East Texas Historical Journal Volume 23 | Issue 2 Article 5 10-1985 Texas and the World Fairs, 1851-1935 Edward H. Phillips Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ethj Part of the United States History Commons Tell us how this article helped you. Recommended Citation Phillips, Edward H. (1985) "Texas and the World Fairs, 1851-1935," East Texas Historical Journal: Vol. 23: Iss. 2, Article 5. Available at: http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ethj/vol23/iss2/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by SFA ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in East Texas Historical Journal by an authorized administrator of SFA ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. EAST TEXAS HISTORlCAL ASSOCIATION 3 TEXAS AND THE WORLD FAIRS, 1851-1935 by Edward Hake Phillips As Texans approach the Sesquicentennial of the founding of the Lone Star Republic, they are showing more and more interest in the Texas Centennial of 1936 and the two great Fairs held to com memorate that event. Equally interesting and instructive, however, is the experience Texans had in participating in World Fairs long before they staged their own extravaganzas. At the turn ofthe century, Finley Peter Dunne's apocryphal Irish bartender, Mr. Dooley, took a realistic view of World Fairs. When asked by his friend, Hennessy, "Why do they get them up?" Dooley replied: "They get thim up fr th' advancement iv thought an' th' gate receipts ... But they're run fr a good time an' a deficit."l Beginning with the London Crystal Palace Exposition in 1851, l Texans, as visitors and exhibitors, have partaken of the good times and deficits of the various World Fairs, deriving an "advancement iv thought" and culture and spreading a significant image ofTexas to the world.