Meriden Wares at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition.

Many manufactures made pieces specifically for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Silver plate manufactures were originally meant to display with the states where they existed. They contacted Henry Pettit Chief of the Bureau of Administration of the Centennial and demanded that they have their own space. Reed & Barton built a "Rosewood and French Plate Glass Case & Base" that was 27x8 feet and ten feet high. they spent $15,250 on exhibit expenses and displayed $24,500 in goods. (cited in Moskowitz, 2004). Reed and Barton's center piece was the "Progress Vase" a 3x4 foot piece of silver embossed with scenes from the 15th and 19th Century.

This picture is from the Meriden Britannia Company display. It is listed as glass serving dishes with figurines. I imagine that they too along with their competitors Tiffany and Gorham had the best of their best works on display.

You can view this picture and its details here.

Centennial Exhibition 1876

A quick search of the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 archives turned up some interesting things.

You can view the entire collection here.

As mentioned in Marina Moskowitz's book Standards of Living the displays were ornate. However, I failed to realize how ornate.


This picture is from the Meriden Britannia Company. The display case is a work of art in itself. In all the State Fairs I have been to I have never seen anything so opulent.

You can see the picture and its accompanying descriptions here.