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International Exhibition Certificate awarded to Simpson & Co. for merino wool

Date1876

Object number00001718

NameCertificate

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 445 x 634 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionA certificate presented to merino wool producers Simpson & Co. at the International Exhibition held in Philadelphia. The certificate reads 'International Exhibition Certificate of Award 1876 awarded to Simpson & Co. Bon Accord, New South Wales. Merino wool, group eleven (XI). United States Centennial Commission, in accordance with congress. Philadelphia, September 27th, 1876. John.A.Campbell, secretary. S.T.Goshorn, director general. Jos.R.Hawley, president'. The Philadelphia exhibition, official title was “The 1876 International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine”, was held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of United States independence and became one of the biggest of its kind with an estimated 10 million visitors, almost a fifth of the nation’s population. HistoryThe tradition of modern international exhibitions commenced in 1851 and continued approximately every two years around the world until 1893. While the attendance to these fairs was impressive, many millions of people, the cost to exhibit in the vast pavilions internationally was very high for many countries, particularly Australia. Exhibitions were initially seen as an invaluable opportunity to promote Australian produce to the world and attract investors. Agriculture, mining and the wool market were celebrated in elaborate displays designed to attract attention in crowded halls. Culturally and economically the far flung British colonies were also competing for enterprising immigrants who may not have considered Australia before. It was also a chance for countries to curate an image of how they wished to be perceived and how they distinguished themselves from others. The Australian states, still separate entities at this stage, had colonial baggage they wished to be rid and presented themselves as not only producers of raw materials but also artistically developed and culturally sophisticated. But despite access to the world stage, international exhibitions soon presented the Australian states with problems, not the least that they were competing against each other. The benefits of the huge expense of shipping produce and goods to various locations, designing and constructing ever more elaborate exhibits were being argued. Even in 1876 when New South Wales alone won 25 awards for wool, including this one to Simpson & Co., doubts were being raised in local papers about the quality of the judging and the merits of even receiving an award. In Philadelphia alone there were approximately 12,000 medals issued. SignificanceInternational exhibitions were a hugely expensive but popular undertaking in the last decades of the 19th century. The Philadelphia International Exhibition of 1876 was significant in presenting the inventions of a typewriter by Remington Co., a telephone by Alexander G. Bell and a quadruplex telegraph by Thomas A. Edison.