One of the most famous events in America in the late 19th century was the 1893 World's Fair at Chicago, also known as the "Columbian Exposition of 1893." Known as "The White City," the exposition drew visitors from around the world, and set the tone for world expos to come. However, America had many other festivals and expositions of note, including its first "World's Fair" in New York, the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and fairs focusing on science, industry and agriculture. This page looks at those "other" expos; the World's Fair of Chicago gets a page of its own!

The Centennial Celebration (Godey's, 1873)

Editorial announcing that the 100th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence would be celebrated with an International Exhibition in Philadelphia.

The World's Fair [New York] (Demorest, 1873)

Crude and Curious Inventions at the Centennial Exposition, by Edward H. Knight (Atlantic Monthly, 1878)

1: Cotton, silk, and spinning techniques

2: Weaving

3: Water vessels, wooden ware and pottery

4: Furniture, shoes and toilette items

Map of the World's Fair in New York in 1883 (Demorest, 1879)

The map, alas, is missing - but the article describes in detail how the fair and its buildings would be built and arranged.

The Atlanta Cotton Exposition (Century Magazine, 1882A)

A look at a host of new machines and technologies for planting, harvesting and processing cotton.

Significant Aspects of the Atlanta Cotton Exposition (Century Magazine, 1882A)

A Summer Camp-Meeting in America, by Catherine Owen (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1882)

The Industrial Exposition at Boston, and the Women's Department of it (Demorest, 1884)

A look at some of the scientific and domestic inventions of women at the Exposition, along with the "chamber of horrors" - a display of hair flowers and other fancy work "too dreadful for the modern imagination to contemplate."

The World's Exposition at New Orleans, by Richard Nixon (Century Magazine, 1885A)

The New Orleans Exposition, by Edward Holden & Eugene Smalley (Century Magazine, 1885B)

Pennsylvania State Fair 1886 (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

A look at the various new types of equipment and farm machinery (and some household devices) introduced at the State Fair.

The Piedmont Exposition, Atlanta (Century Magazine, 1888A)

American Rural Festivals, by Constance Cary Harrison (Century Magazine, 1895B)

The Trans-Mississippians and Their Fair at Omaha, by Albert Shaw (Century, 1898B)

A Corn Carnival [in Kansas], by Arthur Harris (The Strand, 1898A)

Barbecues, by John Watkins (The Strand, 1898B)

Feeding the hundreds in Georgia.

A New-World Sport, by H.A. Nicholls (The Strand, 1900A)

The Axemen's Association woodchopping carnival of 1899.

See also

• The Chicago World's Fair of 1893

• World Expos & Exhibitions