EXPOSITIONS & WORLD'S FAIRS

A trade show veteran explores the early history of world’s fairs in this nonfiction book.

Starting with 1851’s Great Exhibition in London, world’s fairs left an indelible mark on the 19th and 20th centuries. The fairs didn’t just produce some of the globe’s most iconic architectural landmarks, from the Crystal Palace and Eiffel Tower to Seattle’s Space Needle; they also served, per McGlincy’s convincing argument, as central hubs of innovation, art, and entertainment in an era before the advent of radio and commercial aviation. Divided into three parts, the volume’s first third offers an in-depth look at the Great Exhibition’s 14,000 exhibits, which were seen by six million visitors. This “seminal event of the Victorian era” ushered in series of other groundbreaking expos between 1851 and 1900, from Paris to Philadelphia, which are covered in the book’s second section. The author makes a direct connection between these fairs and various inventions that changed the world, including the McCormick reaper, the Singer sewing machine, and the Bell telephone. Part three concludes the work by surveying the role of international expos in the late 19th century in preparing the world for the next century through two headlining inventions: the lightbulb and the long-distance transmission of electricity. This is the first volume in a multipart series on expositions and world’s fairs; this work’s conclusion at the turn of the century sets the stage for the sequel, which will focus on American fairs in the 20th century. As the co-author of a previous book on the history of trade shows and a columnist for Exhibit City News, McGlincy is a seasoned expert on the history and vitality of the events industry and brings an insider’s passion to the text. Scholars may lament the book’s lack of formal citations, but the author nevertheless makes an effective (if not particularly novel) case for the cultural phenomenon that was world’s fairs. Coming in at just over 100 total pages, this is a concise, engaging work that includes an assortment of full-color photographs, paintings, newspaper clippings, and other historical ephemera.

An engrossing, visually satisfying history of 19th century world’s fairs.