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THE WORLB's FAIRS
at the sametimea church, thegrand stand
of a race course and a railway Station.
It is in truth, a motley mixture of dif
ferent styles of areliitecture, but striking
in general appearance.
The name Trocadero is undoubtedly
derived from the Spanish word “trocar,”
to harter. It was very likely originally
given to the hill, on whicli the exhibition
building bas been erected, in memory of
the taking of fort Trocadero on the island
of Löon, in front of Cadiz, by the French
expedition ander the Dukeof Angouleme,
sent to aid the Spanish Bourbons against
the insurgents in 1823. Perhaps this fort
had been built upon a site, which origi
nally served for a place of harter, a
market or fair, and thus the etymological
meaning of the word renders its appli-
cation to an exhibition building quite ap-
propriate.
The centre of the Trocadero palace is
occnpied by an immense concert hall, “la
salle des fetes,” which holds 5000 persons,
and is probably the finest one in the
world.
The rest of the building, that is the
wings, was devoted to retrospective art.
A department we usually find in Museums
or in special exhibitions, such as the
art treasures exhibition at Manchester or
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THE WORLü’s FAIRS
the one at Munich in 1876, but less fre-
quently at universal exhibitions,
As Paris is in itself already a large in
dustrial exposition,it was probably thought
necessary to attract the general public to
the exhibition, by giving Curiosities the
prominent place. They were indeed the
leading feature of this exhibition, both as
regards the external appearance of the
buildings and the objectsjexhibited. The
Prince of Wales’ Indian collection, the
crown jewelry, &c. were the chief attrac-
tions in the maiu building, as were the
antiquities in the Trocadero palace.
It would, however, be unfair not to
state, that there were also collections of
plain staple goods in the exhibition, which
prove that the Science of exhibiting is
itself continually making progress. As
an example we may well eite the collec-
tive exhibition of the Tauners of France.
It occupied three large rooms in the main
building, and may be considered a charac-
teristic representation of the commercial
honesty and solidity of French nianu-
facturers. No sign of any “smart” attempt
of an individual exhibitor to put himself
unduly forward, and reap for himself the
whole advantage of the common under-
taking. A general goodwill of all the
participants to do their very best in con-