UpdateBot at 04:36, 1 June 2022

2022-06-01T04:36:14Z

New page

{{Short description|World's fair}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}

{{Infobox World's Fair
| box_width =
| class = Unrecognized
| category = 10
| image = George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon.jpg
| caption = Lord Ripon (who gave the opening address) in 1880
| image_width = 100
| year = 1914
| name = Calcutta International Exhibition
| motto =
| building =
| area = {{convert|22|acre|}}
| invent =
| visitors = 1,000,000 (paid = 817,153)
| organized = [[Augustus Rivers Thompson]] (president executive committee), S.T.Trevor (vice president) and [[Jules Joubert]] (general manager).
| cnt = 37
| org =
| biz =
| country = [[British India]]
| city = [[Calcutta]]
| venue = Grounds of the [[Indian Museum]] and the [[Maidan (Kolkata)|Maidan]]<ref name="photobookfound">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1131202/jsp/calcutta/story_17607534.jsp#.WGzIWVwiV8E|access-date=4 January 2017|title=Retro look: unseen shots of 1883}}</ref>
| coord = {{coord|22|33|29|N|88|21|03|E}}
| cand =
| award =
| open = {{start date|1883|12|04|df=y}}
| close = {{start date|1884|03|10|df=y}}
| prevexpo =
| prevcity =
| nextexpo =
| nextcity =
| suppl =
| prevsuppl =
| prevsupcity =
| nextsuppl =
| nextsupcity =
| prevunho =
| prevunhocity =
| nextunho =
| nextunhocity =
| simuni =
| simspe =
| simhor =
| simoth =
| website =
}}
The '''Calcutta International Exhibition''' world's fair<ref name="ref000">{{cite web|url=http://expomuseum.com/timeline/|access-date=3 January 2017|title=ExpoMuseum / World's Fair Timeline}}</ref> was held in [[Calcutta]] (now Kolkata) from the end of 1883 to March 1884.<ref name="ref001">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldexhibition.org/the_first_worldexpo/1883-1884-calcutta/|access-date=3 January 2017|title=1883-1884 Calcutta International Exhibition}}</ref>

==Summary==
The fair was held between 4 December 1883 and 10 March 1884.<ref name="ref001" /> and took place in the grounds of the [[Indian Museum]] and the [[Maidan (Kolkata)|Maidan]].<ref name="photobookfound" />

There were contributions from Belgium, [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]], France, Germany, Italy, Japan, [[Straits Settlements|Straits]], Turkey and U.S.A.<ref name="stamp">{{cite web|url=https://stampsofindia.com/readroom/510.html|access-date=5 January 2017|title=Cal Ex PO}}</ref> The Australian colonies of [[Colony of New South Wales|New South Wales]], [[History of South Australia|South Australia]], [[Colony of Tasmania|Tasmania]] and [[History of Victoria|Victoria]] were all hosted on the Indian Museum side of the fair.<ref name="refFPp76">{{cite encyclopedia
| title = Calcutta 1883-1884
| encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions
| page=76
| editor-last = Pelle
| editor-first = Findling
| author=Thomas Prasch
| publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc
| year = 2008
| isbn = 978-0-7864-3416-9
}}</ref>

The Maidan side of the fair was connected to the Indian Museum by a bridge across the Chowinghee Road (now [[Jawaharlal Nehru Road]]). In the Maidan there was an iron building that contained Indian courts, a machinery annex, a military shed and a refreshments room.<ref name="refFPp76" />

===Indian Courts===
There was a Punjab Court with contents secured by [[Lockwood Kipling]].<ref name="ref02">{{cite web|url=https://ncaarchives.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/calcutta-international-exhibition-1883/|access-date=3 January 2017|title=Calcutta International Exhibition 1883 – 84 | NCA Archives}}</ref>

The [[Jayajirao Scindia|Maharajah of Scindia]] provided a carved sandstone gateway, the Gwalior Gateway, which after the exhibition was sent in 200 packages to London's [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] and then displayed at the [[Colonial and Indian Exhibition]] in 1886.<ref name="VandGgatewaypage">{{cite web|url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/tales-archives/photographic-guardbooks-images-india|access-date=7 January 2017|title=Photographic guardbooks: Images of India | Victoria and Albert Museum}}</ref>

==Officials==
The fair officials included [[Augustus Rivers Thompson]] (president executive committee), S.T.Trevor (vice president of the committee) and [[Jules Joubert]] (general manager).<ref name="refFPp418">{{cite encyclopedia
| title = Appendix C:Fair Officials
| encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions
| pages=418–419
| editor-last = Pelle
| editor-first = Findling
| publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc
| year = 2008
| isbn = 978-0-7864-3416-9
}}</ref>

[[William Trickett]] was commissioner for [[Colony of New South Wales|New South Wales]].<ref name="trick">{{cite web|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/trickett-william-joseph-4748|title=Biography - William Joseph Trickett - Australian Dictionary of Biography|access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref>

==Opening ceremony==
The opening talk was by [[Lord Ripon]]<ref name="refFPp75">{{cite encyclopedia
| title = Calcutta 1883-1884
| encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions
| page=75
| editor-last = Pelle
| editor-first = Findling
| author=Thomas Prasch
| publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc
| year = 2008
| isbn = 978-0-7864-3416-9
}}</ref>
and was attended by Governors of [[Augustus Rivers Thompson|Bengal]] (also president of organising committee), [[M. E. Grant Duff|Madras]], and [[Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet|Bombay]], several maharajas<ref name="troveopening">{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13555447|title=OPENING OF THE CALCUTTA EXHIBITION|access-date=6 January 2017|date= 6 December 1883}}</ref> and the [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Duke]] and [[Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia|Duchess]] of Connaught.<ref name="stamp" />

The ceremony was boycotted by the Anglo-Indian community in protest at the recently introduced [[Ilbert Bill]], it rained (unusual at that time of year) and the illuminations failed.<ref name="refFPp75" />

==See also==
* [[Colonial Exhibition of Semarang]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?offset=15&limit=15&narrow=&extrasearch=&q=Calcutta+International+Exhibition.+1883-84&commit=Search&quality=0&after-adbc=AD&before-adbc=AD search that retrieves 50 photographs of objects from the exhibition]

{{List of world exhibitions}}
{{List of world's fairs of East Asia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1880s disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:1883 establishments in India]]
[[Category:1883 in British India]]
[[Category:1884 in British India]]
[[Category:19th century in Kolkata]]
[[Category:World's fairs in India]]

Calcutta International Exhibition - Revision history

UpdateBot at 04:36, 1 June 2022