Prince Albert's "Great Exhibition" of 1851 in London, at the Crystal Palace, is generally considered to have started the tradition of World Fairs and Expos. Its full title was "The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations," and this focus characterized exhibitions around the world for the rest of the Victorian period. Though exhibitions also brought together works of art and culture from around the world, a key focus was the showcasing of the latest technologies, inventions, and discoveries. The largest and grandest of these was the World's Fair: Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893, also known as the Chicago World's Fair. Since "science and industry" were a prominent theme of World Fairs and Expos, we've included them in the "Victorian Science" department.

History of the Great Exhibition (Illustrated London Almanack, 1852)

Details on the founding and organization of the Great Exhibition, including portraits of the major officials involved, statistics and returns. (Also includes a list of officials involved from the 1851 volume.)

Opening of the Great Exhibition (Illustrated London Almanack, 1854)

The Crystal Palace Poultry, Pigeon and Rabbit Show (Illustrated London Almanack, 1860)

Two Ways of Looking at It (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

Two letters describing a visit to London and the Exhibition.

---

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

The Paris Exhibition (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

An overview of this huge exhibit of "art treasures, ingenious machines and industrial products" -- which, being held in France, was boycotted by Germany!

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 Paris Exhibition (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

An overview of this huge exhibit of "art treasures, ingenious machines and industrial products" -- which, being held in France, was boycotted by Germany!

The Fine Arts at the Paris Exposition (Scribners, 1879B)

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)

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)

Glasgow and Its Exhibition (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1888)

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

Impressions of the International [Paris] Exhibition of 1889 (Century Magazine, 1890A)

Suggestions for the Next World's Fair, by Georges Berger, Director-General of the Paris Exhibition (Century Magazine, 1890A)

The International [Paris] Expo of 1900 (Century Magazine, 1896A)

See also

• The Chicago World's Fair of 1893

• American Fairs, Festivals, Celebrations & Expos