We must not consider art as the rival of nature, but her child that pays to her the most graceful tribute of homage by making her impressions permanent.
Highly interesting exhibits were presented to view in the Anthropological Building, including instructive ethnological and archaeological collections. In connection with the latter section were the relics shown in the Convent de la Rabida—where Columbus, almost discouraged, found a cordial reception and kind assistance from Father de la Marchena—; the Yucatan Ruins—an illustration of ancient architecture and sculpture—; the homes of the Cliff Dwellers—vestiges of probably the earliest civilization of the American continent—; the Spanish Caravels—built in Spain for the Exposition—; the Viking Ship—reproduced from a Norwegian vessel a thousand years old—; and the Esquimaux Village—exhibiting natives (their habitations, and sports), reindeers, and Esquimaux dogs.
The handsome structures erected by the Foreign Nations as well as those built by the States and Territories of the Union, were designed particularly for the entertainment of those visitors who constituted their respective representatives. Nevertheless, many of them were beautifully and expensively fitted up; inclosing magnificent native products. Their unique features were so manifold that it would be an impossibility to describe them deservingly without dedicating a volume to that purpose.
The nineteen foreign buildings, each of which illustrated some classic style of architecture—peculiar to the nation represented—constituted an additional great feature of the Columbian Exposition. They gave the visitor an adequate conception of the construction and luxurious equipment of edifices abroad. In fact, on entering the buildings of Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, New South Wales, Ceylon, Canada, Sweden, Costa Rica, Hayti, Guatemala, Japan, etc., we fancied ourselves to be suddenly conveyed to these foreign countries.
With a few exceptions, all the forty-four States and five Territories of the Union, had their share in the beautiful effect produced by their structures, erected—at a considerable expense—of such material as elucidated the prominent natural resources of the respective states. Many of the edifices were modeled after buildings noted for some historical event. Thus, the New York Building was a reproduction, slightly modified, of the old Van Rensselaer residence, whose quaint architecture recalled a most interesting period in our national history, when the great metropolis of to-day was but a small sea-port town.
This World's Fair, which has recently been brought to a close, evinced to the millions of visitors, who were drawn by its multitudinous attractions to the White City from every section of this country, and from almost every quarter of the globe that it eclipsed in grandeur and excellence all of the previous universal expositions; for everything that good taste and modern genius could suggest and accomplish, was brought into play.
The financial account given by the auditor of the Columbian Fair stands thus: The entire cost of the Exposition to its close and the winding up of its affairs amounted to $26,288,685.67. Its total receipts were $28,151,168.75; thus exceeding the expenditure by $1,862,483.08.
The wonderful and rapid development of the international expositions may be recognized by the following statistics, compiled from the annals of their short history:
Ordinal Year. Location. Area Duration Exhibitors Visitors
Number in Acres in Days
1 1851 London 20.06 144 17,000 6,039,000 2 1855 Paris 24.71 200 21,779 5,162,000 3 1862 London 22.24 171 28,653 6,211,000 4 1867 Paris 29.44 217 50,236 10,200,000 5 1873 Vienna 39.54 186 42,000 7,254,000 6 1876 Philadelphia 59.31 184 60,000 9,900,000 7 1878 Paris 59.31 194 32,000 13,000,000 8 1889 Paris 74.14 183 60,000 32,000,000 9 1893 Chicago..Exp 533.00 183 50,000 27,412,728 …MP 80.00