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Displaying Edinburgh in 1886: The International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art George Wilson Smith PhD University of Edinburgh 2015 Abstract The International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art held in Edinburgh in 1886 was the first universal international exhibition to be staged in Scotland. This thesis examines the event as a reflection of the character and social structure of its host city and as an example of the voluntary organisation of an ambitious project. The background to the Exhibition is located in the progress of large-scale exhibitions in Victorian Britain, in competition between cities, and in Edinburgh’s distinction as an administrative and cultural centre and a national capital. The Exhibition’s organisers are situated within the city’s networks of power and influence and its circles of commerce, industry and municipal government. The space created to host the Exhibition is examined as an ideal depiction of Edinburgh as both a modern and a historic city. The origins of the exhibitors populating the Exhibition space are analysed, and their motivations and exhibiting strategies are scrutinised. The composition of the visitors to the Exhibition is considered and the development of the event as a venue for popular entertainment and spectacular display is discussed. In conclusion the chaotic aftermath of the project is examined, together with its influence on subsequent British exhibitions. Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed by me, and is my own work. It has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Contents Preface............................................................................................................................................ 3 1. The idea of an Exhibition .................................................................................................. 9 2. The acorn and the oak: organising the Exhibition ....................................................... 49 3. ‘The marvellous Fairy Palace of Science and Art’: building the Exhibition city .... 103 4. In the International Kettledrum: the Edinburgh exhibitors ..................................... 155 5. ‘The great resource of Edinburgh sightseers and pleasure-seekers’: visiting the Exhibition ......................................................................................................................... 211 6. Aftermath and afterlife ................................................................................................... 261 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 285 – 1 – – 2 – Preface Abbreviations # Exhibit number, International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art, Edinburgh 1886, Official Catalogue, 5th edn. (Edinburgh: Constable, 1886) BoOE J.C. Dunlop and Alison Hay Dunlop, The Book of Old Edinburgh, and Hand-Book to the Old Edinburgh Street. (Edinburgh: Constable, 1886) BoSE John Gifford et al.., The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984) DSA Dictionary of Scottish Architects ECA Edinburgh City Archives ECL Edinburgh Central Library, Edinburgh and Scottish Collection GCA Glasgow City Archives LMA London Metropolitan Archives NRS National Records of Scotland NBA&LJ North British Advertiser & Ladies’ Journal NBDM North British Daily Mail NLS National Library of Scotland ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – 3 – – 4 – Tables 2-1 Analysis of guarantors .................................................................................................... 69 2-2 Guarantees of £200 and over ....................................................................................... 70 3-1 Exhibition main classes ................................................................................................ 119 3-2 Buildings of Old Edinburgh and their dates of demolition .................................. 140 4-1 Geographical origins of general exhibitors .............................................................. 163 4-2 Geographical origins of exhibitors, by Exhibition class ......................................... 165 4-3 Geographical origins of Artisan Section exhibitors ................................................ 178 4-5 Geographical origins of Women’s Industries Section exhibitors .......................... 185 5-1 Exhibition attendance (thousands) weeks 1 to 14 ................................................... 214 5-2 Exhibition attendance (thousands) weeks 15 to 26 ................................................. 215 5-3 Exhibition attendance: key .......................................................................................... 216 6-1 Comparative statistics of British exhibitions of the 1880s .................................... 280 – 5 – – 6 – Illustrations 1-1 The Fisheries Exhibition in the Waverley Market ...................................................... 37 1-2 The Forestry Exhibition ................................................................................................. 41 1-3 Forestry Exhibition interior ........................................................................................... 42 2-1 E.M.A. Petition Form ..................................................................................................... 53 2-2 James Gowans ................................................................................................................. 56 2-3 Gowans’s £25 guarantee form ...................................................................................... 67 2-4 The Meadows encircled ................................................................................................. 74 2-5 The Meadows, improved ............................................................................................... 76 2-6 Regulations for Meadows cricketers ............................................................................. 78 2-7 Male sociability: the Old Edinburgh Committee ..................................................... 100 3-1 The Exhibition buildings: Burnet & Lindsay’s perspective view ........................... 105 3-2 Fowke’s 1862 London International Exhibition building, west façade ................ 107 3-3 Constructional details: Lindsay's iron- and steelwork ............................................. 108 3-4 Exhibition buildings from the southwest .................................................................. 111 3-5 Façade as logo ................................................................................................................ 112 3-6 Inside the Grand Hall ................................................................................................... 114 3-7 Plan of the Exhibition buildings ................................................................................ 117 3-8 Multiple paths: the building and grounds .................................................................. 121 3-9 Contemporary generating shed ................................................................................... 127 3-10 W. Grant Stevenson with the final cast version of his Wallace .............................. 130 3-11 Inside Old Edinburgh: looking west to the Nether Bow ........................................ 132 3-12 Chiaroscuro in Old Edinburgh ...................................................................................... 134 3-13 The Bow Head tenement, real and recreated ........................................................... 139 3-14 The Model Tenement ................................................................................................... 146 4-1 An Exhibition art gallery ............................................................................................. 158 – 7 – 4-2 Display cases in the Grand Hall transept .................................................................. 159 4-3 The Central Court ......................................................................................................... 160 4-4 The Lockwood Leather Scourer ................................................................................. 167 4-5 Edinburgh craft skills: William Adam’s carved sideboard ...................................... 169 4-6 A.&W. Smith’s vacuum pan ......................................................................................... 174 4-7 The Shetland and Fair Isle knitters ............................................................................ 191 4-8 Attendants of Old Edinburgh .................................................................................... 197 4-9 Paper medals: John Bartholomew’s gold diploma