The World's Fair and the (Display) Case of the Missing Manuscript

1876 was a critical juncture in the country’s history. 100 years after the Declaration of Independence and a mere eleven years after the Civil War, racial and regional tensions ran deep, shaping the celebrations and the future of the nation’s identity. Philadelphia’s Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official world’s fair held in the United States, was at the center of these disputes. Attended by nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population, the exposition served as a stage for collective memory, pride, and underlying discord.

While my research was initially intended to look at the centennial year as a whole, I eventually chose to focus on Dartmouth’s unique connection to the Centennial International Exhibition. The Rauner Library’s incredible collection provided me with a unique link to this historic event. Using Dartmouth as a focal point allowed me to explore the broader tensions of the centennial on a more personal, localized level, while also giving me insight into the administrative effort required to organize such a monumental fair.

Pictured here is the title page and index to an otherwise missing historical sketch of Dartmouth College, commissioned by the Bureau of Education for an exhibit at the fair. It was prepared by John King Lord, Dartmouth class of 1868 and faculty member. Similar sketches were requested from a variety of educational institutions and many of them still exist in full today. However, despite letters discussing plans to print 300 copies of Dartmouth’s sketch, a complete copy of Lord’s work does not exist.

If the index is presumed to be accurate there were over 150 pages of text. This, in conjunction with the College’s thorough communication with the Bureau of Education and the existence of sketches from other schools, hint at the massive effort required to prepare for the exposition — both public officials and private individuals like Lord worked to make the Centennial International Exhibition shine.

My favorite part of this project was definitely my time in the Rauner Library. Trying to read 19th-century cursive and combing through old editions of The Dartmouth gave me a new appreciation for the intricacies of archival research — it’s an amazing experience to conduct research on such a tangible level. If you’re curious about Dartmouth’s connection to the centennial, please stop by Rauner and check out the exhibit "Dartmouth at the Nation's Centennial"!

Posted for Madeline Fisher ‘27

P. S. If you miss the exhibit, you can always come in and ask to see the John King Lord papers (MS-562).