The International Cotton Exposition and the City of Atlanta
Supplement to the Textile Record of America Philadelphia: Nagle & Ryckman, 1881.
First Edition. Wraps. Folio sized wraps approximately 14" x 10." 24 pages. Illustrated. Two page illustration in the middle. Original illustrated covers with contents printed on the front. Fragile condition. Fair condition. Very old tape repairs to the covers and pages 1 and 2 with old tape stains upper corners first 3 pages. Front cover chipped on the edge. Pages have some creasing and small edge tears. Contents generally clean. Fair. Item #36186
Atlanta businessman H. I. Kimball was the Director General of the International cotton Exposition. This exposition preceded the more famous Atlanta Cotton States exposition in 1895. From the New Georgia Encyclopedia:
Atlanta held its first exposition, named the International Cotton Exposition, in Oglethorpe Park in 1881. The city then had fewer than 40,000 residents, and the primary sense in which the first exposition was “international” was the display of cotton plants from around the world. Nevertheless, Atlantans were eager to host the 1881 exposition to promote investment and to help the city toward its goal of becoming an industrial center, which was a primary component of Grady’s “New South” concept. Although attendance was lower than expected (fewer than 200,000 in paid attendance during its two-and-a-half-month run), city leaders demonstrated that they could work together to host a major event and that Atlanta was serious about its role in textile production at a time when the North was beginning to grow dissatisfied with the efficiency of southern cotton processing. The exposition displayed new crop planters and cotton seed cleaners, along with a model of Eli Whitney’s original cotton gin, and speakers addressed the crowds about agricultural technology and political reforms.
Price: $250.00