Fair World

A History of World’s Fairs and Expositions from London to Shanghai 1851–2010

Paul Greenhalgh

Fair World tells the story of the great World’s Fairs and Expositions from the Victorian period to present day.

305 x 262 mm

282 pages

Hardback

ISBN: 978-1-906506-09-4

£40.00

Subjects: Architecture, Cultural Studies, Art & Design

The World’s Fairs, held since 1851, were spectacular gestures which briefly held the world’s attention before disappearing. Millions of visitors strolled through the sites, urban centres were re-planned to accommodate them, national economies were damaged, fortunes made and international hostilities postponed. In Paul Greenhalgh’s beautifully illustrated book some forty expositions are dealt with in detail and many more are described. From America, Britain and France – key countries in forming the exhibition tradition – to Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Montreal, Moscow, Osaka, Shanghai, Vienna and Turin. Fair World enlightens the reader on the world fairs’ key periods in history including the belle epoch between 1875 and 1915 – the golden age of exhibitions where over fifty major expos were held – and the age of ‘Futuropolis’ from 1925 to 1970.

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Paul Greenhalgh

Paul Greenhalgh is Director of the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia. His former roles include Director and President of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC, President of NSCAD University in Canada, and Head of Research at the V&A Museum in London. His books include Ephemeral Vistas (1989), Modernism in Design (1993), Art Nouveau 1890-1914 (2000), The Persistence of Craft (2003), and The Modern Ideal (2005).

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"An outstanding survey highly recommended for a range of collections, from general-interest to history and arts holdings. … The drama and excitement of the fairs is captured in a fine oversized presentation packed with images and history!"
Midwest Book Review