The History of World Expositions |
The Paris World Exposition 1867
In order to present to the world the brilliance of the emperor´s Second Empire, the organisers wanted to place special emphasis on France´s technological and economic progress. The setting of the Exposition universelle was the townscape of Paris, radically renewed by Baron Haussmann. But it wasn´t only in terms of size and numbers of visitors that this world exposition should overshadow all past projects. The concept of the exhibition´s commissioner, Frédéric Le Play, featured innovative approaches which decisively influenced later world expositions. For the first time, using a comprehensive classification system, an attempt was made to classify all areas of human endeavour into only ten groups, which in turn were divided into several classes. The differentiations made were: 1. Objets d´art, 2. Material and application in the liberal arts, 3. Furniture and domestic appliances, 4. Clothing, materials and other objects worn by people (e.g. jewellery and weapons), 5. Industrial products and machines for producing raw materials, 6. Instruments and processes in applied arts, 7. Foodstuffs, 8. Agricultural products, 9. Horticultural products and finally 10. Objects for the improvement of the physical and moral situation of nations. This tenth group not only introduced products, but also took into consideration human activities and their conditions within society. It was intended that the exhibition visitor should gain an insight into manufacturing processes through presentations of both craftsmanship and machine production. Apart from this, one wanted to win over the public with services such as those of hatmakers and shoemakers, who performed repair work or offered their newly produced goods for sale. But teaching aids were also shown in Group 10 and efforts to find better living concepts explained. That one placed special emphasis on this moral consideration at a time of increasing social conflicts can also be deduced from Napoleon´s personal contribution to the exhibition. The emperor presented the design of a worker´s house which, as was to be expected, was awarded a Grand Prix by the jury. In addition, the development of civilisation from the French point of view was presented in an exhibition on the history of labour, for which material deriving from the Stone Age up to the 19th century was made available. |
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EXPOSEEUM - The Museum of World Exhibitions, Hanover, Expo Plaza 11 Open every Sunday from 11 to 16 |
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