Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/839

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E X H E X H 605 Topsham ; and those of the largest size lie at Exmouth, at the outfall of the river. Bibliography. Of older histories the most important is Izaeke s Antiquities of Exeter, 1681. The best later authorities are The, History of the City of Exeter, by the Rev. G. Oliver, 1861 ; Lives of the Bishops of Exeter and History of the Cathedral, by the Rev. G. Oliver, 1861 ; Archdeacon Freeman s History of Exeter Cathedral, 1874 ; and Murray s Handbook for the Southern Cathedrals of England (Exeter), see edition of 1876. (11. J. K.) EXHIBITIONS. National and International Exhibi tions may be ranked among the most remarkable features in the industrial records of the world, and have taken their place as prominent instruments of civilization, for by their means the diffusion of knowledge has been advanced and extended in the most wonderful manner. It is to the Society of Arts that the credit is due of having originated national exhibitions. So far back as the year 1761 that body offered prizes for agricultural and other machines, and had an exhibition of these in its apart ments. In 1798 France began a series of national exposi tions under the direction of Napoleon. The exhibitors at first numbered only 110, and a jury of nine was appointed to decide upon their merits. A gold medal was offered to the manufacturer who should deal the heaviest blow to English trade. The second exposition took place in 1801, and was so successful that the third was fixed to take place in 1802. Expositions were subsequently held in 1806, 1819, 1823, 1827, 1834, 1839, 1844, and in 1849, in which year there were 4494 exhibitors. This last was the conclusion of the purely national displays in France before the great London international exhibition of 1851. So exclusive were the French at that time that a proposal made for the representation of foreign products in 1849 was deemed by the minister of commerce to have emanated from the enemies of French industry. In 1820 a series of exhibitions were opened in various cities of Austria, and national exhibitions were held at Vienna in 1835, 1839, and 1845, which last had 1865 ex hibitors. In Germany there were national exhibitions at Berlin in 1822 and 1827, and in 1844 one with 3060 ex hibitors. National exhibitions were held in Saxony be tween 1824 and 1845, in which last year there were 6013 exhibitors. Between 1837 and 1848 exhibitions wore held at Lausanne, Berne, St Gall, and Zurich in Switzerland; between 1835 and 1850 at Brussels and Ghent in Belgium; between 1823 and 1844 at Stockholm in Sweden; between 1829 and 1849 at St Petersburg, Moscow, and Warsaw in Russia; between 1844 and 1849 at Lisbon in Portugal; between 1829 and 1855 in the kingdom of Sardinia; be tween 1827 and 1850 at Madrid; between 1828 and 1844 at New York and "Washington in the United States. In the United Kingdom industrial displays had to fight their way against much apathy and prejudice. In 1828 an exhibition was formed in London under the patronage of George IV., which dragged out an unfortunate existence till 1833, when it was consigned to oblivion as an unsuccessful bazaar. In Ireland exhibitions of native industry were held triennially in the rooms of the Royal Dublin Society, commencing in 1829. In 1845, however, an exhibition of manufactures held in Covent Garden, London, proved a great success; and in 1849 an exposition of industry was held at Birmingham, which was the most complete of any held till that time in the country. After various proposals made by the Society of Arts be tween 1846 and 1849, it was held that the great object of an international exhibition of industry was more likely to be carried out than hitherto, and at last a royal commission was issued to takg steps for an industrial exhibition to be held in 1851. The commissioners received a site of up wards of 18 acres in Hyde Park, and erected the building known as the " Crystal Palace," from the designs of Mr (afterwards Sir) Joseph Paxton. Its general plan was a parallelogram 1848 feet long by 408 feet wide. There was also a projection on the north side 936 feet long, the whole covering a space of 1,000,000 square feet. The exhibition had four great departments, raw material, machinery, manufactures, fine arts, which were subdivided into 30 classes ; and this arrangement has been usually followed in the great exhibitions since held. In allocating the space for the display of objects one-half was given to England and the colonies, the other half to foreign countries. The estimated value of the articles exhibited, excluding the famous Koh-i-noor diamond, was 1,781,929. This exhi bition was opened on 1st May by Queen Victoria in person, and was closed on llth October following, and the receipts exceeded the expenditure by a sum of 213,305. The building was afterwards removed to Sydenham, where it forms the main part of the present " Crystal Palace." The success of the Great Exhibition of 1851 encouraged the repetition of similar displays all over the world, a list of which will be found in the table given below. In 1855 the great Paris international exhibition was held, which was opened by the emperor of the French on 17th May. The buildings for this exhibition were of various kinds. There were the palais d industrie, the palais des beaux arts, and the panorama; erections were afterwards added for agricultural implements, carriages, minor articles, &c. The main building, which was of. stone, brick, and glass, was only 800 feet long by 350 feet wide. This exposition brought together an assemblage of objects in the industrial and fine arts such as had never been seen before. The distinguishing feature of the palais d industrie was its collection of the works of living artists, while the London exhibition of 1851 was principally a display of manufactured goods. The exposition was closed on the 15th November, when the distribution of medals to about 12,000 exhibitors took place. In 1862 the second great English international exhibition was held in London in an immense brick erection adjoin ing the gardens of the Horticultural Society at South Kensington. The building consisted of two vast domes of glass, 250 feet high and 60 feet in diameter, larger than the dome of St Peter s, connected by a nave 800 feet long, 100 feet high, and 83 feet wide, with a closed roof lighted by a range of windows after the manner of the clerestory of a Gothic cathedral. The domes opened laterally into spacious transepts, and the nave into a wide central avenue and interminable side aisles and galleries roofed with glass. These apartments occupied 16 acres, but in addition there were two annexes which covered 7^ acres. The ceremonial with which this exhibition was inaugurated on 1st May was the most imposing public pageant which had been seen in Britain for many years. The number of exhibitors in the industrial division was 26,348, besides 2305 in art, making in all 28,653. The fine art collection was very extensive, comprising 901 pieces of sculpture, 1275 engrav ings, 983 architectural designs, and no less than 3370 paintings. The classification of the objects was based upon that of 1851, and embraced 36 divisions, in addition to those of the fine arts. In April 186 7 -a great international exposition universelle was opened in Paris in an immense oval building erected in the Champ de Mars. It was arranged in twelve concen tric aisles, with a small open central garden. It covered no less than 37 acres, and the total number of exhibitors was 42,000. It was intended to bring into notice all the resources which industry can create for satisfying the re quirements of mankind, and it was divided primarily into groups corresponding with the leading wants of the human family. A great feature was the display of actual examples

of the styles of domestic and palatial architecture of most