The Naval, Shipping and Fisheries Exhibition was a world's fair held in Earl's Court London in 1905[1] [2] intended to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar,[3] where a British fleet led by Admiral Nelson (who died in the battle) defeated a joint Franco-Spanish fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. The president of the exhibition was the lord mayor of London (then Charles Johnston) and the vice president Admiral Edmund Fremantle.[4]

Trafalgar related items included an item labelled as the quilt from Nelson's bed on board ship[5] and a "scenic interpretation" of the battle and death of Nelson[3]

But in addition to Trafalgar commemoration, as the name suggests there were naval, shipping and fishery related exhibits.

Naval related exhibits included Captain Cook's chart rule[6] and his plane table[7][8]
Fishing displays included the opportunity to observe fishers mending nets and divers in a diving tank.
Shipping related exhibits included an eight foot model of the Empress Queen (which also appeared at the Glasgow and Franco-British fairs)[9] and a village of Amerindians in which war canoes were shown. More actively there was the opportunity to take a submarine trip.[3]

And, as in following Earl's Court exhibitions in the 1900s, there were amusement rides including a Hiram Maxim Captive flying machine[10] and a Shoot-the-Chutes.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ships of the Royal Navy at Trafalgar". Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  2. ^ Findling, John E; Pelle, Kimberley D, eds. (31 January 2024). "Appendix D:Fairs Not Included". Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 426. ISBN 9780786434169.
  3. ^ a b c "1905 NAVAL". Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  4. ^ "NMA Collection Search Letter of thanks from London Exhibitions Ltd, 1905". Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Valance - Victoria & Albert Museum - Search the Collections". Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  6. ^ "NMA Collections Search Exhibition loan receipt for Captain Cook's Chart Rule, 1905". Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Captain James Cook (1728-1779)". christies.com. Christie's. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  8. ^ "NMA - Collections search results". Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  9. ^ "The Ships - Manx Transport Heritage Museum - The Island's Smallest Museum". Retrieved 29 March 2012.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "The Flying Machine, Earl's Court from Prints-online: Beautiful posters, prints and merchandise with a historical theme". Retrieved 30 March 2012.


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