Wholesale Mystery & Marvel: Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exposition

The Centennial was America’s first world’s fair, occurring twenty-five years after the first international exposition in London. It celebrated progress through science & technology. Organizers, mainly Pennsylvania industrialists & merchants, aimed to show the U.S. was as advanced as Europe, and largely succeeded. Everyday Americans attended to be reassured of their nation’s economic & technological past, present, & future. Mystery & Marvel explores the 1876 Centennial Exposition through the eyes of ten million visitors, revealing the technological enthusiasm of middle-class Victorians. This enthusiasm, though sometimes mixed with nostalgia & uncertainty, reflected a belief in a modern world. The sights, sounds, & smells of the exhibition foreshadowed a modern America. In 1876, Philadelphia was the largest manufacturing city, marking a shift from an agricultural republic to an industrial empire.