United States' pavilion, 1888. Image from www.todocoleccion.net, posted by Pandorashop.
The Exposició Universal de 1888 did not include official pavilions for visiting nations separate from the central fair buildings. Many nations had their own sections or pavilions within the fair buildings themselves, the largest of which were in the Gran Palau de la Indústria (Grand Palace of Industry), the fair's biggest building. There were, however, separate buildings for private businesses or corporations, which sometimes purported to represent certain countries. I will here present the distinctions between nations' official portrayals of themselves and their portrayals by others, using as examples two American exhibits (the official hall and the American Soda Water pavilion) and two Philippine exhibits (the official hall and the pavilion of the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas).
The Exposició Universal de 1888 did not include official pavilions for visiting nations separate from the central fair buildings. Many nations had their own sections or pavilions within the fair buildings themselves, the largest of which were in the Gran Palau de la Indústria (Grand Palace of Industry), the fair's biggest building. There were, however, separate buildings for private businesses or corporations, which sometimes purported to represent certain countries. I will here present the distinctions between nations' official portrayals of themselves and their portrayals by others, using as examples two American exhibits (the official hall and the American Soda Water pavilion) and two Philippine exhibits (the official hall and the pavilion of the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas).
Philippines' pavilion, 1888. Image from www.todocoleccion.net, posted by Pandorashop.
The official representations of both the United States and the Philippines, at that time a Spanish colony, are fairly similar. The Philippines' space is smaller, and thus more cramped-looking, but both are fairly organized exhibitions of each political entity. Both halls, presumably, display the best of each territory, organized to educate visitors to that end. From a design standpoint, they are not remarkable.
American Soda Water pavilion, 1888. Image from www.urbanity.es, posted by Juanjo.
The American Soda Water pavilion and the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas (a Spanish company) pavilion, in contrast to the official ones, portray each land in a very different light. The American Soda Water pavilion is modest but stately, and up-to-date with the latest styles in Beaux-Arts architecture. It does not put forward much of an image of America besides that of a nation very much in line with those of Europe at the time. The Tabacos de Filipinas pavilion, on the other hand, represents the Philippines in a manner much less dignified than the official display: the pavilion is a large waterside hut made of wood and thatch, which is remarkably out of place with the rest of the fair's pavilions and buildings. This depiction of the Philippines would have undoubtedly helped rationalize Spanish colonization and commercial exploitation of the isles.
Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas pavilion, 1888. Image from www.urbanity.es, posted by Juanjo.
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