The Centennial - Balloon View of the Grounds
Publisher
Harper's Weekly
(American, 1857 - 1916)
Datec 1876
Object number00019629
NameEngraving
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 600 x 810 mm, 500 g
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionPublished by Harper's Weekly, this coloured engraving depicts a 'ballon view' of the grounds of The Centennial at Fairmount Park - the site of the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876. The buildings, roads, parks, monuments and lakes are all shown, as well as major highways, railways and bridges which are labelled.
The image was taken from photographs by R Newell & Sons, and sketches by Theo R Davis.SignificanceThe exposure of Australia at the Centenary Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876 - combined with a newspaper advertising campaign - enticed a wave of American migrants to Australia in the late 1870s.
