Third Paris International Exposition of 1878

France, the country of technology and art

Name
:Exposition Universelle
Period
: May 20, 1878 - November 10, 1878
Venue
: Paris (Champ de Mars, Trocadero)
No. of visitors
: 16,032,000

By holding this international exposition, France, the defeated nation of the Franco-Prussian War, sought to raise the profile of the French Third Republic in the world, and to demonstrate its revitalization as the center of world culture. The exposition featured a close connection between scientific technologies and arts. At the venues, electric railcars were operated, and four fountains with water pumped up from the River Seine were constructed. Various international conferences were held at the exposition. Also, an aquarium was built taking advantage of the geographic features, a colony pavilion was built, and the head of the Statue of Liberty was exhibited. Some of the exhibits at the Machinery Pavilion were small-sized, but subsequently came into wide use . The exhibits displayed by the United States included sewing machines by A. Wilson and Singer Co., as well as a microphone and a phonograph, which converted sound to electric signals, by T. Edison.

References:

Finding, J. E., Pelle, K. D. ed.: Historical dictionary of world's fairs and expositions, 1851-1988 (Greenwood Press, 1990) <D7-B3>
Hirano, Shigeomi.: Kokusai hakurankai rekishi jiten (Uchiyama kobo, 1999) <D7-G26>