Three years into the Great War, England’s greatest asset is their intelligence network—field agents risking their lives to gather information, and codebreakers able to crack every German telegram. Margot De Wilde thrives in the environment of the secretive Room 40, where she spends her days deciphering intercepted messages. But when her world is turned upside down by an unexpected loss, for the first time in her life numbers aren’t enough.
In this Pinch of the Past we will be wrapping up the Paris Exposition Series with a look at what critics of the day had to say about the expositions and some numbers regarding cost and attendance.
Criticisms: Because it can’t all be moonlight and roses.
The Paris Exposition was said to be overly ambitious and costly undertaking, and not all critics believed this was best for the country at the time.
One such critic as Melchior de Vogué, a supporter of the 1889 Eiffel Tower. He criticized the architecture used throughout the fair stating that:
In 1889, iron bravely offered itself to us naked and unencumbered, asking us to judge its architectural potential. Since that time, it seems as though iron has experienced the shame of the first man after its original sin, and feels the necessity of covering its nudity. Today, iron covers itself with plaster and staff. It hides itself in casings of mortar and cement.
Some complained the buildings were to old fashioned for their new age exhibits or not sophisticated enough.
La Porte Monumentale and La Parisienne
The Porte Monumentale received heavy criticisms. To give you some vivid imagery of what the gateway looked like I pulled this quote from Architectuul.com.
“The gateway was consisted of a dome and three arches and as a whole adorned with Byzantine motifs and Persian ceramic ornamentation and colored glass cabochons. The gate was covered with 3200 blue and yellow small electronic lights.”
While this sounds beautiful it was said to be “lacking in taste.” Some actually referred to the gateway as La Salamanda because it so resembled the stocky and intricately designed salamander-stoves of the time.
Antique Cast Iron Wood Stove “La Salamandre”
Additionally, at the top of this gateway was a fifteen foot statue of a lady (La Parisienne) said to be the spirit of Paris; however, some found her modernized posture and dress offensive. She was loosely referred to as “the triumph of prostitution.”
Admission charges and cost
Bon for the Exposition Universelle de 1900.
One admission ticket costed one Franc. At the time, the average hourly wage for Paris workers was between 40 and 50 centimes. According to Chanvrerie.net, 100 centimes = franc. So, you would have to save up to two day’s wages for one ticket to the fair.
Additional admission fees for popular attractions were usually between 50 centimes.
Meals averaged at about 2.5 Francs
The Paris Exposition budgeted 100-million French Francs (20 million from the French State, 20 million from the City of Paris, and 60 million from the expected admissions, backed by French banks and financial institutions.)
The official final cost = 119-million Francs.
Admissions fees collected = 126 million Francs.
Unplanned expenses = 22 million Francs for the French State, 6 million Francs for the City of Paris
Total cost = 147-million Francs, or a deficit of 21 million Francs.
This however offset the cost to a degree, the long term additions to Paris’ infrastructure, including new buildings and bridges, additions to the transport system, two new train stations, and the new facade and enlargement and redecoration of theGare de Lyon and other stations.
Other data
Exhibitors = 83,000+
Prizes of various degrees awarded = 42,790
127 congresses had attracted over 80,000 participants
The Exposition Eniverselle of 1900 was the last of its kind hosted in France. There were three following fairs in France, however these were not truly World Fairs because their focuses were on decorative arts and colonial possessions.
So, there you have it. A little taste of the World’s Fair in Paris. As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed this Pinch of the Past.
Jane Kirkpatrick joins us for a chat about homesteading, historical research and her latest novel Beneath the Bending Skies. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book!
Today’sPinch of the Past is part 2 of the 1900 Paris Exposition. In this Pinch of the Past we will be looking at the different kinds of exhibits featured at the fair, including one very special exhibit from the United States and a truly unique exhibit that ended in tragedy. (Full post here.)
Chicago, 1928. Pampered socialite Connie Shepherd lives the kind of glossy life other women read about in the society pages. Engaged to a handsome financier, she spends her days and nights in a dizzying social round. When eccentric Aunt Pearl, an amateur chemist, offers her an unusual wedding present—the formula for a home-brewed skin tonic—Connie laughs it off. But when the Great Depression flings her privileged world into chaos and rocks her marriage to the core, will Aunt Pearl’s strange gift provide the key to survival for Connie and her baby? By turns heartbreaking and hope-filled, Moondrop Miracle tells the story of an extraordinary and unforgettable woman whose determination to succeed changes her life forever.
When the Nazis march toward Paris, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. The Germans make it difficult for her to keep Green Leaf Books afloat. And she must keep the store open if she is to continue aiding the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books.
Today’s Pinch of the Past once again visits a historic landmark in my hometown. It’s over four hundred years of history, so I’m only going to touch on a few high points in the story of the St. Augustine Lighthouse.
“Sears, Roebuck and Company is a retail giant with 19th-century roots as a mail-order business operating in rural America.”
You’ve seen the old hurricane lamps. Well, they weren’t run on nothing. Kerosene oils were in high demand back then. Sears and Roebuck sold this as well. According to one ad: “We do not sell less than a barrel of kerosene oil… no charge for parrels. Barrels contain about 52 gallons.”
Interview: Our featured book today is A Chance for Genevieve. Parker J. Cole is an author, speaker, and radio host with an obsession with the Lord, Star Trek, K-dramas, anime, romance books, old movies, speculative fiction, and knitting. An on-and-off Mountain Dew and marshmallows addict, she writes to fill the void the sugar left behind. (Enter the giveaway for her book here.)
