20 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1912. 



The First Rubber Exhibit Ever Made. 



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IT may seem a waste of energy to sonic people, when standing 

 in the immediate presence of a great, live, spectacular exposi- 

 tion, like that now filling three floors in the Grand Central 

 Palace, to hark back 61 years to the first rubber exhibit ever 

 made ; but a mention of that early exhibit is of value not only 

 historically, but to people intimately associated with the rubber 

 industry it will certainly not be devoid of interest. 



Of course, it was Goodyear who made the exhibit. Not very 

 much can be said about the rubber industry 61 years ago without 

 mentioning Goodj'ear. The first general world's exhibition was 

 held in the Crystal Palace, London, in 1851. Goodyear had taken 

 out his patent for the vulcanization process only 7 years before, 

 but he had made wonderful advances in rubber production, not 

 only in the line of soft rubber goods — footwear, clothing and 

 fabrics — but he had also made tremendous strides in the produc- 

 tion of hard rubber, for which process his brother. Nelson, had 

 taken out a patent in 1848. 



Of course, Goodyear's name was known in England, and some- 

 thing was known 

 regarding his ex- 

 ploits in rubber, but 

 still in those days, 

 as even at the pres- 

 ent time. English- 

 men were a little 

 slow to accord rec- 

 ognition to Ameri- 

 can achievements. 

 The thing had to be 

 proved before they 

 evinced any great 

 interest in it ; and 

 Goodyear deter- 

 mined to prove to 

 the English what he 

 had been doing in 

 the new rubber in- 

 d u s t r y. Conse- 

 quently he decided 

 to make a memora- 

 ble exhibit at the 

 great Crystal Palace 

 Show. Though he 



was in wretched health — which, as a matter of fact, was his 

 chronic condition, for his brain was at least five times too active 

 for his body — and although he had to hobble around on crutches, 

 he entered into the preparation of the exhibit with even more than 

 his accustomed energy and determination. He spent $30,000 on 

 his Crystal Palace display; an unprecedented sum in those days, 

 and a sizable sum for any entrant to spend at any exhibi- 

 tion, even at the present time. His exhibit was known as 

 "Goodyear's Vulcanite Court" and it consisted of a suite of cov- 

 ered rooms, where everything was made of rubber — the walls, 

 the roof, the ornamental cornices, the carpet on the floor and all 

 the furniture. It was a wonderful display of rubber possibilities. 



There were chairs of rubber ; there were bureaus made of 

 rubber; and boxes and shawl cases made entirely of rubber or 

 rubber veneered. There was a fine display of rubber combs, 

 something that Goodyear had just perfected, and in which he 

 was trying hard to interest the public. There were buttons 

 made of rubber — a distinct novelty at that time ; and in addition 

 there were many musical instruments made entirely of hard 

 rubber. There were also rubber canes and cutlery with rubber 

 handles. Rubber balloons of all sizes, inflated with hydrogen 



gas, were floating in the air. A rubber balloon is, of course, to 

 us an old story; but ^t that time it was a distinct novelty and 

 naturally appealed greatly to the populace. 



The accompanying illustration reproduced from a wood cut 

 made at the time, gives some little idea of the artistic and highly 

 ornamental character of this famous rubber court. 



This exhibit was esteemed of such importance that when tlie 

 Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham and made a permanent 

 institution, the Goodyear Vulcanite Court was moved with it 

 and made a regular feature of the museum. 



It was only natural tliat the English people should flock to 

 see the rubber exhibition. It was the most striking novelty in 

 the entire show, and Goodyear's name was on everybody's lips. 

 He was given the "Grand Council Medal," the greatest distinc- 

 tion that the exhibition authorities could bestow upon him. 



It is not to be wondered at, in view of the tremendous success 

 of Goodyear's London exhibit, that he should have determined 

 three years later, when the E.vposilion Unh-crscUe was held in 



Paris (November, 



^^ 1854), to repeat his 



display on that oc- 

 casion ; though the 

 expense of the Paris 

 exhibit was not as 

 great as the earlier 

 one, amounting only 

 to $20,000 — this 

 smaller expense be- 

 i n g attributable 

 largely to the fact 

 that he still had a 

 considerable part of 

 his London "Court" 

 intact. His display, 

 however, was con- 

 siderably larger 

 than on the earher 

 occasion. In fact, 

 at the Paris show 

 he had two distinct 

 rubber courts. This 

 increased area came 

 about largely 

 through Goodyear's intense patriotism. The Frenchmen had 

 not allotted very much space originally to American exhibitors. 

 The American committee applied for more space, which was 

 conceded. They then discovered that they did not have exhibi- 

 tors enough to fill this new territory, and they appealed to Good- 

 year. He determined that American reputation for enterprise 

 should not be permitted to suffer if he could prevent it. Con- 

 sequently he took double the amount of space he had intended, 

 and erected a second court. 



His exhibit there created a greater furore even than the earlier 

 one in London. It stood in the very center of the exposition, 

 and all Paris, to say nothing of the rest of the continent, flocked 

 to see this wonderful rubber revelation. 



In addition to the articles shown in the London show he had 

 some elaborate rubber furniture very handsomely inlaid, which 

 naturally attracted much attention. Besides the rubber carpets 

 on the floor, he had in this exhibit many rubber pictures on the 

 wall — landscapes and portraits artistically painted on hard 

 rubber panels. The Emperor himself. Napoleon III, was greatly 

 interested. An amusing incident connected with the Emperor's 

 visit was given in some detail in the April number of The Indi.\ 



Goodve.nr's Exhibit .\t the Crystal P.vl.ace Show, London, 1851. 



