American exhibits at the 1867 Universal Exposition,

1867

Universal or international expositions were large-scale industrial and cultural exhibitions in which various nations participated. The first was held at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851, and it was succeeded every few years by an international exhibition in another major city, such as Paris, Chicago, Brussels, and New York. Inspired by the relaxation of customs barriers and controls on foreign trade during the mid-nineteenth century—when countries became reliant on the international market—these exhibitions allowed participating countries to showcase their latest feats of architecture, design, and engineering. They also gave the host country the opportunity to assert its economic and cultural strength. In 1867 the Universal Exposition was held at the Champ de Mars in Paris with 52,000 exhibitors. The encyclopedic displays featured products in four categories: raw materials, manufactures, fine arts, and machinery, the last of which is pictured here.