The French Industrial Exposition of 1844 (french: Exposition des produits de l'industrie française en 1844), held in a temporary structure on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, was the tenth in a series of eleven

French national industrial exposition French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

s held since 1798 to encourage improvements in progressive agriculture and in technology.

History

The exposition lasted 60 days, with 3,960 exhibitors. It opened in the Champs-Élysées on 1 May and closed on 29 June. In the 1844 exposition it was found necessary to exclude retailers who did not make their own products, and to eliminate anything that was not socially useful, which included both freak artisan products and instruments used only by scientists. Entrants had to fill out a form that gave information about their business including its nature, number of employees, materials used, export and domestic earning and so on. The king of France,

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

, opened the exposition and toured all the exhibits.

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

composed and conducted the ''Hymne à la France'', a great symphonic and choral work performed during the opening. Several vaudeville skits were performed during the exposition. The king came back every Monday to examine some exhibits in more detail. There were 3,969 exhibitors, with most exhibits held in forty galleries in the grand hall. Exhibits were placed in the categories: Fabrics, Metals and other Minerals, Machinery, Precision Instruments, Chemical Arts, Fine Arts, Pottery, and Diverse Arts. The jury finished judging the exhibits on 25 July 1844. Louis Philippe presided over an award ceremony on 29 July 1844 in the Tuileries. He personally presented 31

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

medals to the most distinguished exhibitors. In all there were 3,253 awards.

Legion of Honour awards

Legion of Honour awards were: Notable and unusual *Gold medal:

Louis-Georges Mulot Louis-Georges Mulot (14 September 1792, Épinay-sur-Seine - 11 April 1872, Paris) was a French engineer and entrepreneur. He helped create numerous artesian wells in Paris and was the founder of the ; one of the first extensions of the Nord-Pas d ...

in the category 'Machines'''Journal des débats politiques et littéraires'', 29 juillet 1844 Paris *

Adolphe Sax Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax (; 6 November 1814 – 4 February 1894) was a Belgian inventor and musician who invented the saxophone in the early 1840s, patenting it in 1846. He also invented the saxotromba, saxhorn and saxtuba. He played the fl ...

presented an example of the

saxhorn The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is also known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a ...

. *

Charles Xavier Thomas Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar (May 5, 1785 – March 12, 1870) was a French inventor and entrepreneur best known for designing, patenting and manufacturing the first commercially successful mechanical calculator, the Arithmometer, and for foun ...

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

presented the

arithmometer The arithmometer (french: arithmomètre) was the first digital mechanical calculator strong enough and reliable enough to be used daily in an office environment. This calculator could add and subtract two numbers directly and could perform lon ...

. *Jean-Baptiste Sabatier-Blot presented his

daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...

s, and received an honourable mention. Others * Andreé, founder, in the Val d'Osne foundry, Osne-le-Val, Haute-Marne * Frédéric Bacot, manufacturer of sheets, in Sedan, Ardennes * Claude-Joseph Bonnet, silk manufacturer, in

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

, Rhône * Bontemps, manufacturer of glassware, in

Choisy-le-Roi Choisy-le-Roi () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department, in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Geography Choisy-le-Roi is located southeast from the center of Paris, on both banks of the river Seine. The neighbouring commu ...

, Seine * Bourdon, director of the forges and foundries of

Le Creusot Le Creusot () is a Communes of France, commune and industrial town in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerl ...

, Saône-et-Loire * J. J. Bourkardt, manufacturer of machines, in

Guebwiller Guebwiller (french: Guebwiller, ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est currently in north-eastern France. It was a Subprefectures in Fran ...

, Haut-Rhin * Buron, manufacturer of optical instruments, in Paris *

Jean-François Cail Jean-François Cail (8 February 1804 – 22 May 1871) was a French entrepreneur and industrialist who was a key figure in French industrialization. Life Childhood Jean-François Cail was born the third of eight children on 8 February 1804 ...

, manufacturer of machines, in Paris * Camu fils, wool spinner, in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, Marne * Charrière, manufacturer of surgical instruments, in Paris * Théodore Chennvière, manufacturer of sheets, in

Elbeuf Elbeuf () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A light industrial town situated by the banks of the Seine some south of Rouen at the junction of the D7, D321 and the D313 roads. The c ...

, Seine-Inférieure * François Debuchy, manufacturer of linen, wool and cotton fabrics, in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, Nord * Fauler ainé, maker of

Morocco leather Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maroquin, or German Saffian from Safi, Morocco, Safi, a Moroccan town famous for leather) is a Vegetable tanning, vegetable-tanned leather known for its softness, pliability, and ability to take c ...

products, in

, Seine * Etienne Faure, manufacturer of ribbons, in

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, Loire *

Victor Frerejean The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, master of ironworks, in

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, Seine-Inférieure * Godard fils, manufacturer of crystals, in

Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

, Meurthe * Grillet ainé, manufacturer of shawls, in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, Rhône * Jacques Gros, manufacturer of cotton fabrics, in

Wesserling Husseren-Wesserling (german: Hüsseren-Wesserling) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Points of interest * Parc de Wesserling See also * Communes of the Haut-Rhin département The following is a li ...

, Haut-Rhin * Jean-Justin Lacroix, paper maker, in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

, Charente * Théodore Lefebvre, manufacturer of white lead, at Moulins-lès-Lille,

, Nord * Lemire, manufacturer of chemical products, in

, Seine * Massenet, manufacturer of steel and iron, in

, Loire * Milliet, manufacturer of porcelain, in Montereau, Seine-et-Marne * Ogereau, tanner, in Paris * Pecqueur, manufacturer of machines, in Paris * Roller, piano player, in Paris * Augustin Roswag, manufacturer of metallic fabrics, at

Sélestat Sélestat (; Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department, the tow ...

, Bas-Rhin * Charles Henri Schattenmann, director of the mining company of Bouxwiller, Bas-Rhin * Antoine Thénard, chief engineer of bridges and highways, in Abzac, Gironde * Joseph-Thaddeus Winnerl, manufacturer of timepieces, in Paris

Influence

Though it was the tenth Paris exposition, it began to spawn imitators elsewhere in the world, including the 1851

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

in London, which was open to international exhibitors from the entire world and outshone the highly successful French exhibition. Other European expositions soon followed:

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1845;

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

with an elaborate industrial exposition in 1847;

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

in 1847;

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1848; and

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

in 1849. The exposition returned to Paris in 1849, called the Exposition of the Second Republic or ''Exposition Nationale des produits de l’industrie agricole et manufacturière'', with 5,494 exhibitors and was replaced in 1855 by an

international exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

References

Sources

* * * * * {{List of world's fairs in France July Monarchy World's fairs in Paris 1844 in France 1840s in Paris 1844 festivals Festivals established in 1844 fr:Expositions_universelles_de_Paris#Exposition_nationale_de_1844