Calcutta_International_Exhibition

Calcutta International Exhibition

Calcutta International Exhibition

World's fair

The Calcutta International Exhibition world's fair[2] was held in Calcutta (now Kolkata) from the end of 1883 to March 1884.[3]

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Summary

The fair was held between 4 December 1883 and 10 March 1884.[3] and took place in the grounds of the Indian Museum and the Maidan.[1]

There were contributions from Belgium, Ceylon, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Straits, Turkey and U.S.A.[4] The Australian colonies of New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria were all hosted on the Indian Museum side of the fair.[5]

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.[5]

Indian Courts

There was a Punjab Court with contents secured by Lockwood Kipling.[6]

The Maharajah of Scindia provided a carved sandstone gateway, the Gwalior Gateway, designed by Major James Blaikie Keith.[7] After the exhibition the gateway was sent in 200 packages to London's Victoria and Albert Museum and then displayed at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in 1886.[8]

Officials

The fair officials included Augustus Rivers Thompson (president executive committee), S.T.Trevor (vice president of the committee) and Jules Joubert (general manager).[9]

William Trickett was commissioner for New South Wales.[10]

Opening ceremony

The opening talk was by Lord Ripon[11] and was attended by Governors of Bengal (also president of organising committee), Madras, and Bombay, several maharajas[12] and the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.[4]

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.[11]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Retro look: unseen shots of 1883". Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  2. [2]
    "ExpoMuseum / World's Fair Timeline". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  3. [3]
    "1883-1884 Calcutta International Exhibition". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  4. [4]
    "Cal Ex PO". Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  5. [5]
    Thomas Prasch (2008). "Calcutta 1883-1884". In Pelle, Findling (ed.). Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-7864-3416-9.
  6. [6]
    "Calcutta International Exhibition 1883 – 84 | NCA Archives". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  7. [7]
    "The Gwalior Gateway in the Victoria and Albert Museum". Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  8. [8]
    "Photographic guardbooks: Images of India | Victoria and Albert Museum". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  9. [9]
    Pelle, Findling, ed. (2008). "Appendix C:Fair Officials". Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 418–419. ISBN 978-0-7864-3416-9.
  10. [10]
    "Biography - William Joseph Trickett - Australian Dictionary of Biography". Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  11. [11]
    Thomas Prasch (2008). "Calcutta 1883-1884". In Pelle, Findling (ed.). Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-7864-3416-9.
  12. [12]
    "OPENING OF THE CALCUTTA EXHIBITION". 6 December 1883. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
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