LONDON, ENGLAND 1883-6
International Fisheries Exhibition 1883
International Exhibition on Health and Education 1884
International Inventions and Music Exhibition 1885
Colonial and Indian Exhibition 1886

Quick List Info

Dates Open
1883 - May 12 to October 31, 1883. Open 147 days.
1884 - May 8 to October 30, 1884. Open 151 days.
1885 - May 4 to November 9, 1885. Open 163 days.
1886 - May 4 to November 10, 1886. Open 164 days.

Exhibitions were not open on Sundays.

Attendance
1883 - 2,703,051 visitors.
1884 - 4,163,390 visitors.
1885 - 3,760,581 visitors
1886 - 5,550,749 visitors.

International Participants
1883 - 31 nations and colonies.
1884 - 24 nations and colonies.
1885 - 12 nations and colonies.
1886 - 37 nations and colonies.

Note: All of the above are estimates from various sources. See below for details. Additional participants are possible, and note listed in various catalogues and reports.

Total Cost - L142,291 expenditure from 1881-4.

Site Acreage - 1883-6 - 21-23 acres of the South Kensington site of the Royal Horticultural Gardens.

Sanction and Type - Prior to the Bureau of International Exhibitions. The exhibitions in London from 1883 to 1886 would be considered a Special Expo event on specific themes like that on the 2-3 or 7-8 years of a decade cycle.

Ticket Cost - 1884 - Admission 2s 6d. 1885 - Admission to be 1s every day except Wednesday, when it was 2s 6d. Season ticket price was 1 guinea.

Photo top center: Engraving of the British Guiana Court at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition 1886, 1886, London Illustrated News. Column Top: Map of the International Fisheries Exhibition 1883, 1883, likely Expo Authority. Courtesy Pinterest. Column Bottom: Souvenir of the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 1886, Unknown original source.

Other Histories of World's Fairs to Check Out

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• For more info about previous EXPOcheck reports.

History of the Event

By the time another decade rolled around and London considered hosting another series of exhibitions after the failed 1871-4 London International Fairs, which focused on individual classes of products, the British Empire was ready for another splash into the international event waters. And yes, it was international and it did include waters. The 1883 fair was known as the International Fisheries Exhibition. The exhibitions would be on specific themes, again moving away from the broad general terms of the first fair, the World's Fair in 1851. Great Britain was exhibiting an increasing trend, a patrician pull back toward its empire. However, this time, from an exhibition standpoint, they got it right.

From the 1883 fair, the International Fisheries Exhibition, to the last, the 1886 fair on the British Colonies and India, they were small, specific, and successful, drawing a total of sixteen million visitors. No, they didn't wow the world like they had in 1851, but at least it was a significant up from the failures of the 1870's.

The International Fisheries Exhibition was a big success under the patronage of the Queen and the Prince of Wales, who attended both the opening and closing ceremonies. It included exhibits in twenty-three acres of temporary buildings built on the horticultural grounds. The buildings had cost L47,709 to construct. Use of the grounds allowed evening fetes with illuminated fountains. There was a Fine Art Gallery, a Southern Arcade with exhibits from British Sea Fishers, and Foreign plus Colonial Courts. By the time the Fisheries Exhibition ended on the last day of October, it was pronounced so successful by the Prince that the three subsequent events were being planned. Over one million Londoners and one and one half million provincials had attended. A profit had been made.

When the International Health and Education Exhibition opened on May 8 the following year, there were exhibits on Model dairies, a reproduction of Old London, a Prince of Wales pavilion, and a Belgian Court. Additional buildings were constructed in the gardens. Even though its close had no formal ceremony, in part because it would open again in a new incarnation the next spring, the 1884 exhibition was even more successful than the year before, drawing over four million people and gaining another surplus.

With a focus on Inventions and Music, the international series continued on May 4, 1885. There were exhibits in Royal Albert Hall with new galleries and enlarged gardens. A new subway connection to the exhibition made it easier on visitors. Despite those additions, it would suffer in the success department compared to the previous year or the subsequent one, drawing fewer patrons and losing a slight amount of money, about $5,000.

In 1886, the series in many ways saved the best for last, which the London Times touted to be the "most popular, most attractive, and most instructive of the great exhibitions which have been held at South Kensington in recent years." Its focus on British Empire fascinated the public, drawing its largest crowds. The fair both celebrated the Queen's Jubilee and emphasized colonial economic, cultural, and political life. The Colonial and Indian Exhibition was the first attempt by the government to interest the general public in its empire and prove that it was a commercial boon not a liability, although in many ways, the attempt, albeit successful, was a harbinger for bad colonial experiences to come when liabilities of empire outweighed the commercial boon. There was a 34,643L profit for the exhibition to show this success, which was used to set up the Imperial Institute in London. The use of exhibitions to show off colonial possessions of a variety of nations would be a staple of world's fairs from 1875 to 1931. There were thirty-six in total; sixteen in the United Kingdom and its possessions, eleven by France and its possessions, three by Belgium, and two each by Holland, Portugal, and Germany .

Above photo. Engraving from the International Health and Education Exhibition 1884, 1884, Illustrated London News. Courtesy Pinterest. Below: Victoria Exhibit Court, Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 1886, Official Report of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition.


Perspective of Historians

Thomas Prasch - "The London sequence: These were thematic fairs, and only the last, a colonial exhibition, generated much national pride. That, on the other hand, generated quite a bit. The themes of previous fairs - fisheries, for example - may not as easily lend themselves to national pride. No significant new ideas in London (1880s), or in Paris. London 1886 is the first British colonial exhibition, becoming a model for later ones. In this, it in some way simply foregrounds developments of the period, as many fairs began to attend more to the colonial world. Still, a significant contribution, I think, and well received for the most part. The specific themes could have been sited anywhere until 1886. None were particularly popular. Colonialism, however (1886): where better but in Britain, upon whose empires the sun was not yet setting?"

Peter Hoffenberg - "National pride for English shows was less after 1851 and less in the case of private shows. But, the exceptions are important: The Colonial and Indian revealed pride in England and Empire. Later shows, whether private or not, tended to pale in comparison with the Crystal Palace and had to compete with many other sources of entertainment. Shows with focus, such as the Health and Colonial and Indian, often generated more interest than the general shows. I have added the 1884 Health Exhibition because it often presented London as a modern city, confronting and overcoming urban problems of health and sanitation. That was an important link and part of the wider connections between London, Britain and the Empire. 1886 offered the very attractive concept of imperial shows, just England and its colonies. Connection between London and Empire were represented quite well and with general acceptance at the shows in 1886, 1895, 1899 and 1911. The last shows included mass epic theaters in which participants acted out scenes linking London and the Empire."

London Series

International Participants
Nations and Colonies

1883 - Great Britain, all British colonies, Gold Coast Colony, Canada, New South Wales, Heligoland, India, Bahamas, Newfoundland, Straits Settlements, Jamaica, Ceylon.

Listed as foreign exhibitors - United States, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Chili, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hawaii, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, Zanzibar.

The map of the official catalogue lists Greece, Italy, Tunis, Portugal, Heligoland, Ireland, W. India Islands, India, France, Tasmania, New South Wales, Germany, Straits Settlements, Japan, China, United States, Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Russia, Canada.

1884 - Great Britain, India, China, Canada, United States, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Venezuela. Addition of Siam.

1885 - Commissions nominated from Austria-Hungary, France, China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, Siam, Switzerland. There were United States exhibitors, but no official government exhibits from the United States. Official guides and catalogues list Great Britain, Germany, United States, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, Siam, China, Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland.

1886 - England, India, Canada, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Mauritius, Malay States, St. Helena, Ceylon, Ascension, Mauritius, Straits Settlement, Hong-Kong, British North Borneo, British Guiana, West India, Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, Natal, Bahamas, British Honduras, West African Colonies, West African Settlements, Gold Coast, Lagos, Cyprus, Malta, Falkland Islands. Only Newfoudland, the oldest British colony, and Tasmania, were not represented.

There may be some differences in the overall list here than were actually exhibiting at the exhibition. Some listed as having Imperial Commissions may not have technically exhibited. Various sources may indicate participation when participation did not occur. Use the above as a guide, not gospel.

Expo Tidbits
United States Congress passed an appropriation of $50,000 to participate in the 1883 London International Fisheries Exhibition. It passed the House of Representatives 89-36.

High attendance day in 1884 was 71,884.

In 1886, the Indian exhibits filled 103,000 square feet of exhibit space and cost L22,000, half provided by the India Government. The Jaipur Gate was part of the entrance to the exhibit. 36 natives were also brought from India for the exhibition. A total of 97 indigenous people were brought from the colonies as craftsmen exhibits.

Other exhibits in 1886 included the old London Street, illuminated fountains, the Aquarium of British Fishes (at all exhibitions since 1883), and Fine Arts in the gallery of Royal Albert Hall.

Legacies
A direct descendent of the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition was the Imperial Institute, which was founded with the profits from the exhibition. The Jaipur Gate from the 1886 Colonial and Indian is displayed at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery.


Those in Charge
Patron of the initial Fisheries Exhibition, as well as the other exhibitions in 1884, 1885, and 1886 was the Queen, with the Prince of Wales listed as President. The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward, was Executive President of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 from the fall of 1884. The Royal Commission was the entity in charge of the exhibitions.

Sources: London Times; New York Times; History of Fairs and Expositions; The Story of Exhibitions; The Great Exhibitions; "The Tradition of Expositions Universelles" by Paul Greenhalgh; Historical Dictionary of World's Fair by Alfred Heller; Ephemeral Vistas; The Anthropology of World's Fairs; "Fair Representations, Rituals of Representations" by Burton Benedict; Making Britain; Official Catalogue of the International Fisheries Exhibition of 1883; Official catalogue of the International Health and Education Exhibition 1884; Offical Guide to the International Inventions Exhibition 1885; Official catalogue of the International Inventions Exhibition 1885; Official Catalogue of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition 1886.

Photo column top: Prince Albert opening the International Inventions and Music Exhibition of 1885, 1885, Illustrated London News. Middle: Medal from the International Fisheries Exhibition, 1883. Courtesy Pinterest. Bottom: Jamaica exhibit at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 1886. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons via archive.org.