490 International Exhibitions. [Oct., 



worthy of being forwarded to Paris at the public expense, and of 

 becoming eligible to compete for a prize either of 20 silver medals, 

 offered by the Government, or of one gold medal to be awarded to 

 anyone who should have opposed the most formidable rivalry to 

 British manufacture. 



Although it had been decided to have annual Expositions, there 

 was nevertheless an interval of three years between the first and 

 the second official Exposition, which latter took place in the quad- 

 rangle of the Louvre, in 1801, under elegant porticoes erected for 

 the occasion. Two hundred and twenty nine Exhibitors were 

 admitted to the competition. Seven who had already obtained gold 

 medals were set aside, and the eight best manufacturers placed in 

 the second order in 1798 were separated from the list, in order to 

 reserve the silver medals for their equals in industry ; and hence 

 arose the custom of voting only confirmation of previous rewards 

 in favour of those who honourably maintained their already 

 acquired position. It was on this occasion that Jacquard obtained 

 a bronze medal, and subsequently an annuity of 1,000 francs, which 

 was ultimately increased to 6,000 francs. 



The next Exposition was held on the same spot in the following 

 year, and in it the number of Exhibitors had again doubled, 

 amounting to 540. The Exposition had by this time lost its 

 exclusive and aristocratic character: articles in common demand 

 were largely exhibited, and among the striking features of the 

 collection were the extended application of mechanical and che- 

 mical science to facilitate production, and consequently to reduce 

 the price of articles in popular demand. Twenty-two gold medals 

 were distributed for such inventions or improvements as the 

 hydraulic-rani of Montgolfier, the stocking-frame of Aubert ; the 

 silk-spinning machine of Yaucanson, and the chemical products of 

 Decroisilles of Rouen, and Amfry and Darcet of Paris. One of 

 the immediate results of the extended popularity of these Expositions 

 was the establishment of the 'Societe d'Encouragement,' which 

 afterwards greatly assisted in developing the inventive genius of 

 Prance, and in the apphcation of abstract science to the wants and 

 requirements of manufactures. This was followed by the fourth 

 Exposition, in 1806, in which appeared for the first time the printed 

 cottons of Mulhausen and Logelbach. The manufacture of iron by 

 the aid of coke instead of charcoal, and that of steel by an improved 

 process, and the apphcation of the power of transferring ornaments 

 from copper-plates to the surface of porcelain, were amongst the 

 improvements which there marked the progress of manufactures. 



An interval of thirteen years took place between the fourth and 

 the fifth Expositions. The leading feature in the fifth Exposition 

 was the improvement in the art of metallurgy ; the great iron- 

 works of the Lone contributed excellent castings, whilst the forges 



