Antiques: World's fairs through the ages

With the world in a bit of a mess, perhaps it's time to look back at a few moments of global cooperation. The recent Olympics is one good example (mostly) and another might be the many world's fairs held over the past 170 years. Of the latter, there have been more than 100 spanning some 20 countries, and they've spawned all kinds of collectibles.

Just like with the Olympics, there's actually a governing body for such events that's been around since 1928. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is based in Paris and it sets the rules, schedule and tone. Didn't know that? Me neither, so let's dig a little deeper.

It seems likely that the modern world's fair grew out of national fairs held in Great Britain during the 18th century. Those were half carnival/half trade show and eventually spread to France as the two countries competed for business and tourism.

The first to look like a real world's fair was held in England in 1851. It was the brainchild of Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria, who understood the potential value of holding such an internationally oriented event. Britain's Great Exhibition, as it was called, was held in a spectacular iron-and-glass venue in the middle of Hyde Park that became known to history as the Crystal Palace. Some six million people attended, marking the affair as a stunning success.

Not surprisingly, other countries took notice and similar fairs began popping up all over the place. During a 35-year stretch beginning in about 1880, some 40 fairs were held in a wide variety of locales, including Guatemala, Vietnam and two in Australia. In the United States, the first such event took place in New York in 1853. It was basically an American version of what the British had done two years before with similarities in name, displays and even a crystal palace-like enclosure, but the fair was a flop, and another was not attempted for more than 20 years.

However, by the 1870s, the pain had faded from the inaugural event and American organizers had watched with interest as other fairs took hold around the world. Insofar as the year 1876 marked the 100th birthday of the United States, it was time to try again, this time in Philadelphia.

As it turned out, the Centennial Exhibition attracted more than 10 million visitors who marveled at such novelties as the telephone, the typewriter and the world's largest steam engine. While financially a loser, the fair was a huge success in other ways, and it set the stage for others to come, including the legendary World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 that became a model for all future events.

From that time up until the advent of World War I, world's fairs were held almost yearly around the world. They varied greatly in location and focus but none except perhaps the great Paris fair of 1900 were of a size and splendor to match Chicago.

Nonetheless, by war's end the cultural impact of such events had been lessened by the advent of technology, and fairs were seen as a cumbersome and expensive means of disseminating information. They continued to take place throughout the 20th century, and several were notable, including those held in Chicago and New York during the Depression years.

Since the 1970s, fairs have become smaller and more thematic but they continue to draw attention whenever they are held. Souvenirs from past events run the gamut, and most are both affordable and evocative. In galleries like ours, you can always find a few.

Mike Rivkin and his wife, Linda, are long-time residents of Rancho Mirage. For many years, he was an award-winning catalogue publisher and has authored seven books, along with countless articles. Now, he's the owner of Antique Galleries of Palm Springs. His antiques column appears Sundays in The Desert Sun. Want to send Mike a question about antiques? Drop him a line at info@silverfishpress.com .

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Antiques: World's fairs through the ages