An Empire on Display: English, Indian, and Australian Exhibitions from the Crystal Palace to the Great War (review)

Abstract

Between 1854 and 1911, over thirty colonial exhibitions opened to the public across the British Empire from Calcutta to Melbourne, from Delhi to Queensland, demonstrating the unprecedented energy of cultural professionals, scientists, administrators, entrepreneurs, colonial officials, and bureaucrats across British territories interested in recreating the empire in their own image. Highlighting the underexamined features specific to post-Crystal Palace (1851) imperial exhibitions, University of Hawaii professor Peter Hoffenberg's 277-page history examines post-1851 British imperial exhibitions sprawled over three different continents and draws impressively from countless documents excavated from over twenty-five different archives.