The third Paris World’s Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from May 1 though to November 10, 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.
Construction
The buildings and the fairgrounds were somewhat unfinished on opening day, as political complications had prevented the French government from paying much attention to the exhibition until six months before it was due to open. However, efforts made in April were prodigious, and by June 1, a month after the formal opening, the exhibition was finally completed.
This exposition was on a far larger scale than any previously held anywhere in the world. It covered over 66 acres (267,000 m²); the main building in the Champ de Mars occupying 54 acres (219,000 m²). The French exhibits filled one-half of the entire space, with the remaining exhibition space divided among the other nations of the world. Germany was the only major country which was not represented, but there were a few German paintings being exhibited. The United States exhibition was headed by a series of commissioners, which included Pierce M. B. Young, a former United States Congressman and major general in the Confederate States Army, as well as other generals, politicians, and celebrities.
The United Kingdom, British India, Canada, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Cape Colony and some of the British crown colonies occupied nearly one-third of the space set aside for nations outside France. The United Kingdom’s expenditure was defrayed out of the consolidated revenue; each British colony defrayed its own expenses. The UK display was under the control of a royal commission, of which the Prince of Wales was president.
Displays
The exhibition of fine arts and new machinery was on a very large and comprehensive scale, and the Avenue des Nations, a street 730 metres in length, was devoted to examples of the domestic architecture of nearly every country in Europe and several in Asia, Africa and America. The "Gallery of Machines" was an industrial showcase of low transverse arches, designed by the engineer Henri de Dion (1828–78). Many of the buildings and statues were made of staff, a low-cost temporary building material invented in Paris in 1876, which consisted of jute fiber, plaster of Paris, and cement.
On the northern bank of the Seine River, worked constructed an elaborate palace at the tip of the Place du Trocadéro for the exhibition. It was a handsome "Moorish" structure, with towers 76 metres in height and flanked by two galleries. The building stood until 1937. On June 30, 1878, the completed head of the Statue of Liberty was showcased in the garden of the Trocadéro palace, while other pieces were on display in the Champs de Mars.
Among the many inventions on display was Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. Electric arc lighting had been installed all along the Avenue de l’Opera and the Place de l’Opera, and in June, a switch was thrown and the area was lit by electric Yablochkov arc lamps, powered by Zénobe Gramme dynamos[2]. Thomas Edison had on display a megaphone and phonograph. International juries judged the various exhibits, awarding medals of gold, silver and bronze. One popular feature was a human zoo, called a "negro village", composed of 400 "indigenous people".
Attendance
Over 13 million people paid to attend the exposition, making it a financial success. The cost of the enterprise to the French government, which supplied all the construction and operating funds, was a little less than a million English Pounds, after allowing for the value of the permanent buildings and the Trocadero Palace, which were sold to the city of Paris. The total number of persons who visited Paris during the time the exhibition was open was 571,792, or 308,974 more than came to the French metropolis during 1877, and 46,021 in excess of the visitors during the previous exhibition of 1867. In addition to the general impetus given to French trade, the revenue from customs and duties from the foreign visitors increased by nearly three million sterling compared with the previous year.
Concurrent with the exposition, a number of meetings and conferences were held to gain consensus on international standards. French writer Victor Hugo led the Congress for the Protection of Literary Property, which led to the eventual formulation of international copyright laws. Similarly, other meetings led to efforts to standardize the flow of mail from country to country. The International Congress for the Amelioration of the Condition of Blind People led to the worldwide adoption of the Braille System of touch-reading.
1878年巴黎世博會
1878年,法國巴黎世博會,法蘭西人在展館中陳示著舊石器時代的藝術(shù)品。西班牙游客索圖拉感覺展品中骨雕和巖石上的圖案似曾相識,與西班牙阿爾塔米拉巖洞中的符號十分相近。1879年索圖拉攜女兒來到阿爾塔米拉,在洞里穿行的女兒突然叫道:"看呀,爸爸,這里有野牛!"黑暗的洞窟中,他們看到了彩繪在巖壁上的野牛和野鹿。于是,這些沉睡了15000年的人類歷史最早的藝術(shù)品,被喚醒了。從此,索圖拉與"阿爾塔米拉洞穴藝術(shù)",共載史冊。
基本信息
名稱:第三屆巴黎世界博覽會
會期:1878年5月20日至1878年11月10日
參加國:36個
參觀者:1615萬
主題:農(nóng)業(yè)、工業(yè)和藝術(shù)
類別:綜合類 來源:考試大
總面積:75公頃
參觀者: 16156626
投資成本:11054330.07美元
簡介
1878年,法國巴黎世博會,法蘭西人在展館中陳示著舊石器時代的藝術(shù)品。西班牙游客索圖拉感覺展品中骨雕和巖石上的圖案似曾相識,與西班牙阿爾塔米拉巖洞中的符號十分相近。1879年索圖拉攜女兒來到阿爾塔米拉,在洞里穿行的女兒突然叫道:“看呀,爸爸,這里有野牛!”黑暗的洞窟中,他們看到了彩繪在巖壁上的野牛和野鹿。于是,這些沉睡了15000年的人類歷史最早的藝術(shù)品,被喚醒了。從此,索圖拉與“阿爾塔米拉洞穴藝術(shù)”,共載史冊。
1876年美國費城世博會剛落下帷幕,僅隔兩年即1878年又將在巴黎舉辦世博會。法國只是遵照自己當年的計劃——每隔11年在法國舉辦一屆世博會:1867、1878、1889在這么短的時間內(nèi)連續(xù)舉辦世博會,引起了人們的爭議。
聲音一:這樣會不會太過頻繁?會不會不受歡迎?
法國人回答說:不會的。
聲音二:我擔心結(jié)果會糟糕。
法國人安慰說:別擔心,親愛的。
聲音三:這樣做明智嗎?
法國人反問:上帝的歸上帝,凱撒的歸凱撒,您不這樣認為嗎?