EXHIBITING FRANCE IN AMERICA: THE FRENCH PAVILION AT THE NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR OF 1939 by Jennifer Nicola Wilson, B.A. (Hons.) A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario June 16, 2006 © copyright 2006 Jennifer Wilson Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-18307-6 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-18307-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i*i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract This thesis examines France’s use of expositions to promote its systems of governance, its world power status, and its products from 1851 to 1939, focusing particularly on the French pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. France used the World’s Fair of 1939 to showcase the cultural and consumer products which were significant components of its cultural propaganda during the interwar period. This thesis argues that in responding to the Fair’s central themes - the supremacy of democracy and the promise of the future - French displays were designed to show how the French past was an integral part of current developments and future innovations. This thesis also examines how this message was recognized by analyzing the coverage of the French pavilion in the American press. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements Despite the single name on the title page, this thesis is the result of a community. I would like to thank the history department for its financial support, which allowed me to move to Ottawa to continue my education. In particular, the Peter Browne scholarship allowed me to make a trip to the New York Public Library for archival research and order a number of ILL documents from institutions in the United States. During my time at Carleton I found all the staff members to be welcoming and encouraging. Thank you to the history faculty and staff for your support. At the library, the assistance of Heather Matheson, Callista Kelly and the ILL department proved to be invaluable as I amassed materials from all over the continent. Friends and family also contributed to the final completion of this thesis. Thank you to Jenny Barley, Darren Prentice, and Aruna Somasiri for allowing me to use their library access at critical moments of newspaper research. Thank you to Alexandra Eyre in New York, as well as Marie-Louise Seymonsbergen and Michael Prentice in Kanata for providing excellent - and much needed - guest accommodations. Emily Larkman and Smita Natha both provided encouragement when my own motivation wavered. As always my parents, Emily and Gordon, provided steadfast support from the moment I announced my intention to move to Ottawa until I called to let them know that my degree requirements were finally complete. My new (in-law) parents, Anne and Bryan, were equally supportive and curious about my research. There are two people without whose interest, engagement and support this thesis could never have been completed. My supervisor, Dr. Susan Whitney, went above and beyond, tailoring a self-directed study to my interests, encouraging my enthusiasm and curiosity, and patiently listening as I recounted Fair-related details which were unrelated to the final completion of this study. At the same time, she was an amazing editor who helped to identify the core components of my thesis when I had buried them in footnotes or lengthy descriptive paragraphs. Her timely return of chapter drafts, particularly in the last two weeks, ensured that I always had something to work on. Sitting by my side during those final two weeks as I competed with librarians for the number of hours spent in the building was my husband Cameron Prentice. His support for this project was beyond all that I ever could have asked for - he encouraged me on days when I could barely produce a paragraph, he challenged me when I was becoming defeated, and he sat for days and edited chapters with me when he had his own courses and deadlines to meet. When the end was in sight he became my assistant, running to get books in the stacks, checking and re-checking that my footnotes were complete, and typing when I no longer could. His support and presence are what allowed me to successfully complete my Master’s programme. Any mistakes that are left in the thesis are my own, but I will probably ignore them in the years ahead and instead celebrate what I achieved during my two-year love affair with the New York World’s Fair of 1939. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Page Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv List of Figures v Introduction 1 Chapter 1: France and International Expositions 16 Chapter 2: France for the American Eye: The French Pavilion 44 at the New York World’s Fair Chapter 3: The Fair,France, and the American Press 86 Conclusion 118 Bibliography 122 Figures 135 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. List of Figures 1. Map of the Fair grounds. David E. Nye, Narratives and Spaces: Technology and the Construction of American Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 134. 2. French pavilion during daylight. Herman Bernbach and William Jaffe, editors, Book of Nations: New York: World’s Fair (New York: Winkler & Kelmans, 1939), 65. 3. French pavilion at night. Leandre Vaillat, "Palais de la France” Illustration 97:5023 (10 Juin 1939), [7]. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A peaceful France, an intellectual France, a France of art and elegance will be there in its creative strength, unified and progressive in its sincerity, and in its immemorial desire to enhance the brotherhood of man. Thus the people of the United States will know what our friendship hopes to give them. They will know us as strong and just, free and friendly, and I hope that in this pavilion they will find incentives to love us better.1 - Marcel Olivier, French Commissioner General As France prepared the Champ de Mars and the Palais de Chaillot for its own international exposition in 1937, it also announced its intention to participate in the New York World’s Fair of 1939. As the first nation pledged to participate in the World’s Fair, it secured a lease for a prominent pavilion site along the central boulevard of the Fair. In January 1939, five months before opening day, the Fair Commission and French pavilion committee met to commemorate the placement of the first foundation piling. Pavilion construction was completed in time for opening day, but as a result of a dockside fire visitors had to wait until late May for admission to the opulent displays. Once the pavilion opened, visitors were able to roam through the varied exhibits of the three-story structure. The displays attempted to educate visitors, just as Marcel Olivier had foretold, about "intellectual France, a France of art and elegance,” a France whose past was of immeasurable value 1 Marcel Olivier, French Commissioner General, Address of French Commissioner General Marcel Olivier at the Dedication of the French Pavilion, 13 January 1939, New York, file France Foreign Government Participation, Box 99, New York World’s Fair records, 1935-1945, New York Public Library. 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 to the future.2 The exhibits emphasized familiar exports such as art, philosophy, fashion, and gastronomy in an effort to emphasize France’s role as the foremost contributor to Western culture. The organizing principle of the pavilion was a conviction that the past was a vital component of present day achievements and future potential; the pavilion’s exhibits were designed to convey the message that the French past could contribute to the American future.