Four colour-lithographic and hand-couloured cut out panels, backdrop and cover with three viewing holes, 27 cm x 22 cm or 10 1/2" x 8 5/8", one of the largest such peepshow ever published. The view through an almost oriental lushness with hundreds of visitors is taken through the principal building, which was rectangular in shape with rounded ends. It measured 490 by 380 metres and was partly glass-roofed, with a central pavillion surrounded by a garden. This magninficent building erected on the Champ de Mars was designed by the engineer Jean-Baptiste Krantz and the architect Léopold Hardy. The young Gustave Eiffel was in charge of the constraction of the machine gallery. The front cover shows a birds-eye-view of the exhibition ground and streams of visitors crossing the Seine bridge. The largest such World Exhibition at the time saw just under 10 million visitors, staff and exhibitors. One lasting impact made the Japanese exhibits, which boosted artistic Japonism in Europe and Britain among the post-impressionist painters, such as Van Gogh, Beardsley and Whistler. To buy please Click here |