Antwerp International Exposition (1885)

Poster designed by Frans Van Kuyck

The Antwerp International Exposition (Dutch: Wereldtentoonstelling van Antwerpen, French: Exposition Internationale d'Anvers) was a world's fair held in Antwerp, Belgium, between 2 May and 2 November 1885. It covered 54.3 acres (220,000 m2), attracted 3.5 million visits and broke even[1] after spending 4 million Belgian francs [2] There were 25 official participating nations including: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Romania, the United States and some South American states.[2] Australian wool growers sent exhibitions and won prizes.[3]

Taking place 20 years after the accession of King Leopold II, and the same year of the creation of the Congo Free State, the fair was the first in which a Congolese village was displayed, a feature that also appeared in the later 1897 Brussels fair.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberley D. "Appendix B:Fair Statistics". Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 414. ISBN 978-0-7864-3416-9.
  2. ^ a b Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberley D. "Antwerp 1885". Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-7864-3416-9.
  3. ^ Launceston Examiner newspaper, Tasmania, Monday 26 October 1885. p. 2.
  4. ^ Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberley D. "Antwerp 1885". Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-7864-3416-9.