The World's Columbian exposition, Chicago, 1893 . of allcompetitive exhibitions was in France, where the custom of awardsfor excellence in industrial and artistic displays had been in voguefor years. The general management of the Crystal Palace has had a pecu-liar and significant bearing on all subsequent exhibitions of correl-ative scope. In the very outset building plans were selected incompetition, setting a precedent In selection that has prevailedgenerally ever since. The time allowed for the presentation ofplans was very short, only a month, and yet there were 233 com-petitors, one-sixth
The World's Columbian exposition, Chicago, 1893 . of allcompetitive exhibitions was in France, where the custom of awardsfor excellence in industrial and artistic displays had been in voguefor years. The general management of the Crystal Palace has had a pecu-liar and significant bearing on all subsequent exhibitions of correl-ative scope. In the very outset building plans were selected incompetition, setting a precedent In selection that has prevailedgenerally ever since. The time allowed for the presentation ofplans was very short, only a month, and yet there were 233 com-petitors, one-sixth of whom were foreigners, about one-half fromLondon and its Immediate environs, and the rest from provincialtowns of England. The plans adopted and the character of thestructure erected according to their specifications are too widelyknown to need elaborate explanation or comment. The contractcalled for a building 1,851 feet long, the numerals correspondingwith the year, and 450 feet broad. The enormous size of the un- 2 2 PREVIOUS ; .*n:. dertaking may be understoodwhen it is known that somethingHke 20 acres of glass, 205 milesof sash-bar, 34 miles of gutter-pipe and a correspondingly largeamount of flooring and wallingmaterial were required. Thecost was estimated at about dollars. The number of employees con-nected with the Crystal Palace isof peculiar interest to those whohave wondered how many em-ployees would be required tomaintain the Columbian Exposi-tion to its close. As near as canbe ascertained, over 10,000 per-sons were engaged in the main-tenance or furtherance of theCrystal Palace. On the first of May, 1851, theQueen herself opened the doorsof the exhibition, while the Princemade the address of the day, de-scribing the purposes of the dis-play and the causes that led to theundertakinor. The historical sior-nificance of the occasion requiresthe greatest weight and dignityfrom the personages of famepresent. The Duke of Welling-ton, Lord Palmer
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectworldscolumbianexpos
