Calcutta International Exhibition

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

Calcutta International Exhibition
Lord Ripon (who gave the opening address) in 1880
Overview
BIE-classUnrecognized exposition
NameCalcutta International Exhibition
Area22 acres (8.9 ha)
Visitors1,000,000 (paid = 817,153)
Organized byAugustus Rivers Thompson (president executive committee), S.T.Trevor (vice president) and Jules Joubert (general manager).
Participant(s)
Countries37
Location
CountryBritish India
CityCalcutta
VenueGrounds of the Indian Museum and the Maidan[1]
Coordinates22°33′29″N 88°21′03″E
Timeline
Opening4 December 1883 (1883-12-04)
Closure10 March 1884 (1884-03-10)

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, 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.[7]

Officials

The fair officials included Augustus Rivers Thompson (president executive committee), S.T.Trevor (vice president of the committee) and Jules Joubert (general manager).[8]

William Trickett was commissioner for New South Wales.[9]

Opening ceremony

The opening talk was by Lord Ripon[10] and was attended by Governors of Bengal (also president of organising committee), Madras, and Bombay, several maharajas[11] 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.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Retro look: unseen shots of 1883". Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  2. "ExpoMuseum / World's Fair Timeline". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  3. "1883-1884 Calcutta International Exhibition". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  4. "Cal Ex PO". Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  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. "Calcutta International Exhibition 1883 – 84 | NCA Archives". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  7. "Photographic guardbooks: Images of India | Victoria and Albert Museum". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  8. 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.
  9. "Biography - William Joseph Trickett - Australian Dictionary of Biography". Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  10. 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.
  11. "OPENING OF THE CALCUTTA EXHIBITION". 6 December 1883. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
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