Popular Exhibitions, Science and Showmanship, 1840-1910

Abstract

The nineteenth century was an era of spectacularization. From the fairground freak show to the World's Fair, the proliferation of popular exhibitions during this period attests to a fascination with novelty. Popular Exhibitions: Science and Showmanship, 1840–1910 argues for a renewed ‘emphasis on science as a resource, part of the repertoire of popular shows’ (p. 5) and in doing so presents the reader with an array of case studies that argue for the interrelationship between popular science and spectacle. This book is ambitious in its scope, taking as its cue the panoramic view of popular exhibition culture in the nineteenth century first presented in Richard Altick's Shows of London (1978). Like Altick, the editors view exhibitions as an intrinsic part of ‘rational entertainment’, recreations that sought both to amuse and instruct in equal measure.1 While museologists have demonstrated a long-standing engagement with the study of exhibition culture, more recent work in the History of Science has turned towards the detailed consideration of both popular science and the scientific showmen who were responsible for disseminating scientific knowledge to educated audiences. Aileen Fyfe and Bernard Lightman's Science in the Marketplace: Nineteenth-Century Sites and Experiences (2007) explored the role of science in consumer culture, directing the reader's attention towards both the producers and consumers of scientific exhibitions. With a similar focus on both production and reception, the essays in this collection seek to explore the full spectrum of popular scientific exhibitions, sometimes bringing the reader into close encounters with ‘talking fish’, gorillas, and southern African Zulus, and at others exploring the ways in which new technologies and theatrical techniques were appropriated by scientific showmen to create innovative spectacles such as magical seances and public mummy unwrappings.