Worlds Fair

aka Expo

Some "key" cases:

1851: London Great Exhibition (with the Crystal Palace) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Exhibition
1862: London International Exhibition: Exhibitions included such large pieces of machinery as parts of Charles Babbage's analytical engine, cotton mills, and maritime engines by the firm of Henry Maudslay, as well as a range of smaller goods including fabrics, rugs, sculptures, furniture, plates, silver and glass wares, and wallpaper. The work shown by WilliamMorris's decorative arts firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. attracted much notice. The exposition also introduced the use of caoutchouc for rubber production and the Bessemer Steel process for steel manufacture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1862_International_Exhibition
1889: Paris - Eiffel Tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposition_Universelle_(1889)
1893: Chicago Columbian Exposition (cf Devil In The White City) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition
1939: NYC "Building the World of Tomorrow" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World%27s_Fair
- presented in NYPL Biblion project http://exhibitions.nypl.org/biblion/worldsfair/
- written about in David Gelernter's 1939: The Lost World Of The Fair ISBN:0028740025

Bill Seitz