is a twenty-six by forty-eight centimeter plan of the Champ de Mars during the Exposition Universelle of 1889, used by visitors at the time of the fair, a bold political statement on the part of France, as well as an overwhelming success. The Third Republic was established in Paris in 1870, and by 1884, when preliminary studies for the the Exposition Universelle were launched, many political issues were still largely unresolved. In 1870 Napoleon III surrendered at the Battle of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War. Two days after the defeat Republicans proclaimed the advent of the Third Republic. The Franco-Prussian war ended with Paris's capitulation in 1871. A group of Parisians found Prussia's terms humiliating and wanted to keep fighting. Later dubbed the Communards, they established a dictatorship in Paris known as the Central Committ...

Exposition universelle de 1889 (Paris, France)

Liz Tymkiw

The 1889 Exposition Universelle, like all other nineteenth century fairs, was mainly concerned with the progress and modernization the "civilized" world had undergone. While many exhibits like the Exposition de l'Economie Sociale and the Galerie des Machines demonstrated new social and economic breakthroughs, others were devoted to the past and to less "developed" cultures. The Street of Cairo exemplified this dichotomy, but a better example was Charles Garnier's Histoire de l'Habitation Humaine. Garnier was a French architect, born in 1825, best known for his design of the Paris Opera House. He was also recognized for his extensive work on the Histoire de l'Habitation Humaine; a subject on which he wrote a book published in 1892, explaining motivation and purpose for the exhibit. According to Nils Muller-Scheessel, who has studied the represen...

Exposition universelle de 1889 (Paris, France)

Anna Burrows

The Exposition Universelle de 1889 in Paris was meant to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. It boasted new architectural styles, as well as the more generous use of electricity in the pavilions. In the earliest world's fairs, all the displays were housed collectively under one roof. This eventually changed to a different type of organization, where exhibits were separated into categories based on their content, as was already the case at the 1873 Vienna exhibition. At the 1876, 1878 and 1889 fairs, countries presented their own individual pavilions. While at first the international community seemed a bit hesitant to participate in a fair meant to celebrate a Revolution, many countries decided to participate and erect a special pavilion. Countries such as Japan, Siam, Persia, Turkey, Russia, Greece, as well as many Latin Americ...

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Postcard, Postcards

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Postcard, Postcards

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Postcard, Postcards

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Aaron Zephir

This 11 by 14 inch photogravure of the great Administration Building at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was taken from a set of 25 drawings of the exposition buildings. It was the main focus of the fair, and one of the masterpieces of its architect, Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895). With its fine classical detailing and sweeping scale, this large building was integral to the "White City" concept of the fair. To this day it remains one of the most recognizable landmarks associated with the Columbian Exposition.

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Advertising Cards, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Art, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ricardo Gonzalez

The Midway, as shown in the provided 61/2" x 6" stereoscopic picture, first came to being during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago as a bit of an accident. The world's fair scheduled for 1892 was pushed towards a higher standard than most others. The successes of the 1876 Philadelphia and 1889 Paris fairs drove the Chicago planners to produce something even greater. As stated by Richard Wilson, the Paris fair especially hit home for the Americans. The sheer magnificence of the buildings and exhibits made the United States look very backward indeed. While France and the rest of the Old World countries held their own with remarkable advances in art, architecture, and science, the U.S. appeared to be falling behind. America's relatively inferior showings didn't help to shake this harsh image. The U.S. was desperate for a new self-image. ...

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Ticket, Tickets, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Maps, Maps, Ephemera

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Badges, Ephemera

Exposition internationale Bruxelles-Tervueren (1897)

Buildings, Postcards, Souvenirs, Ephemera

Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 (Paris, France)

Sesan Iwarere

The Grand Palais served as one of the main buildings that helped solidify France as the supreme leader in the Arts. Like the Eiffel Tower in 1889, it served as a focus for the Exposition. However, the two structures were very different. The Grand Palais placed much greater emphasis on ornamentation. The famous French writer Paul Morand stated that, "while in 1889 architecture was happily on the threshold of an age of iron and steel, in 1900 it had gone back to styles such as those taught at the Beaux-Arts." The Grand Palais incorporated what is commonly referred to as "Beaux-Arts style", which was characterized by formal planning and rich decoration.

Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 (Paris, France)

Sesan Iwarere

Along with the Grand Palais and the Pont Alexandre III, the Petit Palais served as one of the main focuses of the International Exhibition of 1900 and helped solidify the position of France as artistic world leader. Despite its inferiority in size to the Grand Palais, contemporary critics noted that the Petit Palais is of "equal importance in creating an impression of the artistic success of the Exhibition" (Boyd, 194). From its inception, it was built to serve as a permanent gallery of painting and sculpture.

Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 (Paris, France)

Albumen Prints, Photographs

Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 (Paris, France)

Albumen Prints, Photographs

Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 (Paris, France)

Albumen Prints, Photographs

Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 (Paris, France)

Albumen Prints, Photographs

Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 (Paris, France)

Albumen Prints, Photographs