Exposition Universelle (1855)

Template:Short description Template:Infobox World's Fair

The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of 1855 ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}), better known in English as the 1855 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, from 15 May to 15 November 1855. Its full official title was the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="Exposition Universelle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was the first of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937.Template:Efn Nowadays, the exposition's sole physical remnant is the Théâtre du Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, designed by architect Gabriel Davioud, which originally housed the Panorama National.

HistoryEdit

The exposition was a major event in France, then newly under the reign of Emperor Napoleon III.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It followed London's Great Exhibition of 1851 and attempted to surpass that fair's Crystal Palace with its own Palais de l'Industrie.

The arts displayed were shown in a separate pavilion on Avenue Montaigne.<ref name="FindPellp23">Template:Cite book</ref> There were works from artists from 29 countries, including French artists François Rude, Ingres, Delacroix<ref name="FindPellp23" /> and Henri Lehmann,<ref name="silentpartners">Template:Citation</ref> and British artists William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais.<ref name="FindPellp23" /> However, Gustave Courbet, having had several of his paintings rejected, exhibited in a temporary Pavillon du Réalisme adjacent to the official show.

According to its official report, 5,162,330 visitors attended the exposition, of whom about 4.2 million entered the industrial exposition and 900,000 entered the Beaux Arts exposition.<ref name="Exposition Universelle" /> Expenses amounted to upward of $5,000,000, while receipts were scarcely one-tenth of that amount. The exposition covered Template:Convert with 34 countries participating.<ref name="Exposition Universelle" />

For the exposition, Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château's reputation and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality. The result was the important Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.<ref name=BDP>Template:Cite book</ref>

Inventions and InnovationsEdit

The 1855 exposition featured many early versions of modern inventions. The exposition featured the first ever lawn mower, Moore's washing machine, the first non-industrial sewing machine, one of the first oil-powered vehicles, Samuel Colt’s revolver, and Edouard Loysel de Santais’ hydrostatic percolator which could produce 50,000 cups of coffee in a day. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>