The Book of the Fair - Chapters 1-2



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Chapter the First:
Fairs of the Past

Of all the records of our race there are few more ancient than the records 
of its trade, and even in this nineteenth century there are countries in 
which traffic is still conducted almost as in the days of the Pharaohs. 
Says Ebers, in his Agypten und die Bücher Moses: "The traffic of the Nile 
with the East is still carried on about as in Joseph's time, the caravans 
bringing in their goods with Ishmaelites as leaders." 

It was not until the days of Solomon that the Hebrews had an established 
foreign trade; nor was this trade, as some would have us believe, of a 
purely maritime character; for by Solomon were built and fortified the 
cities of Palmyra and Tadmar, the former as a caravan station for traffic 
with eastern Asia, and the latter as a point on the great caravan route 
between Babylon and Damascus. In the first book of Kings we have mention 
of a toll being levied on this traffic, and the cities of store there 
alluded to were merely bazaars or periodical fairs.

Among the Phœnicians, for centuries the foremost of commercial nations, 
the fair does not appear to have been a favorite institution; but those of 
other countries were largely attended by Phœnician merchants, who knew how 
to turn them to their own advantage. "They frequented," says Movers in his 
Die Phœnizier, "the great and small festivals of the Israelites, which 
were connected with fairs, and the festivals of lower Egypt were connected 
with the arrival of the caravans from Phœnicia twice a year." Elsewhere, 
as this writer remarks, eastern trade was facilitated and promoted by the 
old custom of holding fairs at the sacred places in connection 

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with the great festivals, and with the scattered and often disunited 
nomadic tribes of Arabia and Africa such festivals were the only means on 
intercourse.

At the fairs held in many of the principal seaports and inland towns of 
the ancient world, Phœnician merchants were present; for almost until the 
downfall of Carthage their commerce extended in every direction, 
penetrating by way of the Persian gulf to the coasts of Africa and 
Hindostan, while through the straits of Gibralter their vessels passed 
north to the British isles for cargoes of tin, and to the shores of the 
Baltic for amber. All the products of their own and other lands, whether 
articles of common use or such as would cater to luxury and fashion, were 
carried from far and near between the leading marts of traffic by these 
eager and covetous traders.

Among the ancient Greeks there were fairs in connection with their popular 
assemblies, especially those held for political purposes, and even at the 
Olympic and other games, where trading was an important feature. Such at 
least is the statement of Cicero, who relates that as far back as the days 
of Pythagoras the religious games were frequented by merchants for the 
purposes of traffic. At Delphi annual fairs were held, partaking of a 
religous character, as was the case in most European countries until far 
into the middle ages. In Rome, the market-place where Horace loved to 
stroll while bargaining for his corn and oil, was thronged with vast 
multitudes on occasions of festive and political gatherings, and on such 
occasions the special facilities for trade gave to these markets the 
character of fairs.

Among African nations, whether savage or civilized, the commercial 
instinct is strongly developed, and even in the interior of the dark 
continent most of the tribes are to a certain extent engaged in trade. For 
many centuries Cairo was the emporium for some of the choicest productions 
of the earth, and here annual fairs were held on the arrival of the 
caravans from Syria, Arabia, and central Africa, bringing with them goodly 
stores of gold dust ivory and ostrich feathers, aromatics, spices and 
perfumes, together with bands of slaves, the traffic in human flesh 
yielding larger profits than all the rest. In the villages scattered 
throughout the congo basin periodical markets are held for the sale of 
food and clothing, and on the lower Niger there are fairs once a fortnight 
at various points, permitting commercial intercourse with neighboring 
tribes, and forming the nearest approach to foreign commerce of which this 
region is capable. In the district traversed by Mungo Park fairs were not 
infrequent. "At Sansanding, near Sego," he says, "there is a very large 
space which is appropriated for the great market every Tuesday. On this 
day astonishing crowds of people come from the country to purchase 
articles at wholesale, and retail them at the different villages."

At Mecca is held, during the annual pilgrimage, the greatest of Arabian 
fairs, and one of the greatest in the world, the concourse, though largely 
diminished within recent years, often exceeding 100,000 of the faithful,

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among whom is a large admixture of merchants and traders. Elsewhere in 
Arabia there are fairs and festivals in many localities on certain days of 
the week, attended by the villagers from all the country round, traffic 
being followed by games, races, recitations, and other amusements. In the 
province of Hasa the fair is one of the most ancient of its institutions, 
and among others may be mentioned those held at Hofhoof, and at the town 
of Mebarraz, toward the north, where the booths are so arranged as to form 
temporary streets and squares. The goods exposed for sale would appear to 
be selected more for utility than elegance, and include such articles as 
brass utensils, coarse clothing and sandals, muskets and daggers, with a 
miscellaneous assortment of beasts of burden, especially of camels and 
dromedaries. By professional peddlers are offered, in temporary booths, 
glass bracelets, beads, and morrors, with arm and ankle rings of copper, 
brass, or silver, while elsewhere are piled in front of the vendors, both 
male and female, bags of meal and flour, bundles of sugar cane, and heaps 
of vegetables and fruit, of charcoal and firewood.

At Ocadh was held, once a year, a general assembly of the tribes, with a 
fair on the Sabbath of each week. Traffic was not, however, the main 
object of this gathering, but rather to encourage a friendly emulation 
among their poets. Nowhere was poetry held in greater esteem than among 
the Arabs, in greater esteem than among the Arabs, whose orations were 
often delivered in metrical diction, and by whom no accomplishment was 
held in such esteem as that of writing smooth and elegant verse. The rise 
of a new poet was made a subject of congratulation by the neighboring 
tribes, and only on two other occasions were such congratulations 
tendered, these being the birth of a boy and the dropping of a foal of 
superior breed. The assembly, with its attendant fair, was suppressed by 
Mohammed, in whose days poetry could not go hand in hand with the Koran 
and the sword.

In India the local traffic of the larger towns is conducted at the 
bazaars, which are in the nature of permanent markets, while, at many of 
the villages, weekly markets or fairs are held at Hurdwar, on the upper 
Ganges during the season fo the vernal equinox, and is attended by 200,000 
to 300,000 visitors, while at the sacred festival, held every twelfth 
year, it si said that no less than 2,000,000 pilgrims and merchants are 
present. On such occasions every article of home production is offered for 
sale, and thousands of the smaller class of traders add to the collection 
everything that can be packed into a peddler's wallet.

But it is with the fairs of Europe and America that we are more 
immediately concerned, and before presenting a brief outline of their 
history, a few remarks may be of interest as to their origin and 
characteristic features. In the majority of instances the ancient fairs of 
Europe were established in connection with religious festivals, and hence 
were held within or near some place of worship, or on some sacred spot, as 
around the shrine of a martyr, or the tomb of a saint. At first these 
gatherings were purely for devotional purposes, but presently a certain 
business was transacted in provisions, the demand for which increased with 
the influx of worshippers. Then came the idea of profiting by this 
traffic, followed by the attendance of merchants who offered for sale a 
variety of wares. In describing a miracle wrought at the tome of St 
Eugene, it is related by Gregory of Tours that, on the anniversary of his 
martyrdom, merchants offered their goods for sale in the atrium of the 
church, and, says Levasseur, writing of the Carolingian period in his 
Histoire des Classes Ouvrieres, "The aisles of the cathedral were then in 
Christian towns what the forum had been in Roman cities." At the fair of 
St Denis, the origin of which was an indictum, or assembly of the people, 
summoned by the archbishop of Paris in 

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1109, a piece of wood from the true cross was exhibited, and such was the 
curiosity of the people that almost until its suppression in 1789, this 
became one of the most popular of all European fairs.

Before and during the middle ages fairs were of unquestionable benefit, 
especially to remote and inland countries, where, even in the larger 
cities, shops were restricted in number, as were the articles offered for 
sale. Moreover, to many of them were granted valuable privileges, together 
with special facilities for traffic. For the most part they were exempt 
from taxation, and those who attended them received the protection of 
government for their persons and property, advantages duly estimated at a 
time when travel was difficult, and unsafe, and when commerce was burdened 
with imposts of every conceivable description. Such institutions were also 
beneficial as a means in instruction, bringing distant communities into 
closer contact with civilization, and affording an opportunity for 
comparing the qualities of home-made and foreign goods. With the 
development of legitimate commerce, however, they gradually became 
unnecessary, and now belong to an order of things that is rapidly passing 
away. In the United States fairs of this kind never acquired a permanent 
foothold, and if established in a few instances, were not considered of 
the same importance as among old-world communities.

In England the first fairs of which there are any record were in the 
opening years of the third century, at which date they were already 
regarded as a public necessity. As some have it, the word fair is derived 
from the Latin forum, a market place, though a more probable derivation is 
from fariæ, the festival days of the church, since in olden times fairs 
were held on such days in the churchyard, or even in the church itself. In 
the days of the Plantagenets the revenues proceeding from fairs were 
granted by the reigning sovereign to the dignitaries of the church, or for 
charitable purposes, as when King John bestowed a charter on the 
Stourbridge fair for the support of a leper hospital. Occasionally, 
however, they were applied to baser uses, the king's jester, for instance, 
receiving in 1133 a charter for the fair of St Bartholomew, held annually 
after that date until 1855, when this, the last of all the London fairs, 
was abolished as had been the rest, as public nuisances, "productive of 
grievous immorality."

While, during the first half of the present century, national exhibitions, 
and some almost of an international character, were held at the 
metropolitan cities of Europe, prejudice and indifference long stood in 
the way of such enterprises in the United Kingdom. Some minor efforts 
there were, as in the exposition of 1828, which after a lingering 
existence of several years, sank to the level of a bazaar; but the only 
one approaching to national importance was at Birmingham in 1849, and then 
considered as a marvel of industrial display. At length, after spread of 
railroad and steamship lines had 

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brought England into closer communication with the industrial and 
commercial centres of the world, it was determined to hold in London an 
international exhibition on such a scale as had never before been 
witnessed. A royal commission was appointed, and on a site appropriated 
for the purpose in Hyde park, was erected the temple of glass and iron 
known as the Crystal Palace, afterward removed in sections to its present 
location at Sydenham. It was in truth a stupendous and yet a tasteful 
edifice, its length corresponding in number of feet with the date of the 
year, with a width of 400 feet, and an annex of large proportions, 
covering in all an area of some 23 acres.

For the design, competition was invited from the architects of all 
civilized nations, and with the result that out of the 230 plans 
submitted, that of Joseph Paxton, who adopted as his model the leaf of the 
Victoria Regia, or African water lily, was the one selected. In the 
construction of this building, one of the largest as yet erected on the 
face of the earth, there were used 900,000 square feet or 400 tons of 
glass, with 3,300 iron columns, and of lumber and other materials 
sufficient to build a city almost as large as was then the city of 
Chicago. Within a few months the structure was completed by an army of 
workmen, mustering at times more than 2,000, and with many additional 
thousands employed in other departments of the enterprise.

On the first of May this so-called Great Exhibition was opened by the 
queen in person, in the presence of such an assemblage as had seldom 
before been gathered on British shores. The inaugural address was 
delivered by Prince Albert, one of the originators of the enterprise, and 
among the invited guests were such men as Lord Palmerston and the duke of 
Wellington. At a banquet given by the mayor of London the prince delivered 
an after-dinner oration, from which the following extract may be of 
interest, for his remarks apply with even more pertinence to the days in 
which we live: "Nobody who has paid any attention to the particular 
features of our present era, will doubt for a moment that we are living at 
a period of most wonderful transition, which tends rapidly to accomplish 
that great end to which all history points, the realization of the unity 
of mankind, not a unity which breaks down the limits and levels the 
peculiar characteristics of the different nations of the earth, but rather 
a unity, the results and products of these ver national varieties and 
antagonistic qualities. The distances which separated the different 
nations and parts of the globe are gradually vanishing before the 
achievements of modern invention, and we can traverse them with incredible 
speed; the languages of all nations are known, and their acquirement 
placed within the reach of everybody; thought is communicated with the 
rapidity, and even with the power of lightning. On the other hand the 
great principle of the division of labor, which may be called the moving 
power of civilization, is being extended to all branches of science, 
industry, and art. While formerly the greatest mental energies strove at 
universal knowledge, and that knowledge was confined to few, now they are 
directed to specialties, and these again to the minutest points. Moreover, 
the knowledge now acquired becomes the property of the community at large. 
Thus man is approaching a more complete fulfillment of that great and 
sacred mission which he has to perform in the world."

The exhibiting space was equally divided between home and colonial 
products and those of foreign lands, while of the 14,000 exhibitors 
somewhat less than half were of foreign nationality. Here was for the 
first time presented a general display of the productions of the civilized 
world, divided into the four departments of raw material, manufactures, 
machinery, and fine arts, and with 30 classes or subdivisions, of which 
only one was devoted to art, and contained but an indifferent collection, 
though including a few such gems as Powers' Greek Slave, for the first 
time displayed to English critics. Of all the exhibits the one that 
attracted the most attention was the famous Koh-i-noor diamond, around 
which clustered a ceaseless throng of the more vulgar sight-seers, eager 
for the hurried glance allowed them while passing in endless procession 
between files of the London police.

In the United States the Great Exhibition aroused but a feeble interest, 
the number of American visitors not exceeding 5,000, while of exhibitors 
there were somewhat less than 500. Of awards, however, we received a 
larger proportion than any of the foreign participants, including 107 
medals and 53 honorable mentions, among other prizes being thos eawarded 
to McCormick's reaper, to the woolen and cotton fabrics of Massachusetts 
and Rhode Island, and to American wagons, buggies, and trotting sulkies, 
whose lightness, strength, and durability were somewhat of a surprise to 
our English cousins.

During the 144 days that its doors remained open this fair was visited by 
more than 6,000,000 persons, 

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or an average of 42,000 a day, with receipts of about $2,500,00 against an 
outlay of less than $1,500,000. It is worthy of note that this, the first 
of our great world's fairs, was the only one which has thus far proved a 
great financial success, and that with a smaller expense and shorter 
existence than any, its earnings were the largest recorded prior to our 
own Centennial Exposition. As to its minor features it may be mentioned 
that goodly profits were secured, not only by the managers, but by those 
to whom special privileges were awarded. Thus the firm to whom was 
granted, for $16,000, the right of printing catalogues, sold about 300,000 
copies for the sum of $75,000, netting from $30,000 to $40,000 by their 
bargain. But still more fortunate was he who obtained the contract for 
supplying refreshments, for which he paid but $27,500, against $375,000 as 
the total of receipts. To the average sight-seer a spectacle loses much of 
its interest if not accompanied with eating and drinking, and that this 
was no exception is shown by the enormous consumption of victual and 
drink, though meals were limited to cold meat, potatoes, bread in some 
shape, and temperance beverages. Among other articles there was consumed 2,
350,000 loaves and cakes, or nearly half a loaf or cake to each visitor, 
with 700,000 pounds of ice, 70,000 of ham, of been an unknown quantity, 
and other materials in proportion.

The success of the Great Exhibition, and especially its financial success, 
led to similar enterprises in every portion of the civilized world, of 
which mention will be made in connection with the countries to which they 
belong. In England another exposition was projected for 1861, but the 
death of Prince Albert caused its postponement until the following year. 
On the first of May, 1862, it was opened in the grounds of the 
Horticultural society, London, with one of the most imposing pageants ever 
witnessed in this land of civic display. The building, incluidng its 
annexes, covered an area of more than 23 acres, and was surmounted, or 
rather consisted in part of two immense domes, larger than St Peter's, 
between which was a nave 800 by 80 feet, leading into a central avenue, 
and to innumerable glass-roofed aisles, galleries, and transepts. The 
exhibits numbered about 28,600, and resembled in the main, though on a 
larger an superior scale, those of the Exposition of 1851, as also did 
their classification, except for a few additional subdivisions. Among the 
more attractive features was the display of manufacturing and mechanical 
processes actually at work, as of needle machines, lithographic and copper-
plate printing, type-casting, wood-carving, and the making of gold chains. 
On account of the civil war the United States was poorly represented, wiht 
only 128 exhibitors, to nearly all of whom were awarded either medals or 
honorable mentions. On this occasion the art display was one of which the 
managers had no cause to be ashamed, including nearly 3,400 original 
paintings, not a few of which have since become world famous, with 900 
pieces of statuary, and a vast array of engravings and architectural 
designs. Though with 27 more admission days, the attendance was but 
slightly above that of 1851, and with receipts about $500,000 smaller, yet 
leaving a moderate surplus to the credit of the enterprise.

That no world's fairs have been held in England since 1862 is due to the 
prevailing impression that, with the ever-increasing variety of 
manufactures and mechanical and scientific appliances and inventions, 
these exhibitions would assume such mammoth proportions as to become 
unmanageable. It was therefore decided to hold an annual exhibition of the 
arts, of scientific inventions, and of manufactures, of the last only two 
or three branches at a time, but in such rotation as would permit all 
classes of manufactures to be represented at least once in every ten 
years. Though at first these smaller expositions were well attended, their 
frequency and the absence of any novel features soon brought them into 
disfavor.

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In Dublin international exhibitions on a small scale were held in 1853 and 
1865, both of which owed their existence to the liberality of private 
citizens. A feature in either was its art display, that of 1853 being one 
of the finest then extant, while many of the works in the collection of 
1865 were secured by the British government. Though fairly attended they 
were not a financial success, and failed to arouse more than a local 
interest.

In connection with art exhibitions should be mentioned the one held in 
Manchester in 1857, to which were contributed some of the choicest gems in 
the possession of the Royal Academy and of private individuals, including 
those of such masters as Holbein and Van Dyke, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir 
Thomas Lawrence.

Turning to the annals of french fairs and expositions, we find that among 
the most ancient of the former were those held at Lyons, by permission of 
the roman conquerors, and probably dating back to the reign of Augustus, 
who gave to the town its first large public improvements, and made it the 
seat of an annual assembly of deputies form the sixty cities of Gaul then 
under roman sway. Early in the fifth century the fairs of Champagne were 
regarded as long established institutions, and about the middle of the 
seventh was granted to the monks of St Denys by Dagobert, king of the 
Franks, one of the first charters for this purpose of which any record 
remains, "for the glorie of Goddes and the honour of St Denys at hys 
festival," as a Saxon chronicler has translated the royal missive. It is 
somewhat of a reflection on the age to learn that human chattels were 
among the commodities exposed for sale, and it is even related - and that 
on no dubious authority - that French children were taken in exchange for 
slaves, to be bartered away in foreign lands. In common with others, the 
fairs of St Deys were largely attended by foreigners, the Germans bringing 
for sale their cattle, the Saxons from southern Angleland, or England, 
their tin and lead, while the Sclavic nations furnished other metals and 
metallic wares. In the reign of Childebert they were also frequented by 
Hungarians and Neustrians, though losing somewhat of their importance with 
the decadence of commerce.

Fairs could be legally established by the king alone, the first one 
instituted under the dynasty of the Franks being authorized by royal 
edict, while, several centuries later, we find in the capitularies of 
Charlemagne a clause forbidding markets of any kind, except such as might 
be authorized by prescription of the monarch or his ministers. For those 
held at Troyes regulations were framed by Philip of Valois, which fairly 
represented European legislation on this subject. There was a presiding 
judge and a court of justice, often with a jury of merchants or traders; 
there were police officers for the preservation of order and the execution 
of the court's decrees; there were notaries for the attestation of 
bargains, and numerous other officials, among them the prud' hommes, whose 
duties resembled those of our market inspectors - the examination of goods 
exposed for sale, and the condemnation of such as were unfit for use. In 
many districts, however, the jurisdiction of fairs, together with a toll 
on all moneys received for admission and for the sale of certain 
commodities, was assigned to the 

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regular or secular clergy, the latter in trust for their churches, in 
front of which the fairs were opened, with due solemnity and ceremonial.

In what may be called the later feudal period, from the closing years of 
the twelfth until nearly the middle of the fourteenth century, fairs were 
held at most of the towns and burghs, and in many of the villages, a 
series of such fairs forming in some districts a continuous market. By 
ordinance of 1327, says Bourquelot, in his Foires de Champagne, 
commissions were gratned by the wardens of fairs for the exchange of 
money. The men thus privileged occupied a high position, and for their 
accommodation special stalls were provided, "opening on a square or 
street, containing a table with a cover, a bench, and scales." Some of 
them, who appear to have been acquainted with the banking system of the 
Lombards and Florentines, added banking to their other business, and there 
are instances where loans of money were made by the money changers of 
Champagne to French and foreign merchants.

With the development of legitimate commerce fairs decreased in importance, 
though still affording many privileges, among them a partial exemption 
from the all-devouring system of taxation inaugurated during the latter 
dynasty of the Bourbons. In the reign of Louis XVI the right to establish 
fairs was still reserved by the monarch, and by his simple decree they 
could be created, modified, or suppressed. Finally, with a few exceptions, 
they were swept away in the storm of the French revolution. Among those 
that still survive, the most prominent is held at Beaucaire, during the 
last week of July, and to this certain privileges were gratned by the 
courts of Toulouse. In the centre of the town a plaza is devoted to the 
purpose, in which are erected hundreds of stalls, where is exposed for 
sale almost everything that forms an article of commerce.

To the French belongs the honor of first adding the national exhibition to 
the local fair, though by the English this distinction is claimed for the 
London Society of Arts, whose displays date back to the year 1761. The 
latter, however, while partially of an industrial character, and including 
agricultural and other machinery, can not properly be classed as national 
exhibitions. The first one worthy of the name, though lasting but for 
three days, and with only 110 exhibitors, was at the Temple of industry, 
erected by Napoleon in 1798, in the Champs de Mars. Here, also, was 
established the system of awarding premiums and prizes by the jury system, 
and with a special gold medal offered to him whose exhibit should suggest 
the most effectual means of destroying British commerce. Others were held 
at brief intervals ending with 1806, but followed a few years later by a 
larger exposition held at the Louvre in 1819, with more than 1,600 
exhibitors, to whom were awarded some 800 medals and premiums. All these, 
and similar expositions continued until the middle of the century, were 
merely of a national character, not through the indifference of foreign 
countries, but as a matter of policy, the French minister a national 
character, not through the indifference of foreign countries, but as a 
matter of policy, the French minister forbidding the introduction of 
foreign products as an innovation dangerous to the industries of France.

In 1844, and again in 1849, industrial exhibitions were held in Paris, 
each one on a larger scale, and containing more varied exhibits than any 
of its predecessors. Both were located in the Champs Elysees, that 

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of 1849, though still only a national display, almost reaching the 
proportions of a modern exposition, with 5,000 exhibitors and nearly 4,000 
awards. In the exhibits, which consisted mainly of manufactures and 
machinery in motion, there were no special features worthy of note.

Of the four international exhibitions held in Paris, the first was opened 
in the Champs Elysees by Louis Napoleon on the 17th of May, 1855, and in 
the fine arts and their applications to industrial products contained such 
a collection as had never before been brought together. Conparing the 
display with that of the Great Exhibition in London, one could not but 
admit that Bonaparte's characterization of the British as a nation of 
shopkeepers was in a measure justified: for in the one the most attractive 
feature was its representation of the works of living artists, while the 
other was little more than an exhibit of raw produce, machinery, and 
manufactured goods. 

Even in the Palais de l'Industrie, the arts were well represented, though 
with a special building, styled the Palais des Beaux Arts, set apart for 
this purpose, while agricultural implements and other mechanical 
appliances, of which the London show so largely consisted, were consigned 
to inferior departments. At the close of the fair, on the 15th of 
November, medals were distributed among more than 10,000 of the 23,000 
exhibitors, of whom more than one-half were foreigners. The Exposition was 
an unqualified success, except for its financial affairs, and even this 
was of little moment, as the loss was borne by the government, and was 
more than compensated for by the amount expended by half a million of 
visitors. Among those visitors were the queen of England, the prince 
consort, and the prince of Wales, with at least 40,000 of their subjects, 
for here was a more complete representation of British products than at 
the exposition of 1851.

Somewhat of a utilitarian character was the Exposition Universelle, opened 
in April, 1867, in the Champs de Mars, a fitting site for a great world's 
fair, since here was celebrated the festival of federation which preceded 
the overthrow of the Bourbon dynasty, and here, on the first of June, 
1815, the great Napoleon held the last of his coronation ceremonies. At 
none of our international expositions, before or since, have the 
monarchies of the world been so largely represented, among those whom the 
French emperor entertained as his guests being the czar of Russia, the 
prince of Wales, the kings of Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, the 
sultan of Turkey, and the khedive of Egypt.

One of the main purposes of the Exposition Universelle was to furnish, as 
far as possible, a complete exemplification of the industrial resources of 
mankind, so classified that nearly all branches of industry, as applied to 
the satisfaction of human wants, were here represented. One of the most 
interesting features was the 

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architectural display, in which were reproduced the buildings of all 
nations, including all styles, classes, and periods of civil, military, 
ecclesiastical, and domestic architecture, from a fortress to a guard-
house, from a cathedral to a wayside chapel, and from the palatial 
residence of a European to the hut of an Eskimo and the tent of a Bedouin 
Arab. Not the least remarkable among the architectural specimens was the 
Exposition building itself, in the shape of an oval, covering 37 acres of 
ground, except for a small open garden in the centre, from which radiated 
twelve concentric aisles. The design, which was selected by Prince 
Napoleon, was such as to present the display of exhibits by classes and 
countries, so that each class of products could be followed in one 
continuous series through every producing nation.

Though better represented than at former expositions, especially as to the 
display of machiner and inventive appliances, the United states had but 
536 out of the 50,000 exhibitors. This country secured, however, a large 
percentage of awards, larger indeed than any other nation except France, 
herself, including five grand prizes, 18 gold medals, 76 silver and 98 
bronze medals, with 93 honorable mentions. As the American commissioner 
remarked, "The high position conceded by the verdict of the juries to 
American industrial products was not due in general to graceful design, 
fertile combinations of pleasing colors, elegant forms, elaborate finish, 
or any of the artistic qualities which cultivate the taste by awakening in 
the mind a higher sense of beauty; but it was owing to their skillful, 
direct, and admirable adaptation to the great wants they were intended to 
supply, and to the originality and fertility of invention which converts 
the elements and natural forces to the commonest uses, multiplying results 
and diminishing toil." At a meeting of foreign commissioners, held at the 
close of operations, it was recommended that other exhibitions should be 
held in rotation at the leading capitals of Europe; that inasmuch as their 
usefulness depends not on size, but on selection or quality, the tendency 
to increase the size of each succeeding exposition should be discouraged; 
that in future no prizes be awarded; that no goods be removed for sale, 
thus degrading an exposition to the level of a bazaar; and that for the 
better comparison of exhibits, arrangement should be by classes rather 
than by nationalities. Though offered by men whose experience and 
professional standing should have been given weight to their opinions, it 
does not appear that these excellent suggestions were adopted at other of 
the great world's fairs.

On the first of May, 1878, was inaugurated, by President MacMahon, the 
Exhibition of the Works of Art and Industry of all Nations, the first held 
in Europe under republican auspices. Again the Champs de Mars was selected 
as the site of the principal building, the Palais d'Industrie, arranged in 
a series of rectangular galleries, and with a dozen or more annexes 
outside its walls, covering in all an area of 54 acres. In the centre of 
this mammoth structure was the pavilion of Paris, containing the exhibits 
of the city in its corporate capacity, a neat and tasteful edifice 
absolutely novel in design. On the rue des Nations space was allotted to 
foreign participants, where each nation erected its own building according 
to its choice; and very odd was the choice of some of them, especially 
that of the United States, for the first time represented at European 
fairs by a home of its own. On the opposite side of the Seine, beyond the 
bridge of Jena, and half a mile distant from the Palais d'Industrie, was 
the palace of the Trocadero, afterward preserved as an exposition 
monument, and so named after a port in the Cadiz roads, captured by the 
French in 1823. This was devoted to music and the fine arts, with spacious 
galleries and open colonnades, and in its centre a vast music hall, 
accessible from all portions of the building and the grounds adjacent.

As in other of the french expositions, the art display was its most 
attractive feature, and next to that the machinery departments, especially 
those of England and the United States, Science and literature were also 
liberally represented, and some of the more valuable contributions in 
these and other departments were from the national institutions of France. 
Among the statuary were such gems as Albert Lefeuvre's Jeanne d'Arc as a 
Child, the groups styled faith and Charity, by Paul Dubois, from the 
monument to General de la Moriciere, with others whose modelling, 
treatment, and design rank them among the classics of modern art. Among 
the paintings were the masterpieces of Meissonier, Jules Breton, Corot, 
the elder Daubigny, and artists of all the French schools, whom this 
nation of artists delights to honor. In the gallery assigned to the United 
States there were several works of acknowledged merit, as the engravings 
of Vedder's Marsyas, Coleman's Venice Past and Present, Bunce's Approach 
to Venice, and a copy by Hovenden of his Breton Interior in 1793.

Though ranking only ninth as to number of exhibitors, the United States 
secured, as usual, a large proportion of awards, with one diploma of 
honor, four grant prizes, and medals of honorable mentions granted to 850 
out of 1,230 participants. On this, as on other occasions, the comparative 
insignificance of our display was due to the conservatism of congress, 
whose appropriations of $190,000 was less than one-third of the amount 
devoted by France, and below even the amount devoted by several British 
colonies and minor powers for their representation at the great show of 
1893.

Far beyond any of its predecessors was the International Exhibition held 
in the champs de Mars in 1889, the fourth in the French, and the ninth in 
the world's great series. So vast was the scale and yet so artistic the 
design that it became the wonder of the civilized nations of earth, and by 
all it was conceded that never before had been witnessed such a 
combination of the grand and beautiful in science, art, and industry. To 
recognize the merits of this stately panorama, one need not even have 
entered the buildings nor examined the contents, though representing the 
highest achievements of which the human race was capable. The conception 
of the project as a whole, the landscape effect of the site, the unique 
arrangement of the broad but graceful edifices 

Page 17

in one homogeneous and yet diversified plan, were alone sufficient to 
impress the visitor as a marvellous spectacular display.

Intended, as it was, to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the first 
republic, its purpose forbade the participation of European monarchies, at 
least in their official capacity; but of foreign exhibits and visitors the 
number was larger than at any former international exposition. The 
character of the exhibits will be learned from the appellation f the 
buildings, which included palaces of industry, of machinery, and of the 
fine and liberal arts, with ample space allotted to agriculture, 
horticulture, and manufactures. Interspersed among the main structures 
were groups representing, among other objects of interest, a street in 
Algiers, a Turkish village, the minarets of Tunis, and the dwellings of 
New Caledonia. Nor should we forget the world-famed Eiffel tower, 894 feet 
in height, one of the most attractive features of the exhibition, and 
still one of the curiosities of Paris.

While the art galleries formed one of the most interesting features of 
this effort, it surpassed, as I have said, all its predecessors as a great 
international exposition, with a larger scope and variety of exhibits than 
had ever before portrayed the phases of human industry. There were 
probably but few who could examine and fewer still who could appreciate in 
their entirety the treasures and attractions of this great spectacular 
display. To make the circuit merely of the grounds and buildings, the 
former occupying 173 and the latter 75 acres, required a journey of 
fifteen miles, and to form an intelligent estimate of their contents 
needed months of close observation and study. An enumeration of details, 
and still more a comparison, would be of itself an arduous task, for here 
was outlined whatsoever the toil and ingenuity of man had contributed to 
the welfare of his kind. Here were the costliest merchandise, the choicest 
products of farm and factory, the most powerful machinery, the most recent 
inventions and appliances, the decorative art of China and Japan, the 
priceless art treasures culled from the studios of Italy and France, - all 
these and other departments without number representing the progress and 
relative condition of civilization.

And how does Chicago compare with this artistic and industrial achievement 
after all her lavish expenses and earnest striving to build up an 
exposition that should prove a credit to herself, and to the nation which 
she represents? Said American visitors to the Paris fair: "Only in Paris 
can such marvels be accomplished." And yet in the opinion of critics, not 
only of American but of foreign critics, the World's Columbian Exposition, 
taken in its entirety, will as afar excel the Parisian display as the 
latter outstripped all previous efforts. As an able writer has remarked, 
"Those who fail to see the exhibition of 1893, will fail to see the most 
beautiful spectacle which has been offered to the eyes of our generation. 
But those who have time to see only its general aspect, without studying 
any of its collections, wonderfully interesting though these would be, 
will have seen the very best of it."

Of the 55,000 exhibitors at the Paris exhibition of 1889, only 1,750 were 
from the United States; but among these were distributed nearly 1,000 
awards, including 52 grand prizes, 189 gold medals, 273 silver, and 220 
bronze medals, with 207 honorable mentions. As to visitors, the United 
States were more liberally represented, 70,000 out of the 1,500,000 
foreigners coming from beyond the Atlantic. Of English there were 380,000, 
of Belgians 225,000, of Germans 160,000, of Spaniards 56,000, of Swiss 52,
000, and of Italians 38,000; no other European country having more than 10,
000, though the civilized nations of the world, even far off Australia and 
New Zealand, contributed their thousands to this gathering of the nations. 
During the 183 days that this fair remained opened - from the sixth of May 
t the sixth of November - the total admissions exceeded 28,000,000, nearly 
twice the attendance at the Exposition of 1878, and nearly thrice that at 
our own Centennial Exposition. The average daily admissions were 137,000, 
against 82,000 in 1878, and 62,000 in 1876, the greatest number being on 
closing day, when no less than 400,000 persons were present, the largest 
gathering thus far in the annals of great world's fairs. Considering the 
superior attractions of the Columbian Exposition, an average attendance of 
150,000 a day, as anticipated by its managers, is by no means an 
extravagant estimate.

For the first time in the history of the French, or indeed of any other 
international expositions, except for those held in London, the 
undertaking of 1889 proved a financial success. The entire cost, including 
all articles chargeable to buildings and grounds, with operating and other 
expenses, was stated at $8,300,000, or $300,000 less than the original 
estimate, against total receipts from all sources of $9,900,000, thus 
leaving a surplus of $1,600,000. That such results were obtained was 
largely due to strict attention to detail, to the perfect organization of 
every department, and to the experience and ability of managers and 
officials. But this margin of profit was one of the smallest issues of the 
affair, considered from a monetary point of view. It was estimated that, 
during the term of continuance, American visitors alone expended more than 
$50,000,000, while each of the 1,500,000 foreigners 

Page 18

may have expended, on an average, about $100, or $150,000,000 in all. Add 
to this at least $120,000,000, as the contributions of the French 
provinces, at the rate of 220 for each of the 6,000,000 sight-seers, and 
we have a total of $270,000,000 finding is way into Parisian coffers. So 
great, indeed, was the influx of gold, that the reserves in the Bank of 
France were larger than ever before, while by storekeepers, theatres, 
hotels, restaurants, railroads, and in countless other directions, was 
felt the stimulating influence of this gathering of the nations.

In Austria, Germany, and elsewhere in central and northern Europe, fairs 
were common in the earlier centuries of the Christian era. At some of them 
slaves were offered for sale, and not a few were held soley for traffic in 
human chattels. This custom was later introduced into England, probably by 
German traders, and though slavery was never among her institutions, 
differing in essential points from the villeinage for which it has been 
mistaken, barter in slaves was encouraged under the Norman, and perhaps 
under the earlier Plantagenet dynasty. Of modern German fairs the largest 
and most attractive are held at Leipsic, thrice a year, beginning with New 
Year's day, Easter Sunday, and Michaelmas day, the Easter fair being 
restricted to the display and sale of books, and attended by the principal 
booksellers of Germany, and adjacent countries, with new publications to 
the number of several thousand entered on each of its annual catalogues. 
Other fairs are held at Frankfort-on-the-Main and Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 
but are no longer, as in former years, of world-wide interest and 
celebrity. Thus far no great international expositions have been held in 
Germany, though the country has been well represented in those of Europe 
and the United States, appropriating for her building and exhibits at the 
Chicago Fair the largest amount, with one exception, contributed by any of 
the foreign participants.

A world's fair opened at Munich in the spring of 1854, with 7,000 exhibits 
housed in a building modelled after the Crystal palace, but on a smaller 
scale, was cut short after a three months' existence by the approach of 
Asiatic cholera. An exposition held at cologne in 165 was limited to 
agricultural and horticultural exhibits; and in the same year was an 
industrial display at Stettin, with 1,450 exhibitors. At Berlin, in 1870, 
was an exhibition of drawing implements, probably the best thus far in its 
special line, as was, seven years later, the one at Hamburg devoted to the 
dairy products of European countries.

Fifth on the list of great world's fairs, and first as to hugeness of 
aspect, was the one held under government control at Vienna in 1873. A 
commission was appointed for the purpose, selected from the chiefs of 
departments, and from artists and men of science who had participated in 
former exhibitions. By the other nations of Europe commissions were also 
chosen, such as would do honor to the occasion; and never before had been 
assembled in the Austrian capital such an array of gifted and eminent men. 
At the head of the British commission was the prince of Wales, and among 
its members were the marquis of Ripon, Baron Rothschild, and the duke of 
Teck. Other foreign powers were represented by semi-royal commissions, and 
as president of the undertaking was appointed Archduke Regnier, with 
Archduke Charles Louis as protector. But notwithstanding all its pomp and 
pageantry the affair was not a success. By the almost unanimous verdict, 
at least of foreign visitors, it was condemned as inconveniently large, as 
cumbersome in design, and elephantine in proportions, while its defects 
were further increased by careless and inartistic grouping of exhibits.

The display was made in the Prater, or park, in the suburbs of Vienna, the 
Central park of the Viennese, formerly a portion of the imperial domain, 
but in 1776 donated for public use by Joseph II. In the principal 
building, afterward used as a national museum, was a nave more than half a 
mile in length, with sixteen intercepting transepts, and a colossal 
central dome, 350 feet in diameter, at that time the largest in the world. 
In common with the Machinery hall, with its 2,600 feet of length, and its 
ten acres of exhibiting space, the main building was remarkable more for 
the bulkiness than for the beauty of its architecture. Scattered 
throughout the grounds, amid the setting of their woodland scenery, were 
buildings erected by many nations.

Page 19

In making its public announcement, some three years before the opening 
day, the Austrian government proposed to represent, as far as possible, 
the existing condition of modern civilization, together with all the 
branches of national economy, with a view to promote their further 
development and progress. As a display of industrial products, processes, 
and appliances, the collection of exhibits was one of the most complete 
that had thus far been brought together. The machinery department was 
perhaps its strongest feature, containing as it did, almost every known 
variety. Through the centre of the hall extended from end to end an array 
of machinery in motion, separated by aisles on either side from that which 
required no motive power. Thus, for the space of half a mile, the visitors 
passed through unbroken lines of machinery of every conceivable pattern 
and use, and of every degree of power, magnitude, and workmanship. Among 
other attractions were the farming experiments conducted in the vicinity 
of the grounds, where might be seen at work steam and ordinary ploughs, 
with reaping, mowing, threshing, winnowing, and other agricultural 
machines and implements.

Diplomas of honor, medals, and honorable mentions were freely distributed 
among the 70,000 exhibitors, and of the awards 442, including nine 
diplomas and 284 medals, fell to the 654 exhibits of the United States. As 
at other international expositions, however, the people of the United 
States were not represented in a matter befitting their reputation for 
enterprise. "The very freedom and ease of sending to Vienna," says Edward 
Everett Hale, "tempted countless quacks to send their humbugs to the show; 
and in the same proportion the judicious have refrained. It became, to a 
considerable extent, an advertising display. The American exhibition at 
Vienna was full of quackeries, advertising themselves at the cost of the 
nation; and this cannot be avoided, unless the collection of exhibits is 
made up on a system, as was so thoroughly done by the Japanese government. 
It is for such reasons that the Vienna Exhibition is certainly too large. 
If it is a specimen of the world, one wants a smaller museum made which 
may be a specimen of the Exhibition.

With the largest outlay, and apart from the Paris Exposition of 1867 the 
largest number of exhibitors, the receipts were the smallest so far 
recorded at any of our great world's fairs. The reasons for such results 
are contained in Mr Hale's remarks, though also due in part to the extreme 
rapacity of hotel keepers, tradesmen, and others who advanced their prices 
from 50 to 100 per cent, thus not only deterring visitors from distant 
lands, but hundreds of thousands among the middle classes of Austria, 
Germany, and adjacent countries. Even within the grounds and buildings 
extortion was shamelessly practised, charges being made by those to whom 
concessions had been granted, even for the use of lavatories, chairs, and 
other conveniences that should have been provided free of cost. The number 
of admissions for which payment was made at the doors fell to the low 
average of 19,000 a day; the entire receipts were $1,750,000, against a 
total outlay of $7,850,000.

In Holland, and in portions of Belgium, the annual fairs held at 
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other large cities are the signal for much 
boisterous merriment and rejoicing among all classes of the people. The 
theatres and shows are largely patronized, the farmers and villagers 
looking forward to the occasion as one on which to satisfy alike their 
household wants, their curiosity, and their taste for amusement. Then does 
the Dutchman lose his self restraint, parading the streets by day and 
night with noisy demonstrations and a vast consumption of solid an 
bibulous refreshments. An exhibition of Dutch industries held at Haarlem, 
in 1861, was followed in 1864 by one at Amsterdam, which included also an 
art collection, and again in 1869, at the latter city, by 

Page 20

one under the auspices of the Netherlands Society of Manufactures. At 
Brussels and Ghent industrial expositions have been held at intervals 
since 1856, for the most part of a local character.

In Russia, fairs are still of frequent occurrence, widely distributed as 
to location, and of origin so remote as long to antedate those of other 
European nations. From time immemorial Russian merchants were accustomed 
to meet those of eastern countries at some point on the middle Volga, the 
site of the principal fair changing several times from the middle of the 
tenth century, when it was held in Bakhrimovo, until early in the 
nineteenth, when it was transferred to its present seat at Nijni Novgorod. 
At the first of these latter fairs in 1817, it was estimated that goods to 
the value of $27,000,000 changed hands, the amount increasing to $371,000,
000 in 1880, and with an attendance of more than 130,000 traders, gathered 
from a region extending westward beyond the Russian borders, and eastward 
into the heart of Asia. The principal commodities include manufactures of 
all kinds, especially iron and iron wares, with fabrics of cotton, linen, 
wool, and silk, with furs, skins, and leather, and with flour, fish, salt, 
tea, wine, brandy, and other articles of luxury and necessity. The prices 
of many classes of goods, and especially of textile manufactures is 
determined throughout central Russia by those established at the Nijni 
fair, as is also in part the amount of production, especially of iron and 
its manufactures. Fairs at Kiakhta, on the Chinese border, have lost much 
of their importance within recent years, as the result of the increased 
facilities of communication and the abolition of monopolies formerly held 
by Kiakhta merchants. Elsewhere in Siberia fairs are numerous, by largely 
taking the place of legitimate commerce in this remote and sparsely 
populated region. In 1860, and again 

Page 22

in 1870, industrial expositions were held at St Petersburg, and two years 
later one at Moscow, the latter illustrating the progress of Russian 
manufactures. All were on a limited scale, and of a purely national 
character.

The internal commerce of Turkey is mainly conducted by means of fairs, and 
is almost entirely in the hands of aliens, the Turks devoting themselves 
to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, though even from these they are 
being gradually excluded as their lands pass into the possession of 
foreign mortgages. Among the more important is the one held at Usundji, in 
Roumelia, at which the manufactures of western Europe are largely 
represented. In modern Greece fairs are equally numerous, and at such 
gatherings held at many a point of historic interest, as at Pharsalia in 
Thessaly, the Greek trader still displays the shrewdness and business 
acumen for which he was noted in the days of Pericles. At Athens a 
national exhibition was held in 1859, and in 1863 one at Constantinople, 
at which, in addition to Turkish products, there were also exhibits of 
foreign machinery.

In Italy the principal fair and festival, held in July and August of each 
year, at Sinigaglia, in honor of St Mary Magdalen, is attended by 
thousands of traders from southern and central Europe, and even from 
northern Africa. The wares exposed for sale consist mainly of silk and 
silken fabrics. In Florence was held in 1861 an exhibition of Italian 
industries, agriculture, and arts; but though the art collection and the 
display of agricultural products peculiar to northern and central Italy 
were varied and rich, they failed to attract more than a local interest. 
Previous expositions held in Italy, including one opened at Naples some 
years before, were devoted almost entirely to agricultural exhibits. At 
Turin was also a display of Italian products in 1870; at Naples in the 
following year was an international maritime exhibition, and one at Milan 
of selected branches of industry.

In Spain, the most popular of her fairs and feasts is opened on the 15th 
of May in each year, at the hermitage of San Isidro del Campo, when such 
crowds assemble from far and near as no other Spanish festival has the 
power to attract. Except for a small dis play of industrial arts at 
Madrid, in 1854, nothing was attempted in this direction until 1891, when 
provision was made by royal decree for a series of international 
celebrations in honor of the forth centennial anniversary of the discovery 
of America. Among them the most prominent were the Exposicion Historico-
Americana, and the Exposicion Historico-Europea, to be opened 
simultaneously toward the close of the following year. The former was 
intended to illustrate the civilization of Spanish-America from the close 
of the fifteenth to the middle of the seventeenth centuries, a period 
which included the earlier efforts at colonization and settlement. This 
exhibit also purposed to represent the condition of the native races, 
their dwellings, arms, utensils, customs, and characteristics, together 
with the effect of European discovery, influence, and conquest. In the 
Historico-European Exposition it was purposed to display the connection 
between European and American history from the year 1492, when the 
caravels of the great navigator anchored off Española, until in 1620 the 
pilgrim fathers set foot on Plymouth rock. In connection with these 
exhibitions other celebrations were held, of which the most interesting 
was the one at Huelva, consisting of a scientific, artistic, and literary 
congress, followed by festivals and naval demonstrations.

Turning to our own continent, we find that, early in the sixteenth 
century, fairs were held by the native tribes of Mexico and Central 
America at all the larger towns, where agricultural and manufactured 
commodities were exchanged or sold to itinerant traders. To the Nahua 
nations stores and shops were unknown, but in their place were daily 
markets, at which articles of all descriptions were exposed for sale, with 
special markets or fairs at least once a week, and attended not only by 
local patrons but by merchants from all the country round. At each of the 
two market places in the ancient city of Mexico it is said that 100,000 
people were not infrequently present, while at the suburbs of Tlatelulco 
was one larger than that at Salamanca, exciting the wonder of the 
Spaniards at the variety of wares exhibited and at the perfect order 
maintained. Here might be seen every species of the native fabric, with 
countless specimens of feather and metal work, in which the Aztecs 
excelled, with utensils and weapons, household furniture, provisions of 
all kinds, both cooked and uncooked, and an assortment of all the manifold 
products of pre-historic Mexico. By judges of the commercial tribunal 
disputes were settled, prices and measures regulated, and attempts at 
fraud or extortion severely punished, while the disorderly element was 
held in check by watchmen acting under their authority, by whom also taxes 
were collected on the several classes of merchandise.

After the Spanish conquest daily markets continued to be held in all the 
larger towns, with fairs at the leading centres of commerce, held at 
certain seasons of the year. To Jalapa was transferred, in 1820, the 
annual fair before held at Vera Cruz on the arrival of the fleet from 
Spain, goods to the amount of $30,000,000 changing hands on such 
occasions, and the influx of wealth causing the inhabitants to change 
their simple mode of life for the habits, and too often for the vices, of 
the Spaniards. At these gatherings, wherever held, was conducted a large 
proportion of the commerce of the surrounding country, raw and 
manufactured products being exchanged for linen and other goods, and 

Page 23

oil and wine, together with cheap and gaudy trinkets, disposed of at 
enormous profits. After a day passed in driving bargains, the night was 
given over to gambling and carousal, not infrequently attended with loss 
of life. Other fairs there were of a religious nature, as at San de Los 
Lagos, where throngs of devotees, assembling for worship at the shrine of 
the Virgin, mingled with the merchants and traders.

Within more recent years fairs and exhibitions have been held under the 
auspices of the general and local governments, some of them of a national 
character, representing agricultural and manufacturing industries and 
works of art, while others were limited to the products of individual 
states. At brief intervals, beginning with 1849, there were general 
exhibitions in the city of Mexico, and a project for an international 
fair, to take place in 1880, was favorably received, but was finally 
postponed. Meanwhile our sister republic has been well represented at 
several of the world's expositions, as at those held in Paris in 1855, in 
Philadelphia in 1876, at St Louis and Chicago in 1879-90, and at New 
Orleans in 1884-85, at all of which a number of medals, diplomas, and 
honorable mentions were awarded to her exhibits.

Among the many nations of Central America periodical fairs were held at 
all the larger towns, at which a multitude of traders assembled from the 
country round. At the smaller towns and villages were also fairs, at which 
articles of food and dress, weapons, ornaments, and implements, with other 
commodities of various descriptions were exposed for ale in the market 
place or public square, all transactions being regulated by a public 
official, whose duty was to correct abuses and punish those who attempted 
to violate the established laws of trade.

As to the other native races of the North American continent, few of them 
appear to have held either markets or fairs, or indeed to have possessed 
any form of distributing agency. Some exceptions there are, however, as 
the Eskimoes, among whom, in addition to local fairs there are others, 
established probably soon after the Russian occupation of Alaska, at which 
furs are exchanged for European commodities.

In Peru fairs were held in the days of the Incas at some of the more 
populous towns, where traffic was conducted merely by the interchange of 
products; for to the Peruvian, Indian trade in its proper sense was 
unknown; nor have any traces been preserved of the existence of foreign 
commerce. With the use of money, in whatever shape, they were entirely 
unaquainted , though from its mines were to be drawn the treasures which, 
for centuries after the conquest, should furnish the civilized world with 
the bulk of its metallic currency.

Among the modern Peruvians it does not appear that the fair was ever a 
favorite institution, and it was not until July, 1872, that the first 
national exhibition, on an extended scale, was opened under the auspices 
of President Balta. It contained a good display of native art and 
industry, among other objects of interest being a picture representing the 
funeral of Atahualpa, and statuary carved in alabaster, both by Peruvian 
artists.

In the United States the word fair is commonly applied only to such 
industrial exhibitions as are held for the encouragement of agriculture, 
manufactures, and the mechanic arts. Our first agricultural fair took 
place at Washington in 1804, and was repeated semi-annually for several 
years thereafter. Gradually the fair began to be recognized as an American 
institution, and since that date has spread to almost ever state and 
county in the republic. The first of our international expositions was 
held at New York in 1853, followed by one in 1865 at Philadelphia, the 
display consisting mainly of specimens of American produce and industrial 
skill. While recognized by the government and by several foreign powers, 
the former was stamped as a private speculation under the guise of a 
patriotic movement. So at least it was regarded by rival cities, though at 
the opening ceremonies commissioners were present from all the European 
participants. Another drawback was that, through some mismanagement, its 
doors were not opened until the hot season, or several weeks after the 
appointed time. The building was planned and named after the Crystal 
palace of 1851, but on a minor scale, and with certain original features 
in the design. Among the more interesting exhibits was the display of 
machinery, in which department the United States excelled all other 
participants as to number, quality, and variety.

Page 24

Such minor expositions have doubtless proved beneficial in promoting 
improvements in farming, horticulture, and stock-raising, and also in 
banding together these interests to defeat the machinations of 
speculators, middlemen, ship-owners, and railroad corporations. Partly to 
their agency was due, for instance, the establishment, in 1867, of the 
national grange, whose operations extended, a few years later, over 30 
states, with 1,400,000 members and $18,000,000 of capital invested in 
warehouses, elevators, and factories dependent on agriculture for their 
supplies of material. By this grange agencies were established for the 
interchange of products in every section of the republic, and to its 
patrons the most recent and reliable information was furnished as to the 
condition of markets and crops.

With the approach of the centennial year came a general desire to 
celebrate this anniversary of the nation's birth in a manner befitting her 
material greatness, and in such fashion that all other countries might 
participate. For the purpose there could be no more suitable location than 
the city in which the Declaration of Independence had been adopted and 
proclaimed; and hence it was determined to hold in Philadelphia, in 1876, 
on a scale that had never before been witnessed, the Centennial Exposition 
of the World's Industries. The first step was taken in March, 1871, when, 
by act of congress, a Centennial commission was created, in which all the 
states and territories were represented, and in the following year a 
Centennial board of finance. Soon afterward invitations were forwarded to 
the governments of all the civilized nations of the world, and were very 
generally accepted, England, whose participation was at first regarded as 
doubtful, sending a collection of paintings valued at more than $1,000,
000, with other exhibits of infinite number and variety, representing all 
her leading industries. Such, indeed, was the demand for space, that 
special buildings were erected, not only for several of the foreign 
exhibits, but for those of states and territories, and even of 
individuals, so that in all there were more than 150 edifices, built at a 
cost of at least $7,500,000, and covering an area of 60 acres, with 1,000,
000 square feet allotted as the exhibiting space of the United States, 200,
000 to Great Britain and nineteen of her colonies, including the dominion 
of Canada; to France and her colonies 100,000, and to other countries in 
smaller proportions.

The site selected was a wide level space in Fairmount park. In the grounds 
adjacent were wooded dells, ravines, and waterfalls, which, together with 
the venerable oaks that dotted the lawn-like expanse of turf, gave to the 
location a strong element of the picturesque. The main building, of brick 
and glass, with wrought iron columns and roof, was a stupendous structure, 
and one remarkable rather for immensity than for beauty of design. It was 
more than a third of a mile in length, and nearly a furlong and a half in 
width, with an interior height of 70 feet, and a floor area exceeding 21 
acres. The grand avenue, over 600 yards in length by 40 in width, was 
probably the longest ever planned in an edifice of this character. There 
were also side and transverse avenues, and in the centre a vast open 
space, on which fronted the displays of the leading nations, the exhibits 
of the United States occupying double the area allotted to all other 
nations. Next in size were the Machinery hall, covering 15 acres, and the 
Agricultural hall, with a floor space of somewhat over 10 acres. The 
Memorial hall, a massive structure of granite, and the Horticultural hall, 
of iron and glass, in the Moorish style of architecture, still remain on 
the ground, the former as a permanent representation of industrial art, 
and the latter containing a 

Page 26

choice conection of exotic plants. Others worthy of mention were the 
Woman's pavilion, in which was for the first time represented as a world's 
exposition an isolated exhibition of woman's work, and the Government 
building, where were illustrated all the functions of the United States 
government in time of peace, and its resources in time of war.

As to the character of the display, it may be said that in variety and 
value, in magnificence of design and beauty of combination, it had never 
before been excelled. To the outside world this representation of the 
marvellous industrial progress of the United States was in the nature of a 
revelation and especially as to manufactures, machinery, and labor-saving 
appliances, in all of which were surpassed the exhibits of European 
countries. In the fashioning of weapons and munitions of war she also 
taught them lessons which they were not slow to lay to heart. To all the 
industries of the country this exposition gave a decided impetus, opening 
to our products the markets of the world as they had never before been 
opened. The years that have since elapsed have been marked by more rapid 
development than any in the nation's history, and in no small measure must 
this result be attributed to the influence of the Centennial Fair. But 
while in the mechanic arts we had little to learn from foreign exhibits, 
it must be admitted that in the fine arts, and in the artistic 
embellishment of articles of ordinary use, we were below the level of 
other communities. If in this particular we were aroused to a sense of our 
deficiencies, this was not the least important result of an enterprise 
than which our industrial annals contain no more interesting feature.

Not only in the multiplicity and excellence of its exhibits, but in the 
area of exhibiting space, in the number and size of its buildings, in its 
receipts, and with one exception in the number of visitors, did the 
Centennial Exposition surpass all previous efforts. Here were represented 
by thirty-seven different nations, and by nearly 31,000 exhibitors, the 
choicest agricultural and manufactured products, and the most recent and 
valuable discoveries and appliances in the field of science, that have 
ever been gathered from the vast storehouse of human industry and 
experience. If in their art collections and in some minor features the 
exhibitions held in London, Paris, and Vienna were deemed superior, none 
have been more widely appreciated than the one which, on the 10th of May, 
1876, threw open its doors to the most cosmopolitan assemblage ever 
gathered on New World shores. During the six months of its existence the 
average attendance exceeded 62,000 a day, or nearly double the average at 
the great European expositions, and with a total attendance of 9,911,000, 
the largest recorded up to that date, except for the Paris Exposition of 
1867, which, keeping open doors for some two months longer, attracted 
about 300,000 more visitors. On the 28th of September, or Pennsylvania day 
as it is termed, the admissions were 276,000, the greatest number thus far 
recorded in the history of international expositions.

Out of 13,104 awards, 5,364 were distributed among 21,689 foreign 
participants. The plan adopted on this occasion differed from all previous 
methods, substituting for the jury ssytem a number of judges, of whom one-
half were foreigners, and all were men of repute, experience, and ability. 
There were no graduated awards, but simply medals of merit and not of 
superiority, the reports of the judges alone indicating the comparative 
qualities of such exhibits as were deemed worthy of this distinction.

From a financial point of view the Centennial Exposition was a failure, as 
were all the previous world's fairs, with the exception of those held in 
London. The total cost was stated at $8,000,000, and the entire receipts 
at $4,300,000, a somewhat discouraging result, but one that compares 
favorably with several former exhibitions. It is not, however, on the 
basis of dollars and cents that the success of such an effort can be 
estimated. Far above this is its industrial effect in stimulating our 
people to a yet more intelligent rivalry with European 

Page 27

nations, in showing to those nations what has been accomplished and what 
is to be expected from American enterprise, in overcoming their 
prejudices, and opening among them a wider market for our products. Nor 
have all traces of the Centennial Exposition disappeared with the 
dispersion of its exhibits. In Philadelphia its records remain in the 
Memorial and Horticultural halls, while at the national capitol the 
display of the United States government is still preserved intact, and to 
this have been added the government exhibits of nearly all foreign 
participants, forming with other contributions the nucleus of the national 
museum oat Washington.

In Boston was held in 1883, with the somewhat ambitious title of The 
American Exhibition of the Products, Arts, and Manufactures of Foreign 
Nations, the smallest of our international expositions, and yet with the 
largest number of foreign participants, though, apart from the Chinese and 
Japanese sections, the exhibits contained little of special interest. It 
was purely a local enterprise, conducted by some of the leading citizens 
of Boston, but with government sanction, an act of congress permitting the 
introduction of exhibits free of duty, while by the secretary of state 
letters were addressed to all diplomatic representatives, requesting them 
to bring the matter before the notice of foreign governments. The 
building, erected at the expense of the Massachusetts Charitable 
Mechanics' association, was afterward used for its own periodical 
exhibitions. Though not a money-making venture, it led to an increased 
demand for certain varieties of products, and created a demand for others.

In the southern states the first large public fair was the International 
Cotton Exposition at New Orleans in 1881, followed some two years later, 
by the Southern Exposition at Louisville. Except as a display of southern 
products they were not of special interest, northern and foreign exhibits 
being few in number, and of inferior quality. Both were, however, 
introductory to the World's Industrial and Cotton Centenary Exposition 
opened at New Orleans in December, 1884, the word centenary referring to 
the inception, in 1784, of our commerce in cotton, when a few bags were 
shipped from Charleston by way of experiment. In addition to a most 
interesting show of southern staples, there were valuable exhibits from 
the northern states, and from the several departments of the national 
government, all classed in twelve divisions, including among others 
agriculture, horticulture, manufactures, and mining, together with works 
of art and illustrations in natural floor space of several acres, was the 
finest ever displayed by our sister republic. The main building, glass 
roofed and constructed entirely of timber, covered even a larger space 
than that of the Centennial Exposition, and with a music hall in its 
centre capable of seating 10,000 persons. In the grounds were also many 
attractive features, among them groves of citrus and other sub-tropical 
fruit trees.

While the larger civic exhibitions have been limited to Europe and the 
United States, there have been minor expositions at many of the great 
centres of wealth and population in other quarters of the world. At Madras 
was held, in 1852, an exhibition of native industry; at Calcutta and 
Lucknow, in 1864, of agricultural products; at Dunedin, in 1865, of 
colonial products; at Rio de Janeiro, in 1866, of raw produce; at 
Melbourne, in the same year, was an intercolonial exposition, and, in 
1881, a larger display of an international character; at Agra, in 1867, 
was one at which the industries of northwestern Hindostan were 
represented; at Sydney, in 1870, an intercolonial exhibition with nearly 3,
000 exhibitors; and an international exhibition 

Page 28

in 1879, at which the United States and several European nations were 
represented; at Kioto, Japan, between 1872 and 1876, was a series of 
exhibitions of Japanese art and manufactures; and at Cape Town, in 1877, 
an international exhibition of home and foreign manufactures.

In concluding this sketch of fairs and international expositions, it may 
be remarked that as to their educational value there can be no difference 
of opinion. Little more than four decades have elapsed since the first one 
was opened in London in the spring of 1851, and during the intervening 
years in this the heroic era of the world's progress, much of our 
marvellous achievement in all branches of science and art has been due to 
these potent factors in the civilizing influences of the age. By bringing 
the nations of the earth into closer intimacy, by destroying their 
prejudices, and showing them that in some directions each can learn of the 
other, a generous rivalry has been inaugurated, with improvements in 
methods and appliances, and a redundancy of inventions such as has never 
before been witnessed. And to the fine arts, no less than to the mechanic 
and industrial arts, do these remarks apply. Even the self-confidence of 
the Briton gave way when the exhibit of 1851 taught him how inferior were 
his goods in artistic design and finish, causing in this respect a 
revolution in many branches of British manufacture. And since the 
Centennial Exposition revealed to us our own defects, more progress has 
been made in this direction than for half a century before, causing almost 
a renaissance in art and its application to articles of common utility.



Page 29

Chapter the Second:
Historical Sketch of Chicago

It has been said that of all the marvels of the Chicago Exposition, the 
most marvelous is Chicago. However this may be, certain it is that the 
attention of the thoughtful visitor is attracted first of all to the city 
whose builders thus invite and entertain the world of civilization as 
their guest. It seems therefore eminently fitting, before proceeding with 
the subject matter of this work, to present in briefest outline the 
history and condition of the place on which for the time is thus fastened 
the minds of men.

By a certain engineer employed by the government in the opening years of 
the present century on a survey of Lake Michigan, it was reported that 
there was only on spot on the shore of that lake where a city could not be 
built. On this very spot stands the business quarter of Chicago, a city 
ranking today the second in the United States as to population, the first 
in relative progress, and one of the first in volume of commerce, and of 
wealth. But if it were possible to behold the site of Chicago as it then 
existed, it would be seen that the engineer was by no means without good 
reasons for his statement. Here the prairie lands terminated in a wide 
morass, covered with rank, malaria-breeding vegetation, while in the 
centre of the tract a sluggish stream, the present Chicago river, 
overflowing at times the low, bare plain adjacent, served but to render 
still more desolate this abode of desolation. It was, in truth, as if 
nature, wearied with the work of creation, had here left over her last 
unshapen fragment.

Page 30

By the Jesuit annalist, Charlevoix, is mentioned the arrival in 1671 of a 
fur trader named Perrot, on the southwestern edge of the lake, amid the 
lands then occupied by the Miamis. Here is probably the first historic 
mention of Chicago, or rather of its site, for as yet no building stood on 
the shore of Michigan. Some two years later a survey of this region was 
made by Louis Joliet, an agent of the governor of New France, as was then 
termed the boundless territory of the far northwest. By him was traced on 
a rough map the course of the Chicago, or as it was then called the 
Chacaqua river, the latter being the Indian word for thunder, and from 
which is probably derived the name of our mid-continent metropolis, though 
by some its origin is traced to Checagow, or Chekagou, an onion, for 
onions grew plentifully along the banks of the stream. With Joliet went 
the Jesuit priest, Marquette, whose attempts to convert the natives were 
cut short by malaria. He was followed at intervals by others of his cloth, 
who, under the spur of religious enthusiasm, seeking to plant in these 
wilds the banner of the cross, found a martyr's grave on the banks of this 
fever-stricken creek. Meanwhile a few traders made their appearance, whose 
stay was of the briefest, and for years at a time the site of Chicago 
remained untrodden by civilized man. 

The first real settler appears to have been a negro, a fugitive slave, who 
about the year 1779 built a cabin on the bank of the creek, and 
established a thriving business as a fur trader, though his main object 
was to establish here a home of refuge for his unfortunate countrymen. But 
this benevolent purpose he appears to have abandoned, for not long 
afterward we find his cabin in the possession of a Frenchman named Le Mai, 
by whom it was again transferred to one John Kinzie, the latter, for the 
part which he bore in the earlier history of the settlement, being styled 
the father of Chicago. Near by a few traders had settled, and with a view 
to counteract British influence among the neighboring Indian tribes, in 
1804 Fort Dearborn was built, around it clustering for mutual protection 
the pioneers of the future metropolis. Thus matters continued until in 
August, 1812, almost the entire garrison, with a number of women and 
children, were massacred by the savages; the fort and its adjacent 
buildings were destroyed, and again over the scene of this tragedy brooded 
the desolation of the wilderness. Inserted in the wall of a warehouse on 
Michigan Avenue, near the Chicago river, is a large marble tablet, on 
which is a picture of the blockhouse of Fort Dearborn, with the log fence 
which inclosed it, and a brief description of its history, presented by a 
public-spirited citizen at the suggestion of the Chicago Historical 
Society. In 1816 the fort was rebuilt; but thenceforth its annals contain 
nothing of importance until, in 1871, the last vestige was swept away in 
the sea of flame that all but devoured the great city by which it was 
encircled. 

Page 31

In 1818, when Illinois was admitted to statehood, Fort Dearborn was known, 
where known at all, as a small frontier post, outside the pale of 
civilization. Some five years later, when first the tax-gatherer made his 
appearance in the farthest west, the entire property of the settlement was 
assessed at somewhat less than $2,500, the men of Fort Dearborn 
contributing $11.40 as their share of the county expenses. At this period 
its handful of inhabitants lived in utter isolation, save that once a year 
a schooner, dispatched by John Jacob Astor, called with a cargo of 
supplies, and bore away its annual tribute of furs, while two or three 
times a month a mail rider brought to this outpost in the wilderness the 
tidings of the world from which it was separated. 

About the year 1830 the settlement began to display symptoms of vitality, 
and in August of that year, under the auspices of the Illinois and 
Michigan canal commissioners, a corporation empowered to lay out towns on 
the government lands assigned to them, the original plan was issued of the 
town thenceforth to be known as Chicago. With the support of this powerful 
association progress became more rapid. In 1834, when the entire posse of 
the town assembled for a wolf-hunting expedition, the number of 
inhabitants was placed at somewhat below 2,000; in 1837, when the first 
census was taken, it had increased to 4,179; then, for a time, it appears 
to have remained almost stationary, for the United States census report of 
1840 shows only a gain of 300. In 1850, however, the population had 
increased to 30,000, and in 1860 to 109,000, a ratio of progress without a 
parallel, save amid the tented cities which sprang up almost in a night on 
the Pacific seaboard.(1) 

It was between these two latter decades, beginning with 1855, that the 
grade of the city was raised from about seven to an average of fifteen or 
seventeen feet above the level of the lake. This work was in truth a 
necessity, in order to provide a thorough system of sewerage, and to avoid 
the malarial fevers and other forms of sickness caused by the low, swampy 
site, a site which for years after Chicago had become a thriving 
commercial town was little better than a quagmire, and where, as one of 
her citizens remarked, "the one unequalled, universal, inevitable, 
invincible thing about the place was - mud." To accomplish this task the 
streets were filled in, and by means of jack-screws worked by steam power, 
not only the largest dwellings, but the largest business buildings and 
business blocks, together with churches, theatres, hotels, and edifices of 
every kind, were raised to the required elevation, and that without begin 
vacated, whether used for business or residence purposes. During these and 
other years the river was dredged and deepened, and by an extraordinary 
feat of engineering was made to change its course, its southern branch 
being connected, at a distance of two and a half miles from the lake 
front, with the Illinois and Michigan canal, which has also been so much 
deepened as to draw the waters of the lake. Discharging as it does into 
the Illinois river, and the latter into the Mississippi, this canal thus 
causes the Chicago river, instead of flowing into Lake Michigan, to finds 
its out outlet in the Gulf of Mexico. (2) Harbors were constructed at 
great expense with lines of breakwater forming huge basins for the 
accommodation of shipping, one of them 300 acres in extent. In the river 
itself, together with its branches crossed by more than fifty drawbridges, 
and with a dockage capacity of forty miles, vessels of the largest class 
can be handled, while craft of every description pass to and fro, at times 
in almost unbroken line. Other bridges, together with tunnels built under 
the bed of the stream, connect the business quarters of the city, and 
relieve the crush of its constantly increasing traffic. With such 
enterprise and almost preternatural activity on the part of her citizens, 
it is no wonder that as early as 1870 we find in Chicago a city of 307,000 
inhabitants, nearly threefold the population of 1860, tenfold that of 
1850, and with more than a corresponding gain in volume of commerce, 
industries, and wealth. 

But now a great disaster was about to overtake the young metropolis, one 
that should try to the utmost the sterling qualities of this the most 
fearless and self-reliant of modern communities. On a breezy Sabbath 
night, the 8th of October, 1871, an alarm of fire was sounded, caused by 
the overturning of a lamp amid the loose straw of a stable, in a section 
of the city built entirely of wood. Almost before the engines could get to 
work, an insignificant blaze was fanned into a conflagration, and far in 
advance of the flames firebrands were scattered broadcast by the gathering 
southwesterly gale. Though worn out by their task at a previous fire the 
night before, the firemen worked heroically, and all that men could do 
they did; but without avail. The flames advanced in one serried mass, 
devouring granite buildings as hungrily as wooden huts, and soon it became 
apparent that the business quarter was doomed. At Midnight a sea of fire 
covered the west bank of 

Page 32

the river; then laying hold of the bridges and the vessels moored to the 
docks, it leaped at a single bound across the stream. Half an hour later 
it seized on the gas works, and then swept forward with the fury of a 
demon, casting into the night its shafts of flame, to be swept by the 
storm athwart the devoted city. Presently, the two columns of fire, 
uniting in one, traversed the very heart of Chicago, driving on before, as 
with the flail of the fell destroyer, the homeless and terror-striken 
citizens, some of whom took refuge in the lake, as the only escape from 
the showers of sparks and cinders, from blazing firebrands, and from the 
fierceness of the heat. Toward the south the conflagration was finally 
arrested by blowing up a number of buildings directly in the line of its 
march; toward the north it was stayed only by the waters of the lake, or 
by lack of fuel to feed on. 

Of the many distressful incidents which marked the progress of the fire, 
and the days of black despondency that followed it, only a few need here 
be related, and those in the briefest of phrase. Thousands remained near 
their homes until the flames approached the last bridge over which escape 
was possible to the opposite side of the stream. Then came a general rush, 
which soon developed into a panic, and the bridge was choked with a 
frenzied mass of humanity, struggling for life. The strong pushed aside 
the weak, and hundreds were crowded over the rail-guard into the river, 
while horses, driven frantic by blazing firebrands falling on their backs 
broke loose from harness and trampled under foot whatever was found in 
their way. 

Forth from the houses rushed terror-striken men and women, leaving behind 
their jewelry, their silk dresses, seal-skin sacques, and other costly 
garments strewn at random on the floor. In a deserted chamber of one of 
the principal hotels was found a canary bird, singing merrily in his 
golden cage, illumined by the approaching flames as with the glare of 
noonday. To save valuable effects fabulous prices were offered to 
truckmen, as much as $500 being paid for a single load. Not a few of these 
carriers, effacing their license numbers to escape detection, drove off 
with the goods, and the price paid for the load as well. The cells in the 
basement of the courthouse were filled with murderers, burglars, footpads, 
and criminals of every degree. These, as the flames approached, it was 
determined to release, all except the first, who were conveyed to a place 
of safety. Then it seemed as if hell itself was let loose; for to the 
horrors of the conflagration were added the yells and curses of gangs of 
malefactors, rushing to and fro in search of plunder, without check or 
hindrance. Crime was rampant; the police were helpless, and for a time all 
respectable persons were permitted to carry arms. To prevent further 
destruction of property, not only by criminals, but by those who had been 
driven insane from its loss or from other causes, martial law was 
proclaimed, and throughout what remained of the city notices were 
placarded that persons caught under suspicious circumstances would be shot 
at sight. Private citizens were drafted into service as watchmen, soldiers 
patrolled the sidewalks, and after nightfall all civilians were compelled, 
at point of bayonet, to keep in the middle of the street. 

The destruction of the waterworks created a water famine, and residents of 
the west side, shut off from the lake by the burning district, were 
compelled to drink the stagnant water of the nearest pond, distributed by 
peddlers at five cents a glass. The explosion of the gas works left the 
city in darkness, and tallow dips sold at twenty-five cents apiece, the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, with its $70,000,000 of capital, sending 
forth its dispatches by candle-light from the dingy warehouse which it was 
glad to secure as headquarters. By business 

Page 33

firms enormous rents were paid for miserable accommodations. Of 
restaurants there were none left in the burned district, the leading 
restaurateur of the south side reopening his doors in a gloomy basement 
which survived the wreck of the conflagration. The price of all 
necessaries was extravagantly high, and hundreds of families, before in 
prosperous circumstances, were left without shelter or food, save for what 
could be obtained at free soup-houses, established by the authorities 
through fear of bread riots. 

As the destruction wrought by the fire has been tersely described, 
"Between the existence of a city and of none a single night intervened." 
Except for the burning of Rome by Nero, and of Moscow by the Muscovites, 
few more sudden or stupendous calamities have befallen any city of ancient 
or modern times. Within less than twenty-four hours the conflagration had 
swept through more than three square miles of the most populous portion of 
the metropolis; it had destroyed more than 17,000 buildings, and more than 
70 miles of pavement; it had blotted out of existence the entire business 
section, most of the railroad depots with their rolling-stock, most of the 
docks and much of the shipping, while of all the public edifices of which 
Chicago was wont to be proud, her courthouse and postoffice, her custom-
house and chamber of commerce, their remained only here and there the 
lurid skeleton of a wall. There were not a dozen wholesale stores left 
standing in the city; there were few hotels, theatres, or churches, and 
there was but a single bank. As to the loss in all its poignant details 
should first be mentioned that of 250 lives, and the rendering homeless of 
nearly 100,00 people. In property it was estimated at $196,000,000, of 
which less than one-half was covered, and less than one-fourth was paid by 
insurance; for such was the strain on their resources that many of the 
insurance companies were forced into compromise or bankruptcy. Add to this 
the depreciation in values of real estate, together with the temporary 
diversion of business, and it is probable that $250,000,000 is a moderate 
estimate of the damage wrought by the great Chicago fire of 1871. 

It is not my purpose further to describe the horrors of the Sabbath night, 
or the blank despair which, darker than its funeral pall, overshadowed the 
desolated city. After the lapse of well nigh a quarter of a century, those 
among the citizens of Chicago who passed through this fell tribulation, 
yet speak of it as though its incidents had been burned by the flames on 
the tablets of their memory. But if of the calamity itself the impression 
is vivid and indelible, still more fresh is their recollection of the 
prompt and generous aid dispatched from far and near, almost as soon as 
the tidings were spread throughout the land. On the day after the fire 
came a relief train, followed by scores of others, from every section of 
the United States, laden with the necessaries of life, for those whom the 
conflagration had left without shelter, food, or clothing. In funds the 
total of contributions from home and abroad amounted to nearly $5,000,000, 
and so carefully were all contributions administered by local societies 
that, even at the close of 1876, a portion was still undistributed. First 
of all the sick were cared for; the dead were buried, and the homeless and 
destitute were fed and housed and clad. For more than 40,000 persons 
barracks were erected; for workmen tools were provided; for work women, 
sewing machines; and for all, so far as possible, employment in one form 
or another. Thus it is said that the poorer classes were never in such 
comfortable and prosperous conditions as during the years that succeeded 
the fire. 

Even by the most sanguine it was doubted whether a dozen years would 
suffice to restore the city to its former proportions, and yet within a 
single year many of the largest business structures were rebuilt, and 
within three years the vacant district was covered with buildings more 
solid and costly than those which had been destroyed. Almost before the 
ashes were cold the work of rebuilding was commenced, though for a time 
men who had conducted in warehouses of granite some of the largest 
business enterprises in America, began a life anew in rough board sheds, 
built on the smoking ruins where but a few days before had stood their 
temples of commerce. It is in truth from the year of the conflagration 
that modern Chicago dates its existence, and that the city began to be 
built of which her citizens are so justly proud, a city as to its business 
quarter one of the most sightly and commodious of our great centres of 
traffic, and with fire limits so extended as to prohibit the erection of 
wooden buildings within its boundaries. In less than a twelvemonth after 
the fire the new buildings in course of construction covered a street 
frontage of nearly ten miles, and cost when completed more than $40,000,
000; in the next two years a frontage of about seventeen miles was 
erected, but at a smaller proportionate outlay; between 1876 and 1890 some 
68,000 structures were finished at a cost of $300,000,000, while for the 
single year of 1892 their number was nearly 13,000, and their value $64,
000,000. Thus was rebuilt the Garden city on a scale befitting her rank as 
the commercial emporium of the west, and one of the greatest commercial 
emporia in the world. 

When first the question was mooted whether Chicago could be restored and 
her business reestablished, there were many who shook their heads in 
doubt, and more who, though speaking words of cheer, felt little cheer at 
heart. But from the east came telegrams by the hundred, bidding the 
merchants of the fallen city to order whatever they required, and pay for 
it when they could. The years between 1872 and 1878 were considered a 
period of remarkable business depression; but rather should they be termed 
a period of business rehabilitation, of solid and permanent 
reconstruction, as appeared during the financial crisis of 1873, when 
failures were comparatively few; and of all of the great monetary centres 
of the United States, Chicago was the only one that steadily continued to 
pay out current funds instead of issuing certificates of deposit. 
Meanwhile, during this era of renewal and repair, debts were liquidated, 
obligations were met, new channels of commerce opened, and the balance of 
trade restored. In 1873, imports were no less than $300,000,000 in excess 
of exports, indicating somewhat of extravagance when it is considered that 
by this time the effects of the fire had almost disappeared; in 1878 these 
conditions had been reversed, exports exceeding imports by about the same 
amount. 

Page 34

He who would fully realize the commercial development of Chicago should 
study for a moment the causes which led to that development, first among 
which are its advantages of location. Less than half a century ago Chicago 
was, as I have said, but a frontier town with less than 5,000 inhabitants, 
and one little known outside its own immediate neighborhood. At that date 
the population of Illinois was less than half a dozen to the square mile; 
today the region within a radius of 300 or 400 miles of Chicago is one of 
the most densely peopled of any similar area in the United States. No 
longer does the city owe its prosperity to the westward tide of migration, 
but rather to the reflux of that tide, to its industrial and commercial 
refluence, to the vast grain and cattle and mining region which sends 
eastward to the city by the lakes its annual tribute of products, to be 
distributed thence to every quarter of the world. 

Standing on the southwestern shore of an inland sea, this city controls 
the commerce of the great lake system which extends more than half way 
across the continent, the bulk of this commerce passing over the water of 
Lake Michigan, and centring in Chicago. The shipping which enters and 
leaves its harbor is, as to aggregate tonnage, almost as large as that of 
the port of New York, while the cargoes conveyed to and from by way of the 
Detroit river, most of them gravitating toward Chicago, are greater in 
volume, if not in value, than those which pass through the Suez canal. 
From a few thousand bushels, shipped in 1839 by way of experiment, - the 
first grain shipment of which any record remains, - the total export of 
cereals had increased in 1892 to more than 200,000,000 bushels, valued at 
about $125,000,000, with some thirty grain elevators capable of 
accommodating as many millions of bushels. Of lumber, the receipts for 
1892 exceeded 2,000,000,000 feet, with shipments of more than half that 
amount. Of live-stock, the receipts for that year was estimated at $240,
000,000, the three items of grain, lumber, and live-stock forming the 
principal items in a commerce probably exceeding $1,600,000,000 a year. 
But of this amount the value of manufactures was represented by $586,000,
000, with more than 3,400 establishments, 180,000 operatives, and an 
invested capital of $230,000,000. 

While Chicago has traveled thus rapidly along the path of industrial and 
commercial progress, she has not been backward in providing for those 
higher forms of development which should rank above the pursuit of mere 
wealth. With temples of worship, with schools and colleges of every class 
and grade, with two universities, with academies of science and art, with 
scores of charitable, benevolent, and fraternal associations, with some of 
the best of libraries in the United States, and finally with a press 
almost unrivaled in enterprise and ability, it may in truth be said that 
Chicago will not suffer by comparison with the oldest cities of the 
Atlantic seaboard. Of churches there are more than 500 of all existing 
denominations, where every one may worship as taste or conscience 
dictates. From 3,000 pupils in 1855, when was issued the first report of 
the Chicago Board of Education, the school enrollment had increased to 152,
000 in 1891; and meanwhile the school expenditure had risen from less than 
$50,000 to more than $4,000,000, with a valuation of school property at 
the latter date little short of $10,000,000. There was also a college of 
law, with seven medical and five theological colleges, all in excellent 
working condition, while at private and denominational schools and 
colleges, there were probably not less than 50,000 pupils in attendance. 

But the crowning glory of the educational system of Chicago is her 
University, whose scope and work may best be judged from the fact that 
within a few weeks after its doors were opened, on the 1st of October, 
1892, there were no less than 700 pupils enrolled in its several 
departments. The University of Chicago is not, however, of such recent 
origin. Chartered in 1857 by the legislature of Illinois, and organized 
for active operations in the following year, its classes were continued, 
though under many difficulties , until 1889, when its career was cut short 
untimely by the pressure of financial embarrassments. At once it was 
determined to found a new institution on a broader and more solid basis, 
and in December of that year the matter was brought before the American 
Baptist Education Society, which promised its aid and cooperation. From 
some of the most liberal residents of a city noted for its liberality, 
including among other John D. Rockefeller and Marshall Field, 
contributions were secured amounting, with other funds, to more than $6,
000,000 before the close of 1893. 

Page 35

Meanwhile, during the previous summer, work had begun on the University 
buildings, all of which were to be complete, or nearly so, before the 
close of its natal year. Under the presidency of William Rainey Harper, 
formerly Yale professor of Semitic languages, Hebrew and Biblical 
literature, a scholar and author of worldwide repute, and a man of rare 
executive ability, the University of Chicago will doubtless prove worthy 
of her high calling as the education centre of our mid-continental states. 

Of other institutions of learning, of science and of art, as the 
Northwestern University at Evanston, with its thirty professors and 
lectures; the Chicago Athenaeum, or People's College, where thousands of 
young men and women have been afforded the means of a liberal education, 
and the Chicago Conservatory, with its several departments of literature 
and art, I can here make only passing mention. But of the Art Institute a 
few words must be said, if only in answer to those who would have us 
believe that art in its highest sense has never found a home in Chicago. 

Incorporated in May, 1879, with George Armour as president, succeeded in 
1880 by L. Z. Leiter, and in 1882 by Charles L. Hutchinson, who still 
remains in office, the Institute was opened in rented rooms, soon to give 
place to a building erected for the purpose on Michigan avenue, and this 
again to a brown stone structure of romanesque design. The latter edifice 
was sold with its real estate, its museum and school buildings, to the 
Chicago club in the summer of 1891. The sale was effected with a view to 
removal, at the close of the Columbian Exposition, into the tasteful and 
commodious Art museum erected on its grounds, but first to be used for the 
meetings of the World's Congress Auxiliary, the Fair commissioners having 
arranged with the trustees of the Institute to apply to the purpose of 
construction the sum of $200,000 on condition that the total cost of the 
structure should be not less than $500,000, and that it should be ready 
for temporary occupation by May 1st, 1893. But of this building, with its 
right of use and occupation, a more detailed description will be given in 
a later section of my work. 

In the report of the trustees, dated the 7th of June, 1892, the membership 
was stated at 2,177, and the number of visitors for the preceding year at 
138,511. In addition to the permanent exhibitions, there had been an 
unbroken series of special exhibits, with loans from some of the choicest 
collections in Europe and America. Many valuable pictures, statues, casts, 
and coins, with treatises on art and kindred subjects, had also been added 
to the treasures of the Institute. As to the more practical work of the 
Institute, it need only be said that instruction is given by a corps of 
professional teachers in many branches of art, including perspective and 
composition, drawing and painting, designing and modeling, with classes in 
architecture and mathematics. 

Thus in as brief as the nature of the subject permits, I lay before the 
reader a sketch of the history and somewhat of the present condition of 
the seat of the present great World's Exposition. There is here emphasized 
in some respects a condition of society and civilization, of intellectual 
and industrial activity, unique and individual. Search history from first 
to last, and we find no such phenomenal development, no such triumphs of 
commerce and manufactures, no association of men endowed with such a 
combination of intelligence and energy, with a nobleness of mind and 
liberality of heart and hand so pronounced in whatever tends to the 
elevation of the community, and the enlargement of the best interests of 
the commonwealth. Chicago has made many men, but the men must first make 
Chicago. And how shall I speak of the creation of Chicago? To make a city 
great, burn it; to make a city very great and prosperous, burn it twice. 
So of men: to become rich, give; to become very rich, give liberally. 
Among the ethics and economics which seem to govern the men who have made 
Chicago, sentiments like these lie latent. 

He who would picture to himself the Chicago of today, must imagine the 
city extending for more than twenty miles along the shore of Lake 
Michigan, with 2,500 miles of streets, 2,100 acres of public parks, 

Page 36

boulevards from 200 to 300 feet in width, and the whole being the centre 
of a railroad system including more than one-third of the mileage of the 
United States. In the business quarter he will pass between buildings from 
seventeen to twenty stories in height, whose upper floors, reached by 
swift running elevators, are utilized for business purposes almost as 
effectually as those on a level with the street. Entering, let us say, the 
Masonic Temple, he will pass to the seventeenth story between endless rows 
of apartments devoted to office and storage use. Thence to the twentieth 
story are the floors set apart for the Order, with their assembly and club 
rooms, parlors and dining-rooms, armories and storerooms, forming on of 
the finest suites of lodge apartments in the world. Ascending still 
higher, the visitor will find himself in a glass-roofed observatory, from 
which, undisturbed by the ceaseless din of traffic nearly 200 feet below, 
he may gaze across the waters of a tideless inland sea on the low-lying 
shores of Michigan, and landward on the prairies of Wisconsin, Illinois, 
and Indiana. Beneath him he may look down on tall church spires, whose 
crosses appear suspended midway in air, while the streets are narrowed to 
a thread, along which passes in one unbroken stream the pigmy procession 
of humanity. 

And the end is not yet. Great as Chicago is, the era of real greatness is 
yet before her. Little more than seventy years have elapsed since the site 
of this city was rescued from savage men and beasts; little more than 
twenty years since she began to recover from the ruins which her 
conflagration wrought; yet in this brief period she has risen to a 
prominent rank among the commercial, industrial, and social cities of 
either hemisphere. Most fitting it is that an Exposition which is to 
represent the progress of the world in science, industry, and art, should 
be held amid this the most progressive of all our New World communities. 

Notes

1. It may be of interest to note here the rise and progress of some of the 
chief towns of the Pacific coast in connection with our view of the 
marvelous growth of Chicago. Beginning with a rough board shant in 1835, 
Yerba Buena, the present San Francisco, had 50 inhabitants in 1840; in 
1848 the population numbered 800; in 1849, 20,000; in 1850, 25,000; in 
1852, 35,000; in 1860, 57,000; in 1870, 149,500; in 1880, 233,000; in 
1890, 298,000. New Helvetia, or Sutter's Fort, later Sacramento, had in 
1847, 300 people; in 1848, 2,000; in 1849, 5,000; in 1850, 7,000; in 1860, 
14,000; in 1870, 16,000; in 1875, 24,000; in 1880, 17,600; in 1890, 26,
000. Portland, Oregon, had in 1845, its two founders; in 1852, a 
population of 2,000; in 1860, 2,874; in 1870, 8,300; in 1875, 12,500; in 
1880, 17,600; in 1890, 47,000. Victoria, B. C., had in 1852 seven 
independent settlers; in 1853 there were 450 white people; in 1861, 3,500; 
in 1863, 6,000; in 1881, 12,000; in 1890, 20,000. Between the Mississippi 
river and the Sierra Nevada during the earliest part of this epoch, all 
was primeval wilderness, and a great part of it desert, save the Mormon 
settlement whose chief city by the Great Salt Lake had in 1848, 2,000 
people; in 1850, 6,000; in 1852, 10,000; in 1860, 14,000; in 1880, 21,000; 
in 1890, 45,000. If at any one time the population of San Francisco was 
greater than that of Chicago, it was in the autumn and winter of 1849, 
when the unprotected miners flocked to the cities to escape the rains; or 
in 1852, when the flush times had reached their height; but all this was a 
fictitious rather than genuine population.

2. It sometimes happens, hover, especially during heavy spring freshets, 
that the volume of water is so great as to reverse the current, sending 
the sewage of the city into the lake and thus unfitting its water for 
drinking purposes. To overcome this difficulty, a channel 100 feet n width 
and fourteen feet beneath the low water level of Lake Michigan, is now 
being cut from the south branch of the river to Joliet, 36 miles distant. 
It will discharge fully 300,000 cubic feet of water per minute, and it is 
believed that with this broad and deep canal completed, no emergency will 
arise threatening the drinking supply of Chicago which cannot be more than 
met. The channel, which, it is estimated, will cost $20,000,000, is to be 
a ship as well as a drainage canal.