The Role of International Exhibitions in Britain, 1850–1910: Perc ...

Any work that explores the relationship between exhibitions, technical education, and industrial progress cannot afford to ignore the Great Exhibition of 1851. Besides capturing the spirit of the age, it established a standard by which subsequent exhibitions were measured. It also provides an indicator of the industrial well-being of the United Kingdom. More significantly, it helps to uncover the complex forces that govern British attitudes toward technical education and to reveal some of the main protagonists involved in the debate. Even the year in which it was held was momentous, offering a perfect vantage point for a survey of England during this period. Contemporaries were able look back

In 1849 Henry Cole,¹⁸ who had been involved in the exhibitions associated with the Society of Arts, returned from attending an industrial exposition in Paris, enthusiastic about developing a similar venture in Britain.¹⁹ Albert, the Prince Consort, who remembered the Frankfurt Fairs of his childhood, also recognized that an exhibition might offer a means of supporting artistic and industrial causes in his adopted country. He and Cole, who had met through the Society of Arts, worked together to convert into a practical reality the idea of holding an exhibition.²⁰ Their combined objective was to use the event for “the promotion of every branch of human industry by means of the comparison of their processes and results as carried on and obtained by all nations on earth.”²¹ However, the notion of making the exhibition truly cosmopolitan belonged to Prince Albert. He was most insistent, even when challenged, to maintain this perspective. Exhibitions in other countries had claimed to have an international dimension, but in reality both the contributors and exhibits were usually drawn from the host country or its dominions.²²