Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Exhibitionism! Edited Transcript



Viv Trafalgar: Ladies, Gentlemen, Miss Serafina (who is abroad, but still with us in spirit) and I are pleased to welcome you to the September Aether Salon - Exhibitionism! A close look at the history and mysteries of Victorian Exhibitions. I am so pleased to be able to say that this is our tenth salon! We think you will find it enlightening and shocking, and then you will fall over dead when you see the craft. But that's later. First, I would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us today.

As many of you know, the Aether Salon meets to discuss steam and Victorian topics on the third Sunday of each month, in Palisades, New Babbage. We have had ten Salons since last October - each one spectacular and exciting - all thanks to our speakers and the amazing Babbage community. Next month we will mark our one-year anniversary with (we hope) all of our speakers emeritii in attendance, as well as a brilliant topic. We hope you will join us. We sincerely appreciate the support we receive from everyone in the community, and we humbly thank you all.

Many fine people have contributed to today’s salon: We are grateful to Miss Ceejay Writer, Miss Jedburgh Dagger, Miss Ghilayne Andrews, Miss Breezy Carver, Mr. Rafael Fabre, Canolli Capalini of Capalini Fine Furnishings for the chairs and the craft (dead I tell you, it will knock you dead). Please hold your questions until the end, and as a courtesy to all, please turn off everything that feeds the lag: all HUDs, scripts, AOs and so on. Please no weapons, bombs, or biting, without at least a modicum of wit accompanying. Mark your calendars for upcoming salons: Whimsy! in October, Furnishings! in November, and a field trip to Steelhead in December. We're keeping a log of things “overheard at the salon” on http://aethersalon.blogspot.com just in case you're looking for a good laugh. Please join the Aether Salon group and receive notifications of future salon events, click the lower right hand corner of the large brown sign by the entrance. As a reminder, all tip jar donations go directly to the speakers. Be shocked and amazed as I introduce our speakers today. They are Miss Breezy Carver and Mr Aeolus Cleanslate. (please hold your applause until i am finished) Lady SeaBreeze, Breezy Carver arrived in New Babbage in April of 2008 and after careful observation of the locals, desired to give back to the city in that way she knows best, fabulous events, well planned and marketed, and complete with her special signature style that always welcomes and includes all. Her passionate heart is what we love her for.r: Her saucy wit always inspires.

Each month since August 2008, Breezy's Piermont Landing has shown the grid that Industry Marches On, it also dances, and has a great deal of class and panache. That's 13 Balls and an election party, folks. That takes a lot of doing! Breezy's formal Balls and build contests are the place to be for residents of the steamlands, and indeed, many of us are recovering from last night's event at present, so please DO STOP THAT RACKET. ahem.

Breezy can be found in any number of her gorgeous residences in New Babbage: Piermont Landing & The Mark Twain Study, Wheatstone Waterways; Paul Sweedlepipe School, Wheatstone Waterways; The Lotus in the Vernian Sea. She is co-owner of Ruby’s New Babbage Canals and Steelhead Port, New Babbage’s Ambassador to Steelhead, and was New Babbage's Relay For Life Team Captain 2009 - and did an absolutely spectacular job, coordinating both an Exhibition Hall build and the stunning Mars build, as well as leading the Babbage team to raise L$723,462 for RFL.

Details on Mr Cleanslate prior to his arrival in Babbage last year are hazy, although there have been stubborn rumors. Two rumors he would like me to officially deny include the suggestion that he spent two years in the maximum security prison at Scrofulous Point (it was far less), and that he spent time performing under the stage name “Kandee” (completely mis-spelled). He has admitted to having spent far too long earning an undergraduate degree in history, however, concentrating in 19th century topics. Since his arrival in Babbage, Cleanslate has squandered his energy on a variety of projects without really mastering the skills necessary to excel in any of them. He is currently being treated (clandestinely) by several noted Babbage surgeons for “generalist’s disease,” which he assures us is not necessarily contagious.

Aside from his current position as Maceholder in the Tenk administration, Cleanslate has contributed several builds to the Babbage landscape (including the controversial streetcar system and City Hall), assisted in the formation of the City Militia, runs the Hotel Excelsior in Babbage Square, and coordinated last January’s Airship Regatta over the Vernian Sea. His recent involvement with the City’s Relay For Life campsite build brought him into intimate contact with today’s subject matter, and like many topics he comes across proceeded to monopolize his attention for far too long. Miss Breezy will begin with a sharply focussed commentary on a certain notorious worlds' fair. Mr Cleanslate will then clean up, with an amazing perspective on exhibitions and worlds fairs, and their impact on the world. Without further ado, I give you Miss Breezy Carver, who will be followed by Mr. Aeolus Cleanslate. Thank you and welcome all!

Breezy Carver: Grins Well thank YOU Viv for that wonderful intro (( was wondering who are those two folks grins )) I want well we all wish to thank YOU for coming .. as I do Love a good fair *smiles*

Breezy Carver: THE GREAT WHITE CITY

Ladies and Gentlemen I ask you to sit back and enjoy as I am about to share .. A behind the scenes look and just a tip of the folk lore and gossip behind The Great White City … More than any world’s fair before or since, the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 had a lasting effect on its visitors, the taste of the times, and the lusty community that brought it forth !!! When the plans for the World’s Columbian Exposition were spread before him, banker Lynian J. Gage greeted them with disbelief. “Oh, gentlemen,” he said, “this is a dream. You have my good wishes. I hope the dream can be realized.”

The occasion—one of the sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens called “the greatest meeting of artists since the fifteenth century” The First Meeting was a day-long session in the architectural offices of Daniel Burnham early in 1891. Though the idea of a fair to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of Columbus’ lauding had been stirring in the minds of Chicagoans for a number of years, it had not taken practical form until 1889. New York, Washington, and St. Louis mused similar ambitions, but Chicago’s bid of ten million dollars (that was later doubled from other sources) had settled the matter. (( just like RFL on sl *smiles* ))

Note the corruption of the day as bids were backed with cash (( grins )) With Burnham’s famous slogan—“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood”—with Burnham himself as chief of construction, and with Frederick Law Olmsted (and his partner Charles S. Codman of Boston) engaged to lay out the grounds, a tract ol Chicago s swamp and sand was to become—as it was first and best known—a “Great White City.”

The Fair was projected on an enormous scale. When Compared London’s Crystal Palace had covered over twenty acres, and Philadelphia’s Centennial over two hundred, Chicago dwarfed them with over six hundred. Its vistas of ivory colonnades against the blue of sky and lake stretched the imaginations of Americans unused to such magnificence. “It’s too much for my mind,” said one visitor. “It fills you up with more ideas than you’ve got room for.”

Undoubtedly the uniform whiteness added to an effect of unreality and other-worldliness in this period when streets of alabaster and gales of pearl were familiar hymn-book images. In any event, the words “vision,” “dream,” and “enchantment” are frequently used in contemporary descriptions. Even |Truslow Adams refers to the Fair as “a vision of beauty which has rarely been equalled … compared with it the Paris Exposition of 1900 was an inchoate jumble of incongruous monstrosities,”

grins now please make note of these stats for there will not be a Quizz latte but more the interest on just how Large the scale. Almost forty years afterward Lloyd Lewis could write that it “still forces the belief that … it was the most wonderful thing of its time. It became the ruling passion of statesmen as well as architects, of religionists as well as artisans, of merchants, painters, engineers, musicians, soldiers, orators, and dukes. … Destiny brought to this young city an explosion of idealism, produced a miracle and then ordered the miracle to disappear. Hummm sound familiar … grins …

There is certainly evidence that to the public—the many millions who rambled through its miles of parks and gardens, drifted along its lagoons, or from the top of the Ferris Wheel watched the lighted prisms of the great fountain in the Court of Honor—the Chicago Fair was overwhelming, an impression that is only confirmed by Henry James’s sarcastic reference: “They say one should sell all one has and mortgage one’s soul to go there, it is esteemed stich a revelation of beauty. People burst into tears, cast away all sin and baseness, and grow religious under its influence.”

A preliminary dedication and parade were held on October 21, 1891, but the winter that followed produced an unprecedented scries of blizzards, alternating with arctic cold, which made construction a nightmare. Men worked bundled up like mummies; picks rang uselessly against the iron ground; and almost an acre of skylights fell under the weight of snow. Delivery of engines, boilers, and parts was delayed. The chief of mechanical construction resigned in despair.

In other words they had nothing but .. challenge after challenge YEt they still Made History and put forth the great show ON Earth especially in cities that had competed for the Fair, gleefully reported that nothing would be ready for the opening in May, that accommodations would be poor and extortion general. The railroads showed no interest and made only token rate reductions. But Chicago, stubborn as ever, managed a near miracle, transforming the slushy scrub-oak wastes along its lake shore into landscaped parks and islands where lagoons mirrored the white palaces above them.

To counteract eastern propaganda, an unexpected bit of luck turned up in the form of a spring meeting of the National Editorial Association in Chicago. The association’s members made their own inspection and circulated their conclusion that “rumors of the incomplete state of the Fair were much exaggerated, and rumors of extortion unfounded.” The Fair opened on May 1, with the presidential blessings of Grover Cleveland. “As by a touch,” he said in his address, “the machinery that gives life to this vast Exposition is now set in motion, so … let our hopes and aspirations awaken forces which in all time to come shall influence the welfare, the dignity, and the freedom of mankind.” The orchestra burst into the Hallelujah Chorus, electric fountains leaped skyward, cannons boomed, flags flew to mastheads, and the crowds went wild.

At the main gate of the Fair, The Electrical Building was especially attractive to a generation in which that still-mysterious force occupied in popular imagination the place held today by atomic power. The central station for the Fair was three times as powerful as those serving the rest of Chicago. “We hover about the beautiful terrible stranger, but we do not shake hands. His glance is blinding, his voice deafening, his touch is death.” People wondered whether the new force was “merely a dangerous toy or a new power brought to its knees in the service of man.”

Foreign buildings, too, were notable both for size and craftsmanship. The Emperor of Japan had sent his own workmen to erect the exquisite little structures known as Phoenix House (which survived until destroyed by fire during World War 11). The Siamese Pavilion was a jewel box, glittering with tiny mirrors and purple-and-crimson glass. The German Building was a lowering 150 feet of turrets, gables, dormers, and variegated tiles, costing $250,000. At Brazil’s huge and hospitable quarters free coffee was served daily. France’s contribution was a replica of the Great Hall at Versailles, and Spain duplicated the Lace Exchange at Valencia. At Victoria House, the British center, hours were short and visitors were hurried through the roped-olf exhibits as though by a firm English “nanny,” a situation probably resulting from recent American tariff increases and acute commercial rivalry.

“Even more important than the discovery of Columbus” said Mrs. Potter Palmer, social leader of Chicago and chairman of the Fair’s Board of Lady Managers, “is the fact that the General Government has just discovered woman,” and she noted in passing that Columbus’ voyage would not have been possible but for Isabella. Her board had taken its job seriously. (grins) At first, most of the foreign commissioners would say only that women in their countries “did not participate in public efforts of this sort.” But the undaunted ladies wrote directly to Europe and elsewhere in the world, and they were rewarded by warm responses from artists, writers, and leading women, titled and title-less. Queen Victoria herself approved the venture, “with its special efforts for women,” though confessing herself unenlluisiastic about fairs in general.

Queen Margherita of Italy and the Empress of Japan agreed to help. The Queen of Siam, evidently no less progressive than the King, sent a special envoy “to find what educational and industrial opportunities were open to women, so that Siam may adopt such measures as will elevate the condition of her women.” The Infanta Eulalia of Spain actually came to the Fair in person and seemed to like it very much, though she fended off local party-givers. And the ladies also had their own Woman’s Building at the Fair, designed by young Sophia Hayden, architectural graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Of classic simplicity, its principal ornament a delicate frieze of blue-green and white, it was described by one tired elderly visitor as “so light, it takes the weight off my feet just to look at it.” Beside it was the Children’s Building—housing a toy collection, a library, and a nursery—where trained attendants cared for infants and small children while their parents visited the Fair. Older children could read, listen to stories, or watch lantern slides.

The recreational area of the Fair, the Midway Plaisance, featured the famous Little Egypt, who introduced to the scandalized Midwest the danse du ventre. Her costume, by today’s standards, had the “covered-up” look. U’iih Mowing trousers fastened at lier ankles, heavy velvet jacket and well-scarved midriff, she possessed, according to Charles Dudley Warner, “inordinately thick ankles and large, voluptuous leet.” Newspapers agreed that the dance was interesting “until it became monotonous.” The Midway itself was a billowing babel of dust, drums, donkeys, camels, and noise. Cries of the “Whoopcrs-in” and the donkey-boys—"Look owet! Allah good—boom-boom!” drowned out the muezzin on his balcony. Among the Persian sword dancers, the Dahomey villagers, the Chinese and Algerian theaters, wandered the public, timid or titillated, in a kind of daze.

*grins* are YOU all dazed yet *smiles* Then we shall look over our shoulders for a moment as I know mention .. another part of the .. of .. Fair "Like the man-eating tigers of the tropical jungle, whose appetites for blood have once been aroused, I roamed about this world seeking whom I could destroy" H.H. Holmes" this is a direct quote from another builder at the fair. Only he was a different kind of builder He is what our nation has come to .. note .. Perhaps America's First Serial Killer ..

D.O.B. : May 16, 1860 - D.O.D. : May 7, 1896 - Murderers committed: ? "Dr. Holmes, for unexplained reasons, seems to have been forgotten by many true crime enthusiasts. At the same time he was committing his crimes, "Jack the Ripper" was terrorizing London. Many people do not realize that Holmes was Americas first documented Serial Killer. There are several different accounts of Holmes's activities, not the least of which is the doctor's own confession written in 1896. While doing my research for this archive I have discovered many, many different versions of the story. Some even claim the Doctor is responsible for over 200 murders, but I have found no evidence to back up any of these statements.

Nobody can seem to agree on what actually took place. What I have written here is what I hope to be one of the most accurate accounts. Dr. Holmes was born Herman Webster Mudgett on May 16, 1860, in Gilmantown, New Hampshire. Holmes Was often beat regularly by his drunken father, and the local neighborhood bullies. At an early age he was fascinated by all aspects of surgery. He would often capture stray animals and perform strange and crude experiments on them. Herman graduated high school at the age of 16, married Clara Loveringat, at the age of 18, and graduated medical school at the University of Michigan, located in Ann Arbor in 1884 at the age of 24. While studying medicine at the University of Michigan, He would steal corpses, render them unrecognizable with acid, and then collect on the life insurance policies he had previously taken out under fictitious names. Herman got away with several of these frauds before a nightwatchman caught him removing a female corpse, hence he was kicked out of the university for "unusual activities".

Herman moved to the Chicago suburb of Englewood, Ill, in 1886, after abandoning his wife and committing a variety of felonies, even defrauding one of his own in-laws. He was know as a swindler, and decided it was time for a new lease on life and took on the alias: Henry Howard Holmes, AKA: "DR H.H. Holmes". In 1888 Holmes was hired as a chemist at a popular Chicago area drugstore located in the suburb of Englewood.

AND then ... and then .. In 1890 the proprietress of the drugstore, an elderly widow, mysteriously disappeared. Holmes quickly took over the business, and began selling patent medicines of his own invention by mail order, including fake "cures" for alcoholism. Holmes eventually amassed a nice fortune. Holmes soon wed Myrta Z. Belknap, without even bothering to divorce his first wife. Myrta soon bare foot and pregnant, left him within a year, and moved in with her parents. In 1888, Holmes bought a vacant lot across from his pharmacy business and began to build a "hotel".

During construction Holmes changed contractors several times and shuffled the workers around frequently so that no one was ever able to get a clear idea of the floor plan or what the building, was for. Most of the rooms had gas vents that could let off lethal or sleep inducing gases, the vents could only be controlled from a closet in Holmes's bedroom. Many of the rooms were soundproof and could not be unlocked from inside. It was a three-story building with shops on the first floor and a bizarre labyrinth of windowless rooms, false floors, secret passages, trapdoors, a well equipped surgery area as well as several instruments of torture, such as an "elasticity determinator," a contraption he claimed could stretch experimental subjects to twice their normal length. Those who viewed it said it appeared to be a medieval torture rack. A few rooms were lined with asbestos, and the place was filled with doors that opened to brick walls, stairways to nowhere, an elevator without a shaft and a shaft without an elevator. There was an airtight and soundproof vault, human-sized greased chutes leading from the living quarters to the cellar. The bedrooms had peepholes and were equipped with asphyxiating gas pipes connected to a control panel in Dr. Holmes' closet. Holmes was nothing if not thorough. Upon completion of the "castle", Holmes soon tapped into a city water line in his cellar, mixed the water with vanilla, and sold it for 5 cents a glass as an elixir called Linden Grove Mineral Water. He was eventually caught but no charges were ever filed. On another occasion he purchased a huge safe on credit, then moved it into his castle, he built a room around it with only a tiny exit. When creditors eventually came to haul it away, humorously they couldn't get it out.

During the Great Chicago World Fair in 1893, (the entrance to which was only a few blocks from Holmes's establishment), when the city filled with visitors, Holmes would rent rooms and/or lure girls and young ladies to his "castle" where he would attempt to seduce them before drugging them. They were then popped into one of the empty shafts that ran through the building. The hapless girls would come round only to find themselves trapped behind a glass panel in an airtight death chamber into which Holmes would pump the lethal gas. Afterwards the body would be sent down a chute to the basement which contained vats of acid and lime and, in the center of the room, a dissecting table. Mudgett would cut up the corpses, removing particular organs which took his fancy and dispose of the remains in the vats. After killing them, Holmes would sometimes sell the bleached skeletons to medical universities. In 1894 Holmes wed Georgiana Yoke, again not bothering to divorce his previous wife. His charm and good looks wooed countless women, and enhanced his talents as a schemer.

Only one man knew the truth of what was going on in the "castle", Herman Pitezel, Holmes lackey and accomplice. A weak man, Pitezel was easily controlled by Holmes. Despite his cleverness though Holmes was going broke. He knew his Chicago gig was almost up. In desperation, Holmes murdered two visiting Texan sisters and, rather than quietly dispose of their remains, he set fire to there house in an attempt to get the insurance money. The insurance company refused to pay and the police began an investigation into the blaze. Strangely, the police work was not pursued vigorously enough to produce any evidence of Holmes bloody activities; but the killer did not know this, and so he fled.

Now there is Much more on Mr Holmes. We had the Midway where he stalked, full of life and people .. then there were the Ladies - the Women of the Midway! The Columbian Exposition was notable for its impressive architecture and large international attendance. Of particular importance was the Women's Pavilion. The first of its kind to have been designed by a female architect, it revealed much about the social plight of women at that time, and the need for further progress in the movement for equal rights. While its existence did not trigger significant changes for the Women's Movement, this pavilion was certainly a promising first step that would set a precedent for women's involvement in later years. All aspects of women's involvement in the Chicago fair were overseen by the Board of Lady Managers. This governing body, the first of its kind, had authority over all the decisions regarding the Women's Pavilion. It was headed by Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago, and composed of a diverse group of women from all over the United States and territory as well as nine from Chicago.

Invitations were extended to women across the world for their participation. Delegations from England, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Venezuela, Algeria, Siam and Japan all participated in the planning ,and particularly the interior decoration. Many of these organizers belonged to the upper-class or even aristocracy of their societies. The first women's pavilion had been erected in 1876 in Philadelphia. The previous year, women had been given their own section in the main fair building, but at the last minute this decision was revoked. Instead, women were told if they wanted a display, it would have to be in their own building and from their own funding. They did collect enough funds for construction of the pavilion, but Mrs. E.D. Gillespie, President of the Women's Executive Committee said that, "..weary and longing for rest, we never thought of employing a woman architect...."

Even among women themselves, it was generally thought that there were few reliable female architects and indeed there were few women in the field at the time. Those that were in the field also received little public acknowledgement. At this Philadelphia fair, November 7th was chosen was "women's day", based on the assumption that the women should take advantage of the fair while the men were casting their ballots. This angered the suffragettes, who proceeded to boycott the fair. The women's pavilion placed "...particular emphasis on those activities generally acknowledged to be within the women's sphere" with little information in the areas of science and discovery.

Most of the art work done by women was nowhere to be found in the women's pavilion, but instead was in the main Fine Arts building. While the Board of Lady Managers was supposed to have "general charge and management of all interests of women in connection with the Exposition", they were denied a say in the selection of the actual architect. This decision instead was made by a board of men. In order to select the architect, work was examined from fourteen distinguished women in the field. It is noted that none of these applicants was over the age of twenty-five. The woman who was chosen was Sophia Hayden, who had just graduated from the School of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

facade set on the lagoon. It is rather idealistic as no other buildings can be seen in the background. People can be seen as they strolled around the waterside watching a lone dingy. Detail on the building itself has been simplified while the trees and shrubbery on the edges of the lagoon and the sun reflecting off the water are vividly rendered. This image also makes the building appear a little larger than it actually was. However, since the larger surrounding buildings are missing, the scale is left more to the imagination. The Women's pavilion was located just north of the Horticulture building, with its eastern front facing a man-made lagoon. The scene was picturesque, with a terrace extending to the tip of the waterline. The building which measured 388 by 199 feet and cost nearly 150,000 dollars, was "Grecian" in character, with decorative elements such as terraces, porticos and colonnades derived from Antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. On the ground level, a landing and stairway led up from the lagoon to a terrace six feet above the water. Upon ascending another staircase, one would enter the pavilion, set back about 108 feet from the water. The first terrace contained lovely flora ??? low shrubs and flowerbeds ??? that transported one immediately to a villa in the Italian countryside. The first story was set ten feet from the ground line, with a wide staircase rising to the central pavilion. There were a triple arched entrance and open colonnade on the second story. At no other time had woman had such a fine place in the working Many History!

At the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 a Dress Reform Congress was held. Among the fruits of this revival of an earlier Cause were the Rainy-Day Clubs forthwith organized in many cities, and the popularization of the "Rainy-Day Skirt." This novel garment, completely Clearing the ground, was regarded as very practical in sloppy weather. The alterations in women's behavior, however, were at that time more subtle than sensational. And, though sloppy weather continued to appear, this shortened skirt might have disappeared altogether in favor of the standard length had it not been for the development in women's behavior largely occasioned by the bicycle.

In 1893, at the Egyptian Theater on the World's Columbian Exposition Midway in Chicago, Raqs dancers performed for the first time in the United States. Sol Bloom presented a show titled "The Algerian Dancers of Morocco", which included Spyropoulos, though she was neither Egyptian nor Algerian, but Syrian. Spyropoulos was billed as Fatima, but because of her size, she had been called "Little Egypt" as a backstage nickname. Spyropoulos stole the show, and popularized this form of dancing, which came to be referred to as the "Hoochee-Coochee" or the "shimmy and shake". At that time the word "bellydance" had not yet entered the American vocabulary, as Spyropoulos was the first in the U.S. to demonstrate the "danse du ventre" (literally "dance of the belly") first seen by the French during Napoleon's incursions into Egypt at the end of the eighteenth century.

Ahnyanka Delphin winks over at you as she playfully flicks her gossamer skirt, lifting it just enough to show a flash of ankle before sashaying into a leisurely turn.

Breezy Carver: Ladies and Gentlemen I give YOU .. grins Little Egypt a hand please *smiles*

Breezy Carver: okay the word "hootchy-kootchy" generally means an erotic suggestive dance and is often erroneously conflated with the group of dances originating in the Middle East that we now call bellydance. Subsequently, several women dancers adopted the name of Little Egypt and toured the United States performing some variation of this dance, until the name became somewhat synonymous with exotic dancers, and often associated with the Dance of the Seven Veils. Spyropoulos then claimed to be the original Little Egypt from the Chicago Fair. Recognized as the true Little Egypt, she always disliked being confused with Ashea Wabe, after Wabe's performance at the Seeley banquet. Spyropoulos danced as Little Egypt at the 1933 Century of Progress in Chicago at the age of 62.

Ahnyanka Delphin's eyes seem to sparkle as they look directly into yours from above her veil. You almost don't notice the increased motion of her hips due to the steady gaze.

Breezy Carver: but there is more *smiles* Corsets were big business. At World Fairs in Philadelphia in 1873 and Chicago in 1893 there were special rooms devoted to corset innovations, concepts that promised faultless figures, grace and even health. Even in pregnancy, special corsets were worn. Corsets where perhaps the Most Popular Display The Ladies and The Fair Took Corset and the Ladies that modeled them and wore the to a whole never level Doors were opened that had never been a jar before and the world of women's fashion as we knew it was no longer the same. There also were "bum pads" tied around the waist to add girth to the derriere, and bust enhancers, garments that could be stuffed with cloth and attached at the cleavage to create the monobosom. Chemises, corset covers, drawers, petticoats and stockings completed the underwear suite, all of which was expected to match the woman's outer dress. Ditching the corset was not an option for any woman who wanted to be accepted in genteel Victorian society. Of course Men had it easier, wearing wool union suits in winter, and silk

Breezy Carver: WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, CHICAGO, 1893

If the Centennial marked the emergence of the United States as an economic power, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 marked the country's coming of age as a political and industrial power. It represented the change from a predominately agricultural America concerned with domestic problems to a modern urban and industrial nation involved in world economy and politics. For the Exposition, Chicago built an entire new city--"The White City"-- larger, more elaborate, and more truly international in scope than any previous fair. The White City represented an unprecedented collaboration of artists, architects, engineers, sculptors, painters, and landscape architects who joined forces to create a single work - an ideal model city. Lauded as an American Venice, the White City was composed of a "Court of Honor" of classically styled white buildings with columns and gilded domes linked to the other parts of the grounds by a series of lagoons and canals. Leading national architectural firms including Richard Morris Hunt, McKim, Mead, and White, and Louis Sullivan designed the major buildings. Well-known sculptors such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French were involved in the architectural decoration.

There were 65,000 exhibits displayed at the fair, showcasing every conceivable product from a 1,500 pound chocolate Venus de Milo to a 46-foot cannon by Krupp, the German munitions manufacturer. Among the many products introduced at the fair were Cracker Jacks, Aunt Jemima Syrup, Cream of Wheat, Pabst Beer, and Juicy Fruit gum. The Fair also introduced picture postcards to the American public, as well as two mainstays of the late-twentieth century diet--carbonated soda and hamburgers.

While the public may have been awestruck by the grandeur of the architecture and impressed by the array of consumer products, what kept them at the fair was the Midway Plaisance, a commercially-sponsored self-contained amusement area. It featured popular entertainment such as German beer halls, the original Ferris Wheel, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and exotic dancers.

The Fair was immensely popular, drawing over twenty-seven million visitors from around the world during its six-month run. Visitors included Frederick Douglass, Jane Addams, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Scott Joplin, Susan B. Anthony, Henry Adams, and L. Frank Baum, who would go on to transform the White City into the Emerald City of Oz. Although the products, inventions, and amusements were what visitors remembered most about the event, its long-term legacy was in the interplay of consumerism, technology, and entertainment. The corporate-designed amusements and mix of product with entertainment led directly to the late twentieth-century fascination with the late twentieth-century fascination with Disneyland and McDonald Happy Meals.

This is a mecca to all around the world there was never anything like nor will be again I thank YOU for your time and Now please thank My lovely Ladies of the Midway. And I hand the stage to dear Mr Cleanslate *smiles*

Viv Trafalgar: Folks please hold your questions for Breezy until the end - i know you have many

Ahnyanka Delphin winks and bobs a curtsy.

Viv Trafalgar: what an outstanding presentation! Next up, is the honorable and venerable Mr. Cleanslate...

Breezy Carver: nudges AE *smiles* whispers wake up

Aeolus Cleanslate waves!

Breezy Carver: oh good *smiles*

Ahnyanka Delphin slinks off stage with a wink over her shoulder.

Aeolus Cleanslate: hi everyone! that was amazing...

Viv Trafalgar: Mr. Cleanslate - we await your wisdom!

Aeolus Cleanslate: I want to give her another round of applause... Now - if you'll reorient your attention a bit - I'll just mosey over to the other side of the Salon... I've been meaning to try this - please give me a sec to swap in my machine...

Viv Trafalgar: folks Mr. Cleanslate will speak, we will have questions for both speakers, and then i will lay out the craft

Viv Trafalgar: I cannot tell you what a phenomenal start to the season this is

Aeolus Cleanslate: aha - there we go. Thank you all so much - Today I'll be attempting to illustrate my remarks with the newfangled "kinoscope" device. For more information, please tap the poster to my right

[ see Mr. Cleanslate's marvelous slides here ]

In Gibson and Sterling's The Difference Engine (required steampunk reading, by the way, for those who have not yet had the pleasure), the kinoscope (shortened from "kinetic-scope," meaning "mechanical instrument for viewing") was a kind of cinema screen made from a 2D matrix of rotating prisms. Each laquered wooden prism had a different colour on each face, and they spun to switch to different colors, making each one a sort of mechanical "pixel." When viewed as a whole the result was a physical passive-matrix display (like a moving painting or the screen of Amazon's Kindle) rather than the active-matrix light-emitting devices on a laptop. In the novel, analytical Engines many generations beyond Babbage's original design drove the display of these screens, and programmers (referred to as 'clackers' from the sound the prisms make when they rotate) used punchcard technology (derived from common jacquard loom technology of the time) to instruct the prisms when to turn and what to display. Sets of punchcards encoded in such a way were the CDs of the day. Such kinoscopes were used as background illustrations behind popular lecturers to enliven what could otherwise be rather dry presentations.

Okay so here we go with the main event - After the recent Relay For Life build, I was privileged enough to absorb some of the research and lore of the 19th century World’s Fairs. It's a wonderful area - As many of you know, the Fairs were all the rage in the latter half of the century. There were many dozens of them. But a few caught the zeitgeist, as it were, and really set the tone for the age. And as we will see (and Breezy has shown), cast cultural reverberations down through the centuries to the present day. I thought that I would touch a bit on the most prominent few, providing a bit of context, some history, and an emphasis on noteworthy structures (my personal favorite) and happenings, as well as a bit of a comment on their longer term impact *ahem*

So we’ll go chronologically – the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, the 1889 Exposition Universale in Paris, a brief bit on the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, and if we have time, the 1900 Exhibition in Paris- which set the stage for the 20th century. Before 1851, fairs were relatively small, and national in focus – sponsored by the nations and designed to promote national interests exclusively. But the 1844 Paris fair caught the eye of a Briton named Henry Cole, who resolved to do more. Cole was a character - he (arguably) invented the postage stamp, christmas cards, and industrial objects under a pseudonym (to insulate his elite status from more prosaic pursuits). but it was The involvement of Prince Albert brought unimpeachable prestige to what might otherwise have been an overlooked project of the new capitalists. Without him funds for the fair would not have been raised. The 1851 Great Exhibtiion arguably set the standard for future fairs, and all that followed were compared to it

It was held in Regent’s Park in the heart of London, and had pavilions from other countries scattered all over. (there it is there in the middle .. *grin*) But of course the highlight was the Crystal Palace. Designed by Joseph Paxton (a greenhouse expert) + structural engineer Charles Fox; the build committee included IK Brunel (Icky, to his friends) (me and Icky are like this...) The Palace was 1848 feet (about 563 metres) long by 454 feet (about 138 metres) wide, and went from plan to grand opening in nine months. It was one of the largest structures ever built at that time and has been inspiring structural engineering ever since today's atria and modern architecture are arguably direct descendants of the Palace. The original was never intended to be permanent but was so popular it was Moved to Sydenham (South London) afterward, but destroyed by fire in 1936

Some other noteworthy points about 1851 – over 13000 exhibits were featured; including the programmable heart of the British textile industry, the Jacquard loom; a revolutionary envelope machine, and dozens of other firsts. Of particular interest to me was the digital fax machine, using telegraphy and dot-matrix technology. In 1851. Amazing. They had all the basic back then - it's weird that it never really materialized.

Interms of its impact, the very idea of a fair of this sort worried people. Crowds were scary, of course – this was just a few years before Great Stink, and a few years after revolutions of 1848, which Britain had escaped. The British deliberately stationed 10,000 soldiers in London during the Exhibition, just in case. Luckily admissions decreased as summer wore on and the wealthy left London. Marx loathed it, calling it “quintessential capitalist fetishism” (which means it was awesome) Iit was profitable - the surplus funding dozens of institutions that still exist and of course cemented Britain's reputation as the leading world imperial + industrial power.

But perhaps most important was its cultural impact - arguably, it provided the British utilitarian response to the Luddites who were relatively powerful at the time and to Dickensian and clerical critics of the unmitigated evils of industrialism. The central question of the early industrial revolution was this: is this technology stuff a good idea and will it eventually destroy us? We now know it's impossible to go backwards, but at the time it was an open question. The Exhibition gave the answer: the fruits of the industrial revolution bring glory to the nation and should be used to benefit the common man. note - the common man. From there to today's consumer culture and global economy - a straight line

Okay - moving on! A generation later – the 1876 Exhibition in Philadelphia designed as a “coming out party” for the U.S. in the post-Civil War era. Held on 100th anniversary of signing of US Declaration of Independence, it presaged US industrial expansion and was the only fair where U.S. states (as well as countries) were invited to display. A few architectural notes – the main exhibit hall was – again – the largest building in the world by area at the time, enclosing twenty-one and a half acres. It had a 75-foot high ceiling. Exhibits from the United States were placed in the center of the building and foreign exhibits were placed around the center based on the nation's distance from the United States. Japan was out in the back. Kidding. But still, an interesting cultural point of American opinions of global predominance.

The Statue of Liberty was still a pipe dream at the time, and a decade or so from taking up station in New York Harbor. But the Hand and Torch were erected in Philadelphia and used as a way to raise funds. Visitors were charged 50 cents to climb to the top – about twenty feet – but receipts largely funded the completion of the statue. A great building I came across was the Horticultural hall – used for organic display from around the world – and a great example of a unique architectural form. It lasted almost a century, and would still be with us except for a damned hurricane (I've got to come back and build a version of that one in SL - too cool...) and soooo steampunk.

The Machinery Hall (a new innovation in Fair architecture) featured the the monumental Corliss Centennial Engine. (one for Merryman to reproduce...) It was so large it had to be dismantled after the Exhibition ended since no factory in the country required an engine of its size. George Pullman purchased the engine in 1880 to power his new railroad car factory then under construction - in Chicago. And in a nice historical irony, the fire at his plant in 1896 destroyed many of the buildings of the 1893 Fair ...

Other notes – America’s first steam engine - John Bull steam locomotive (1831) – made an appearance; as did Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, early typewriters, Heinz Ketchup and Hires Root Beer. There was also a fantastic steam monorail … the steam monorail - another project worth exploring and reproducing, I'm sure... "good engineers mimic - great engineers steal"

The Turkish exhibit introduced marijuana to the US for the first time and was – quite understandably – the most popular exhibit at the Fair. ... and probably how they got people to pay 50 cents to climb twenty feet in the air. In terms of impact, the fair Lost money, but stimulated Philadelphia’s depressed economy, which was a major undertaking. It was deliberately positioned to help heal Civil War sectional rifts, and much of the debate at the time was around whether Southerners should attend.

A cool quote I found: "At the very threshold an important question occurs that requires patient consider-ing — a question that is asked probably in the South thousands of times a day—“Shall we go to the Centennial?” By this is meant really, “Shall the South patronize the International Exhibition?” With proper deference we would with emphasis respond — “By all means, whether or not your State has contributed money and material, let all go who can afford to do so, for it is our Centennial as well as the Centennial of the Northern people.” We are a part of the Union. This country is our country. Here we were born and reared, here we live, and here we must die. In the past we had our fierce antagonisms, our sorrows and disappointments; but it is now more than eleven years since the last Confederate gun was fired and the battleflag of the defeated hosts was furled. Let the dead past bury the dead. Let all bittermemories be forgotten. The jury is out as to whether it worked.

Moving forward to 1889 – the fair after which our RFL build was patterned. The French were arguably at their cultural and industrial high point. In many ways, 1889 was directly designed and perceived as an opportunity to display French cultural and material supremacy ... in light of the perceived threat from the Kaiser’s Germany, France was 20 years away from having been beaten by Bismarck in 1870 and losing Alsace-Lorraine, and just five years away from the Dreyfus affair. This would have been a good time to be French. At the 1889 fair there were 28,000,000 visitors ... and 61,722 exhibitors, of which 55% were French.

The site was selected as part of urban renewal – large areas of Paris were torn down to build it. But of course it became one of the best-known areas of Paris. Of course the huge cultural signature of 1889 was the Tour Eiffel. Mr Gustav Eiffel’s design was selected out of 100 submitted. 300 prominent names (including Zola and many others) protested it before it was built: calling it “useless and monstrous”. Which it was. But it was also awesome. Interestingly – it was originally called “Le Tour 300 Metres,” but changed after the notoriety of its designer hit record heights. A bit of technical context here – the Tower is 1069 feet (320.75 meters) high, about **105 stories**. Let me repeat that - 105 stories. Remember, this was in 1889. (are your jaws dropping? mine is wide open). The World Trade Center was 110. It was made of “purified” wrought iron (a term used to describe the alloy process used to get rid of impurities). It weighs 7300 metric tons…less than the air that surrounds it. The Tower sways six inches in the strongest winds ever recorded over Paris, but it was designed by Eiffel to sway 30 inches – in a classic engineering overdesign that explains why it is still here. It's a bit cliche now, but any site visit will remind you how remarkable is was. Incidentally – the “glass cage” elevators were designed by the American firm Otis, whose brand still decorates elevators today.

Okay I'm going to pick up the pace a bit - you're all very kind for hanging in there. I’ll touch briefly on my favorite building from 1889 – the Galerie De Machines. In many ways the sister structure to the Tour Eiffel, but long forgotten. Indeed it is - and always will be romantic to smooch and die from. What better legacy for an architect? The Galerie de Machines was the inspiration for my contribution to the RFL site. Again, it spanned the longest interior space in the world at the time, and was in its own way as much of an engineering feat as the Tower. Made of ‘prefabricated hinged arches’ cast from iron (steel was too expensive and slow), it could easily (and did) house airships indoors. The structure was used for the 1900 fair and destroyed by fire in 1910. *sighs again*

A couple of notes about 1889. There were naturally extensive French Colonial exhibits, including war materiel around the raging arms race that would eventually lead to WWI. Another amazing bit - the Human Zoo was an exhibit of indigenous peoples in native dress and mimicked environments – by far the most popular exhibit at the Fair, and perhaps the least politically correct display I’ve ever heard of. I didn't include pictures for fear of disturbing our 21st century sensitivities. A whole ugly side of our culture. More firsts - Claude Debussy first heard Javanese gamelan music at the 1889 fair, arguably the beginning of the Ambient genre. Heineken received the Grand Prix at the exposition (a Dam Good Bier), and Buffalo Bill and American sharpshooter Annie Oakley performed for packed audiences. I love the 1889 Fair - my favorite, I think.

Even while 1889 was going on, Chicago was planning the 1893, so wonderfully highlighted by Breezy. I’ll skip past a bit, pointing out that in grand Worlds Fair traditions, most buildings were designed to be temporary proved to be when they were damaged extensively by fire just a short time after the fair closed – during the seminal labor strike at the Pullman factory nearby. Good old Pullman. Great shot there.

Aeolus Cleanslate: here's a map of the Midway - One noteworthy structure worth pointing out – The world’s first Ferris Wheel. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower and deliberately designed to be the ‘distinctive structure’ for the 1893 fair. Designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, either on the spur of the moment, over a dinner napkin, or designed years earlier, and just revealed. The jury is out on that historical point, but no matter - Ferris was 30 when he proposed it. So either way, fricking AWESOME. No one had ever imagined doing something like this before. It was designed and built in four months, powered entirely by steam. There were 36 cars, each 24 feet long, 13 feet wide, and 10 feet high, weighing 26,000 pounds. Twisted wire chairs were provided for 38 of the 60 passengers, and a conductor was assigned to each car to help reassure the passengers, few of which had ever been more than a few dozen feet in the air. Remember: prior to this there had been no flight, balloons were new, and skyscrapers – even in Chicago - unusual. It freaked people out.

Interestingly, Ferris died in 1896 at only 37 years old. The Wheel was reassembled for St Louis Exhibition in 1904, but dynamited in 1906 as an eyesore. A great quote from the time - “The wonder of two continents by reason of its cost, its dimensions, and its utter uselessness … Chicago was glad to get rid of it and St. Louis is said to have witnessed its destruction with satisfaction.” Another structure I wish I could have visited.

Briefly - the World's Congress Auxiliary Bldg is now the Art Institute of Chicago… Some quick passing notes – the Palace of Fine Arts is still standing, and is now Chicago’s Museum of Fine Arts. And was featured in the movie Flatliners in the 80s, a point I love to make. *grin* The World's Congress Auxiliary Bldg is now the Art Institute of Chicago… … and the Maine State Building was moved to Poland Spring resort after the fair – (the home, for us Americans, of Poland Spring water) *grins*

Other noteworthies - the John Bull locomotive returned - now 62 yrs old. And the electrotachyscope (aka Geissler tube) competed with zoopraxiscope … all early moving picture technologies. And of course, John Philip Sousa played daily, Cracker Jack, hamburgers, Hershey chocolate, Scott Joplin/ragtime, Hawaiian hula dancers all made firsts.

Okay - two more minutes and I'll rush past 1900 and into the 20th. hang in there

The 1900 Exposition in Paris was arguably a retread of 1889 except punctuated by SO MANY 20th century technologies it's worth mentioning. Same location - same Eiffel Tower, except - the Palace of Electricty stole the show. Aand there were full - bore moving sidewalks installed throughout the entire fairgrounds. Unbelievable. All-weather, electrically powered. Really interesting about 1900 were the amazing motion pictures recorded there by Edison (who won the bid, by the way). The videos are all out there and digital, and worth watching. They made me tear up.

And of course, not to be outdone, the French decided to beat the Americans at their own game. The cars for the French version were so large, they were removed and used as homes for French families in the region devastated in World War I. Another one I wish I could have seen, demolished in 1937 to build a mall

The centrepiece of the Palais D'Optique was the largest refracting telescope ever built. Immense, and open to the public. Noteworthy from 1900 -Talking films, escalators, Rudolf Diesel exhibited his diesel engine, running on peanut oil. The Human Zoo made another appearance - again hugely popular.

Campbell's Soup was awarded a gold medal (an image of which still appears on its label). So - fifty years have gone by, almost exactly. Fairs are a common occurrence, more or less but then another event creeps in - the Olympic Games. Iin 1900, a sideshow to the fair, even more so in 1904 in St Louis. Fairs were increasingly used as propaganda and after WWI, the idea of industrial and military and imperial might became decidedly passe. The Olympics were kinder and gentler, by comparisonAeolus Cleanslate: and slowly eclipsed their more materialistic forebears while providing a forum for the same nationalist/competitive ideas. Of course by the mid-20th century the same could be said about the Olympics, but they are arguably the legacy of the Fairs - as is Epcot. Not only was it inspired by the format of the Worlds Fairs dating back to 1851. Its architecture was directly related. As Fairs became showcases for national supremacy, they also suggested how nations would be *in the future*. And Disney took that sucker home

Aeolus Cleanslate: folks - thanks so much for your attention!
[ see Mr. Cleanslate's marvelous slides here ]


Viv Trafalgar: ok before you start peppering the speakers with your questions I have a few announcements! And then we will have questions.: First, thank you so very much Mr. Cleanslate and Ms Carver - you are phenomenal speakers and guests. Thank you to everyone here for being a fantastic audience! Please remember that the speakers jar goes directly to the speakers, and also beside the stage you will find The Carousel of 1893. This wonderful Carousel is a music box complete with the Death March theme created by New Bababge’s very own Canolli Capalini. Commissioned by Breezy Carver To remind all of the wonders of The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition Midway in Chicago. We hope you enjoy it for years to come …… please do pick up your copy of this phenomenal craft. Now. back to our speakers. Who has questions?

Edward Pearse: Mr. C, when was the last of the Fairs held?

Aeolus Cleanslate: well technically they're still going on. There is an international body that makes them "official"

Edward Pearse: Are they still called World Fairs?

Aeolus Cleanslate: they are - if they're official. But in many ways they lost their cultural importance after 1968

Viv Trafalgar: Why do you think things trended big at exhibitions Mr. Cleanslate?

Aeolus Cleanslate: apparently Brisbane may get the 2020 fair... *grin*

Edward Pearse now remembers "Expo '88"

Aeolus Cleanslate nods - and London 2000

Charlemagne Allen: i was wondering about the 1851 fax machine...

Jana Wizenheim: you know about franz reichelt?

Aeolus Cleanslate: I'm sorry I don't

Jana Wizenheim: he made a parachute test from the eiffel tower in 1912

Viv Trafalgar: Like base jumpers do Miss Wizenheim?

Jana Wizenheim: the funny thing is, there still exists a video footage

Breezy Carver: Yes there is a good deal

Linus Lacombe: Ah...I am wondering if there has been any consideration given to a Steamlands exposition..

Breezy Carver: grins well .. thats something that always can be Proposed although New Babbage just did a nice one and may plan .. do something local in 2010 looks at Mr Cleanslate

Aeolus Cleanslate: I think a Steamlands Fair would be awesome

Obedience Mactavish: Sir, of all the Fairs, which in your opinion was the most impressive?

Breezy Carver: well After Mr Cleanslate gets charge of the Sceince and .. umm .. steam build

Jana Wizenheim: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BepyTSzueno

Aeolus Cleanslate: well I'm partial to 1851, Miss Mactavish, but I think 1851 would have to take the cake

Aeolus Cleanslate: sorry - I'm partial to 1889

Breezy Carver: grins i am a 1893 gal myself

Aeolus Cleanslate: well I think 1851 was so far ahead of its time -

Breezy Carver: the most scandles really the chicago way

Aeolus Cleanslate: technologically and culturally

Obedience Mactavish: ah, with things like the fax machine

Aeolus Cleanslate: and the Palace itself, a huge leap forward

Aeolus Cleanslate: but they all have their moments and charms, no doubt

Breezy Carver: each one was really when you think of time and years

Aeolus Cleanslate: I think the way they fit in with history is fascinating

Breezy Carver: agreed

Aeolus Cleanslate: in context, each one is amazing

Breezy Carver: we are junkies on the topics

Aeolus Cleanslate: and worth time traveling back to - should I get the chance

Breezy Carver: topics can you all tell *smiles*

Viv Trafalgar: I wonder how much research has been done about this other Holmes - the Chicago Holmes - piles of it?

Breezy Carver: grins they are still looking into him. To this day truth! I think he is an over sight. Too many dont even know about him. He was secret for decades.

Jasper Kiergarten: so able to charm, true to a serial killer

Breezy Carver: he has his own site - hhholmes.com. That was not his real name. Ii have his real name if YOU would like

Ghilayne Andrew smiles. "Dr. Watson, your question was next?"

Elilka Sieyes: Ah, it is entirely trivial, and does no justice to these masterful presentations but....

Elilka Sieyes: A medal...for soup?

Aeolus Cleanslate: haha! Remember, before refrigeration, the idea of exported *prepared* food was extremely odd. Most canned goods were poor, and spoiled rapidly. Better than raw food, but not by much

Edward Pearse: Soup in a tin that you didn't have to make from scratch would have been rare

Aeolus Cleanslate: exactly. So *any* food of any quality in a can was remarkable. And for its day, Campbell's wasn't terrible. The brand was premium until fairly recently, actually.

Linus Lacombe: So it was not so much the quality of the soup but rather the novelty of living to tell about it after consuming it...

Aeolus Cleanslate laughs - exactly. folks - this has been wonderful, but I'm afraid I must make my departure... excellent work - everyone. Breezy - it was an honor to share the stage.

Viv Trafalgar: Are there any more questions for Miss Carver?

Viv Trafalgar: I will notify on the new babbage ning when the transcript is available. And please do not miss next month's salon. Next month ... I shouldn't say now. I should say in a few days, maybe... weeks.

Ghilayne Andrew: oh, just tease us a little, Viv.

Viv Trafalgar: oh yes. mhm. This was a stunning salon and i'm happy to just bask in it a bit. It was a wonderful finish to our first year. And the next salon will be our first anniversary salon. The topic will be Whimsy! And the speakers... well what do you think Breezy, should I tell them?

Breezy Carver: yes

Viv Trafalgar: aw. you sure?

Breezy Carver: YES

Viv Trafalgar: it's hard on them to have to follow you and Mr. Cleanslate

Breezy Carver: makes faces

Viv Trafalgar: The speakers for Next month's salon will be Dame Ordinal Malaprop and Miss Hyasynth Tiramisu. And we will recognize all of our speakers from this year at the start of the event. With a special treat. It's stunning.

Exhibitionism! Unedited Transcript

Viv Trafalgar: Ladies, Gentlemen, Miss Serafina (who is abroad, but still with us in spirit) and I are pleased to welcome you to the September Aether Salon

Jedburgh30 Dagger: Come on in Baron, we're just starting

Viv Trafalgar: Exhibitionism!

Sheryl Skytower: yay!

Victor1st Mornington claps

Viv Trafalgar: A close look at the history and mysteries of Victorian Exhibitions. I am so pleased to be able to say that this is our tenth salon!

Ghilayne Andrew applauds.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: applauds

Linus Lacombe waves clandestinely to Ms Widdershins as the salon goes underway

support the salon: Thanks KlausWulfenbach

Viv Trafalgar: We think you will find it enlightening and shocking, and then you will fall over dead when you see the craft.

Keithen Darkfold claps

Ahnyanka Delphin cheers from backstage.

Obedience Mactavish claps

Viv Trafalgar: But that's later. First, I would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us today.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Hm, redesign.

Viv Trafalgar: As many of you know, the Aether Salon meets to discuss steam and Victorian topics on the third Sunday of each month, in Palisades, New Babbage. We have had ten Salons since last October - each one spectacular and exciting - all thanks to our speakers and the amazing Babbage community. Next month we will mark our one-year anniversary with (we hope) all of our speakers emeritii in attendance, as well as a brilliant topic. We hope you will join us. We sincerely appreciate the support we receive from everyone in the community, and we humbly thank you all.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: Woohoo!

Viv Trafalgar: Many fine people have contributed to today’s salon:

Rhianon Jameson applauds.

Viv Trafalgar: we are grateful to Miss Ceejay Writer, Miss Jedburgh Dagger, Miss Ghilayne Andrews, Miss Breezy Carver, Mr. Rafael Fabre, Canolli Capalini of Capalini Fine Furnishings for the chairs and the craft (dead I tell you, it will knock you dead). Please hold your questions until the end, and as a courtesy to all, please turn off everything that feeds the lag: all HUDs, scripts, AOs and so on. Please no weapons, bombs, or biting, without at least a modicum of wit accompanying. Mark your calendars for upcoming salons: Whimsy! in October, Furnishings! in November, and a field trip to Steelhead in December. We're keeping a log of things “overheard at the salon” on http://aethersalon.blogspot.com just in case you're looking for a good laugh. Please join the Aether Salon group and receive notifications of future salon events, click the lower right hand corner of the large brown sign by the entrance. As a reminder, all tip jar donations go directly to the speakers. Be shocked and amazed as I introduce our speakers today. They are Miss Breezy Carver and Mr Aeolus Cleanslate. (please hold your applause until i am finished) Lady SeaBreeze, Breezy Carver arrived in New Babbage in April of 2008 and after careful observation of the locals, desired to give back to the city in that way she knows best, fabulous events, well planned and marketed, and complete with her special signature style that always welcomes and includes all.

no name Jimmy salutes the Baron from across the room.

Viv Trafalgar: Her passionate heart is what we love her for.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: Hello sir

Viv Trafalgar: Her saucy wit always inspires.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: The Salon is just starting

Viv Trafalgar: Each month since August 2008, Breezy's Piermont Landing has shown the grid that Industry Marches On, it also dances, and has a great deal of class and panache. That's 13 Balls and an election party, folks. That takes a lot of doing! Breezy's formal Balls and build contests are the place to be for residents of the steamlands, and indeed, many of us are recovering from last night's event at present, so please DO STOP THAT RACKET. ahem.

Alexander Daffyd smiles warmly and bows his head to Jeb

Rhianon Jameson smiles at that.

Viv Trafalgar: Breezy can be found in any number of her gorgeous residences in New Babbage: Piermont Landing & The Mark Twain Study, Wheatstone Waterways; Paul Sweedlepipe School, Wheatstone Waterways; The Lotus in the Vernian Sea.

Kat Montpark laughs.

Viv Trafalgar: She is co-owner of Ruby’s New Babbage Canals and Steelhead Port, New Babbage’s Ambassador to Steelhead, and was New Babbage's Relay For Life Team Captain 2009 - and did an absolutely spectacular job, coordinating both an Exhibition Hall build and the stunning Mars build, as well as leading the Babbage team to raise L$723,462 for RFL.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: if you would like a chair, please ask Jasper, there to your right

Viv Trafalgar: Details on Mr Cleanslate prior to his arrival in Babbage last year are hazy, although there have been stubborn rumors.

Beq Janus claps

Viv Trafalgar: . Two rumors he would like me to officially deny include the suggestion that he spent two years in the maximum security prison at Scrofulous Point (it was far less), and that he spent time performing under the stage name “Kandee” (completely mis-spelled). He has admitted to having spent far too long earning an undergraduate degree in history, however, concentrating in 19th century topics. Since his arrival in Babbage, Cleanslate has squandered his energy on a variety of projects without really mastering the skills necessary to excel in any of them. He is currently being treated (clandestinely) by several noted Babbage surgeons for “generalist’s disease,” which he assures us is not necessarily contagious.

no name Jimmy chuckles.

Viv Trafalgar: Aside from his current position as Maceholder in the Tenk administration, Cleanslate has contributed several builds to the Babbage landscape (including the controversial streetcar system and City Hall), assisted in the formation of the City Militia, runs the Hotel Excelsior in Babbage Square, and coordinated last January’s Airship Regatta over the Vernian Sea.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: YAY!

Viv Trafalgar: His recent involvement with the City’s Relay For Life campsite build brought him into intimate contact with today’s subject matter, and like many topics he comes across proceeded to monopolize his attention for far too long. Miss Breezy will begin with a sharply focussed commentary on a certain notorious worlds' fair. Mr Cleanslate will then clean up, with an amazing perspective on exhibitions and worlds fairs, and their impact on the world. Without further ado, I give you Miss Breezy Carver, who will be followed by Mr. Aeolus Cleanslate.

Sheryl Skytower: *mumbles* I thought there'd be naked men, being exhibitionism and all...

Viv Trafalgar: Thank you and welcome all!

Jimmy Branagh applauds.

Victor1st Mornington claps

Kat Montpark: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´

Sheryl Skytower: yay!

Viv Trafalgar: (oh there was one already...)

Rhianon Jameson applauds

Marion Questi applauds

Keithen Darkfold claps

Ochazuke Ying applauds

Mathilda Islay: applaud

Alexander Daffyd applauds

Obedience Mactavish claps

Saffia Widdershins applauds

Charlemagne Allen: do we need voice for this?

Linus Lacombe: Intends fully to remain clothed at all times regarless of some exhibitionists

Breezy Carver: Grins Well thank YOU Viv for that wonderful intro (( was wondering who are those two folks grins )) I want well we all wish to thank YOU for coming .. as I do Love a good fair *smiles*

Breezy Carver: THE GREAT WHITE CITY

Ladies and Gentlemen I ask you to sit back and enjoy as I am about to share .. A behind the scenes look and just a tip of the folk lore and gossip behind The Great White City … More than any world’s fair before or since, the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 had a lasting effect on its visitors, the taste of the times, and the lusty community that brought it forth !!!

Redgrrl Llewellyn: discreetly waves bye to Kat from the stage]

Breezy Carver: When the plans for the World’s Columbian Exposition were spread before him, banker Lynian J. Gage greeted them with disbelief. “Oh, gentlemen,” he said, “this is a dream. You have my good wishes. I hope the dream can be realized.”

The occasion—one of the sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens called “the greatest meeting of artists since the fifteenth century” The First Meeting was a day-long session in the architectural offices of Daniel Burnham early in 1891. Though the idea of a fair to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of Columbus’ lauding had been stirring in the minds of Chicagoans for a number of years, it had not taken practical form until 1889. New York, Washington, and St. Louis mused similar ambitions, but Chicago’s bid of ten million dollars (that was later doubled from other sources) had settled the matter.

Breezy Carver: (( just like RFL on sl *smiles* ))

Breezy Carver: Note the coruption of the day as bids were backed with cash (( grins )) With Burnham’s famous slogan—“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood”—with Burnham himself as chief of construction, and with Frederick Law Olmsted (and his partner Charles S. Codman of Boston) engaged to lay out the grounds, a tract ol Chicago s swamp and sand was to become—as it was first and best known—a “Great White City.”

Breezy Carver: The Fair was projected on an enormous scale. When Compared London’s Crystal Palace had covered over twenty acres, and Philadelphia’s Centennial over two hundred, Chicago dwarfed them with over six hundred. Its vistas of ivory colonnades against the blue of sky and lake stretched the imaginations of Americans unused to such magnificence. “It’s too much for my mind,” said one visitor. “It fills you up with more ideas than you’ve got room for.”

Viv Trafalgar: /makes a note for the quotation

Breezy Carver: Undoubtedly the uniform whiteness added to an effect of unreality and other-worldliness in this period when streets of alabaster and gales of pearl were familiar hymn-book images. In any event, the words “vision,” “dream,” and “enchantment” are frequently used in contemporary descriptions. Even |Truslow Adams refers to the Fair as “a vision of beauty which has rarely been equalled … compared with it the Paris Exposition of 1900 was an inchoate jumble of incongruous monstrosities,”
Breezy Carver: grins now please make note of these stats for there will not be a Quizz latte but more the interest on just how Large the scale

Viv Trafalgar: ::chuckles::

no name Jimmy chuckles.

Breezy Carver: almost forty years afterward Lloyd Lewis could write that it “still forces the belief that … it was the most wonderful thing of its time. It became the ruling passion of statesmen as well as architects, of religionists as well as artisans, of merchants, painters, engineers, musicians, soldiers, orators, and dukes. … Destiny brought to this young city an explosion of idealism, produced a miracle and then ordered the miracle to disappear.
Hummm sound familiar … grins …

Breezy Carver: There is certainly evidence that to the public—the many millions who rambled through its miles of parks and gardens, drifted along its lagoons, or from the top of the Ferris Wheel watched the lighted prisms of the great fountain in the Court of Honor—the Chicago Fair was overwhelming, an impression that is only confirmed by Henry James’s sarcastic reference: “They say one should sell all one has and mortgage one’s soul to go there, it is esteemed stich a revelation of beauty. People burst into tears, cast away all sin and baseness, and grow religious under its influence.”

Breezy Carver: A preliminary dedication and parade were held on October 21, 1891, but the winter that followed produced an unprecedented scries of blizzards, alternating with arctic cold, which made construction a nightmare. Men worked bundled up like mummies; picks rang uselessly against the iron ground; and almost an acre of skylights fell under the weight of snow. Delivery of engines, boilers, and parts was delayed. The chief of mechanical construction resigned in despair.

Breezy Carver: In other words they had nothing but .. challenge after challenge YEt they still Made History and put forth the great show ON Earth especially in cities that had competed for the Fair, gleefully reported that nothing would be ready for the opening in May, that accommodations would be poor and extortion general. The railroads showed no interest and made only token rate reductions. But Chicago, stubborn as ever, managed a near miracle, transforming the slushy scrub-oak wastes along its lake shore into landscaped parks and islands where lagoons mirrored the white palaces above them.

Breezy Carver: To counteract eastern propaganda, an unexpected bit of luck turned up in the form of a spring meeting of the National Editorial Association in Chicago. The association’s members made their own inspection and circulated their conclusion that “rumors of the incomplete state of the Fair were much exaggerated, and rumors of extortion unfounded.” The Fair opened on May 1, with the presidential blessings of Grover Cleveland. “As by a touch,” he said in his address, “the machinery that gives life to this vast Exposition is now set in motion, so … let our hopes and aspirations awaken forces which in all time to come shall influence the welfare, the dignity, and the freedom of mankind.” The orchestra burst into the Hallelujah Chorus, electric fountains leaped skyward, cannons boomed, flags flew to mastheads, and the crowds went wild.

At the main gate of the Fair, The Electrical Building was especially attractive to a generation in which that still-mysterious force occupied in popular imagination the place held today by atomic power. The central station for the Fair was three times as powerful as those serving the rest of Chicago. “We hover about the beautiful terrible stranger, but we do not shake hands. His glance is blinding, his voice deafening, his touch is death.” People wondered whether the new force was “merely a dangerous toy or a new power brought to its knees in the service of man.”

Viv Trafalgar: I want a Hallelujah Chorus

Breezy Carver: Foreign buildings, too, were notable both for size and craftsmanship. The Emperor of Japan had sent his own workmen to erect the exquisite little structures known as Phoenix House (which survived until destroyed by fire during World War 11). The Siamese Pavilion was a jewel box, glittering with tiny mirrors and purple-and-crimson glass. The German Building was a lowering 150 feet of turrets, gables, dormers, and variegated tiles, costing $250,000. At Brazil’s huge and hospitable quarters free coffee was served daily. France’s contribution was a replica of the Great Hall at Versailles, and Spain duplicated the Lace Exchange at Valencia. At Victoria House, the British center, hours were short and visitors were hurried through the roped-olf exhibits as though by a firm English “nanny,” a situation probably resulting from recent American tariff increases and acute commercial rivalry.

Ghilayne Andrew smiles at Mayor Peterson as he arrives.

Perryn Peterson returns the smile warmly

Breezy Carver: “Even more important than the discovery of Columbus” said Mrs. Potter Palmer, social leader of Chicago and chairman of the Fair’s Board of Lady Managers, “is the fact that the General Government has just discovered woman,” and she noted in passing that Columbus’ voyage would not have been possible but for Isabella. Her board had taken its job seriously.

Rhianon Jameson laughs

Breezy Carver: (grins) At first, most of the foreign commissioners would say only that women in their countries “did not participate in public efforts of this sort.” But the undaunted ladies wrote directly to Europe and elsewhere in the world, and they were rewarded by warm responses from artists, writers, and leading women, titled and title-less. Queen Victoria herself approved the venture, “with its special efforts for women,” though confessing herself unenlluisiastic about fairs in general.

Ahnyanka Delphin lets out a muffled chuckle.

Viv Trafalgar chortles

Breezy Carver: Queen Margherita of Italy and the Empress of Japan agreed to help. The Queen of Siam, evidently no less progressive than the King, sent a special envoy “to find what educational and industrial opportunities were open to women, so that Siam may adopt such measures as will elevate the condition of her women.” The Infanta Eulalia of Spain actually came to the Fair in person and seemed to like it very much, though she fended off local party-givers. And the ladies also had their own Woman’s Building at the Fair, designed by young Sophia Hayden,

Linus Lacombe: she was probably just mad because she didn't do well at the ring toss booth

Viv Trafalgar: !hah!

no name Jimmy laughs.

Breezy Carver: architectural graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Of classic simplicity, its principal ornament a delicate frieze of blue-green and white, it was described by one tired elderly visitor as “so light, it takes the weight off my feet just to look at it.” Beside it was the Children’s Building—housing a toy collection, a library, and a nursery—where trained attendants cared for infants and small children while their parents visited the Fair. Older children could read, listen to stories, or watch lantern slides.

Breezy Carver: The recreational area of the Fair, the Midway Plaisance, featured the famous Little Egypt, who introduced to the scandalized Midwest the danse du ventre. Her costume, by today’s standards, had the “covered-up” look. U’iih Mowing trousers fastened at lier ankles, heavy velvet jacket and well-scarved midriff, she possessed, according to Charles Dudley Warner, “inordinately thick ankles and large, voluptuous leet.” Newspapers agreed that the dance was interesting “until it became monotonous.” The Midway itself was a billowing babel of dust, drums, donkeys, camels, and noise. Cries of the “Whoopcrs-in” and the donkey-boys—"Look owet! Allah good—boom-boom!” drowned out the muezzin on his balcony. Among the Persian sword dancers, the Dahomey villagers, the Chinese and Algerian theaters, wandered the public, timid or titillated, in a kind of daze.

Breezy Carver: grins are YOU all dazed yet *smiles*

Ghilayne Andrew wobbles. "Wow."

Rhianon Jameson: Dazzled, perhaps. :)

Jimmy Branagh: It's good, Miss Breezy!

Edward Pearse: Yes but that's just early morning kicking in :-)

Alexander Daffyd chuckles

Rhianon Jameson: Mr. Cleanslate did a quick disappearing act - he didn't want to follow you!

Linus Lacombe: My eyes are glassed over from the grape juice, not the fantastic lecture, Ms Carter.

Breezy Carver: Grins then we shall look over our shoulders for a moment as I know mention .. another part of the .. of .. Fair

Viv Trafalgar looks

Sheryl Skytower: *snorgles*

Viv Trafalgar: what is over on that divan... or whom...?

Breezy Carver: "Like the man-eating tigers of the tropical jungle, whose appetites for blood have once been aroused, I roamed about this world seeking whom I could destroy" H.H. Holmes" this is a direct quote from another builder at the fair

Ghilayne Andrew blinks, finally noticing the pictures high up on the wall!

Breezy Carver: only he was a different kind of builder He is what our nation has come to .. note .. Perhaps America's First Serial Killer ..

Rhianon Jameson gasps

Breezy Carver: (( i am sure no one is taking notes )) grins

Viv Trafalgar: ::gasps

Sheryl Skytower: eep!

Breezy Carver: D.O.B. : May 16, 1860 - D.O.D. : May 7, 1896 - Murderers committed: ?

"Dr. Holmes, for unexplained reasons, seems to have been forgotten by many true crime enthusiasts. At the same time he was committing his crimes, "Jack the Ripper" was terrorizing London. Many people do not realize that Holmes was Americas first documented Serial Killer. There are several different accounts of Holmes's activities, not the least of which is the doctor's own confession written in 1896. While doing my research for this archive I have discovered many, many different versions of the story. Some even claim the Doctor is responsible for over 200 murders, but I have found no evidence to back up any of these statements.

Viv Trafalgar: ((oh you bet your sweet bustle I am. and posting them too))

Linus Lacombe looks around puzzled at his backside and notices the lack of a bustle

Breezy Carver: Nobody can seem to agree on what actually took place. What I have written here is what I hope to be one of the most accurate accounts. Dr. Holmes was born Herman Webster Mudgett on May 16, 1860, in Gilmantown, New Hampshire. Holmes Was often beat regularly by his drunken father, and the local neighborhood bullies. At an early age he was fascinated by all aspects of surgery. He would often capture stray animals and perform strange and crude experiments on them. Herman graduated high school at the age of 16, married Clara Loveringat, at the age of 18, and graduated medical school at the University of Michigan, located in Ann Arbor in 1884 at the age of 24. While studying medicine at the University of Michigan, He would steal corpses, render them unrecognizable with acid, and then collect on the life insurance policies he had previously taken out under fictitious names. Herman got away with several of these frauds before a nightwatchman caught him removing a female corpse, hence he was kicked out of the university for "unusual activities".
Herman moved to the Chicago suburb of Englewood, Ill, in 1886,

Charlemagne Allen: don't go to medical school.. it means you're a psycho.. ;)

Rhianon Jameson: I would hope that was unusual, even for university!

Ghilayne Andrew: I hope none of them were his wife!

Breezy Carver: after abandoning his wife and committing a variety of felonies, even defrauding one of his own in-laws. He was know as a swindler, and decided it was time for a new lease on life and took on the alias: Henry Howard Holmes, AKA: "DR H.H. Holmes". In 1888 Holmes was hired as a chemist at a popular Chicago area drugstore located in the suburb of Englewood.

Sheryl Skytower: well, the corpse thing probably was....

Edward Pearse: Not at the time, no

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: That would be odd even at TPU.

Ordinal Malaprop: Depends quite what one was doing with the corpse.

Breezy Carver: AND then ... and then .. In 1890 the proprietress of the drugstore, an elderly widow, mysteriously disappeared. Holmes quickly took over the business, and began selling patent medicines of his own invention by mail order, including fake "cures" for alcoholism. Holmes eventually amassed a nice fortune. Holmes soon wed Myrta Z. Belknap, without even bothering to divorce his first wife. Myrta soon bare foot and pregnant, left him within a year, and moved in with her parents. In 1888, Holmes bought a vacant lot across from his pharmacy business and began to build a "hotel". During construction Holmes changed contractors several times and shuffled the workers around frequently so that no one was ever able to get a clear idea of the floor plan or what the building, was for.

Viv Trafalgar: goodness!

Sheryl Skytower: quite the entrepraneur...

Edward Pearse: Resurrection trade was a thriving busines (and I'm not talking about zombie makers)

Linus Lacombe: With that business under his belt, least he could have done was giver her some shoes

Breezy Carver: Most of the rooms had gas vents that could let off lethal or sleep inducing gases, the vents could only be controlled from a closet in Holmes's bedroom. Many of the rooms were soundproof and could not be unlocked from inside. It was a three-story building with shops on the first floor and a bizarre labyrinth of windowless rooms, false floors, secret passages,

Breezy Carver: grins @ Edward

Sheryl Skytower: good grief!

Rhianon Jameson: Fiend!

Ordinal Malaprop: Oh! I was reading about this chap, it is a terrific story

Obedience Mactavish: oh my

Breezy Carver: trapdoors, a well equipped surgery area as well as several instruments of torture, such as an "elasticity determinator," a contraption he claimed could stretch experimental subjects to twice their normal length. Those who viewed it said it appeared to be a medieval torture rack. A few rooms were lined with asbestos, and the place was filled with doors that opened to brick walls, stairways to nowhere, an elevator without a shaft and a shaft without an elevator. There was an airtight and soundproof vault, human-sized greased chutes leading from the living quarters to the cellar. The bedrooms had peepholes and were equipped with asphyxiating gas pipes connected to a control panel in Dr. Holmes' closet. Holmes was nothing if not thorough. Upon completion of the "castle", Holmes soon tapped into a city water line in his cellar

Kimika Ying: *cringes with the thought*

Sheryl Skytower: oh, great.. now someone's going to build in in NB, just you watch....

Charlemagne Allen: that sounds better than the average Holiday inn... ;)

Edward Pearse: Wau

Linus Lacombe: who was the archect for this...house?

Breezy Carver: mixed the water with vanilla, and sold it for 5 cents a glass as an elixir called Linden Grove Mineral Water. He was eventually caught but no charges were ever filed. On another occasion he purchased a huge safe on credit, then moved it into his castle, he built a room around it with only a tiny exit. When creditors

Breezy Carver: HE WAS SIR @@, he did it all himself

Charlemagne Allen: LInden Grove?

Edward Pearse: Got to admire the home handyman ingenuity :-)

Breezy Carver: eventually came to haul it away, humorously they couldn't get it out.

During the Great Chicago World Fair in 1893, (the entrance to which was only a few blocks from Holmes's establishment), when the city filled with visitors, Holmes would rent rooms and/or lure girls and young ladies to his "castle" where he would attempt to seduce

Rhianon Jameson nods at Mr. Pearse.

Charlemagne Allen: i see a connection there.. is his son named Philip?

Sheryl Skytower: now there's a shocker...

Breezy Carver: them before drugging them. They were then popped into one of the empty shafts that ran through the building. The hapless girls would come round only to find themselves trapped behind a glass panel in an airtight death chamber into which Holmes would pump the lethal gas. Afterwards the body would be sent down a chute to the basement which contained vats of acid and lime and, in the center of the room, a dissecting table. Mudgett would cut up the corpses, removing particular organs which took his fancy and dispose of the remains in the vats. After killing them, Holmes would sometimes sell the bleached skeletons to medical universities. In 1894 Holmes wed Georgiana Yoke, again not bothering to divorce his previous wife. His charm and good looks wooed countless women, and enhanced his talents as a schemer.

Sheryl Skytower: *shivers* too close to Halloween...

Ordinal Malaprop: If any further indication were needed that the Victorians did it all first, well.

Edward Pearse: Heh

Breezy Carver: Only one man knew the truth of what was going on in the "castle", Herman Pitezel, Holmes lackey and accomplice. A weak man, Pitezel was easily controlled by Holmes. Despite his cleverness though Holmes was going broke. He knew his Chicago gig was almost up. In desperation, Holmes murdered two visiting Texan sisters and, rather than quietly dispose of their remains, he set fire to there house in an attempt to get the insurance money. The insurance company refused to pay and the police began an investigation into the blaze. Strangely, the police work was not pursued vigorously enough to produce any evidence of Holmes bloody activities; but the killer did not know this, and so he fled. Now there is Much more on Mr Holmes

KlausWulfenbach Outlander knows of too many Sparks with these sorts of habits

Elilka Sieyes: More??!

Breezy Carver: oh Pardon Dr

Edward Pearse grins

Breezy Carver: indeed

Viv Trafalgar: haha

Breezy Carver: but back at the fair

Sheryl Skytower: *hides under table*

t1g3y Oh feels a bit faint

Linus Lacombe: Perhaps he never died but just ended up in Beetleburg

Breezy Carver: We had the Midway

no name Jimmy chuckles.

Breezy Carver: where he stalked

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Hmm.

Ghilayne Andrew: Makes the crumbly Holiday Inn down the road look positively hospitable.

Breezy Carver: full of life and people .. then there were the Ladies - the Women of the Midway !

Alexander Daffyd grins

Breezy Carver: The Columbian Exposition was notable for its impressive architecture and large international attendance. Of particular importance was the Women's Pavilion. The first of its kind to have been designed by a female architect, it revealed much about the social plight of women at that time, and the need for further progress in the movement for equal rights. While its existence did not trigger significant changes for the Women's Movement, this pavilion was certainly a promising first step that would set a precedent for women's involvement in later years.

Breezy Carver: All aspects of women's involvement in the Chicago fair were overseen by the Board of Lady Managers. This governing body, the first of its kind, had authority over all the decisions regarding the Women's Pavilion. It was headed by Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago, and composed of a diverse group of women from all over the United States.

Viv Trafalgar: how very cool. I didn't know that.

Breezy Carver: and territory as well as nine from Chicago. Invitations were extended to women across the world for their participation. Delegations from England, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Venezuela, Algeria, Siam and Japan all participated in the planning ,and particularly the interior decoration. Many of these organizers belonged to the upper-class or even aristocracy of their societies. The first women's pavilion had been erected in 1876 in Philadelphia. The previous year, women had been given their own section in the main fair building, but at the last minute this decision was revoked. Instead, women were told if they wanted a display, it would have to be in their own building and from their own funding. They did collect enough funds for construction of the pavilion, but Mrs. E.D. Gillespie, President of the Women's Executive Committee said that, "..weary and longing for rest, we never thought of employing a woman architect...."

Breezy Carver: Even among women themselves, it was generally thought that there were few reliable female architects and indeed there were few women in the field at the time. Those that were in the field also received little public acknowledgement. At this Philadelphia fair, November 7th was chosen was "women's day",

Kimika Ying: To tired to think of that?

Breezy Carver: based on the assumption that the women should take advantage of the fair while the men were casting their ballots. This angered the suffragettes, who proceeded to boycott the fair. The women's pavilion placed "...particular emphasis on those activities generally acknowledged to be within the women's sphere" with little information in the areas of science and discovery.

Sheryl Skytower: like, how to bake cake... (nibbles away on a slice)

Breezy Carver: Most of the art work done by women was nowhere to be found in the women's pavilion, but instead was in the main Fine Arts building. While the Board of Lady Managers was supposed to have "general charge and management of all interests of women in connection with the Exposition", they were denied a say in the selection of the actual architect. This decision instead was made by a board of men. In order to select the architect, work was examined from fourteen distinguished women in the field. It is noted that none of these applicants was over the age of twenty-five. The woman who was chosen was Sophia Hayden, who had just graduated from the School of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

facade set on the lagoon. It is rather idealistic as no other buildings can be seen in the background. People can be seen as they strolled around the waterside watching a lone dingy. Detail on the building itself has been simplified while the trees and shrubbery on the edges of the lagoon and the sun reflecting off the water are vividly rendered. This image also makes the building appear a little larger than it actually was. However, since the larger

Linus Lacombe waves at Little Egypt Junior on the stage

Viv Trafalgar: oh goodness

Ahnyanka Delphin winks over at Mr. Lancombe.

Saffia Widdershins laughs

Rhianon Jameson: The Salon is fascinating! :)

Breezy Carver: surrounding buildings are missing, the scale is left more to the imagination. The Women's pavilion was located just north of the Horticulture building, with its eastern front facing a man-made lagoon. The scene was picturesque, with a terrace extending to the tip of the waterline. The building which measured 388 by 199 feet and cost nearly

Sheryl Skytower: *snorgles*

Breezy Carver: (( ladies and gentlemen i give two Prime examples of Midway at its best to my Left your right (( grins )) ))

Jimmy Branagh: /Jimmy stares

Rhianon Jameson laughs.

Breezy Carver: 150,000 dollars, was "Grecian" in character, with decorative elements such as terraces, porticos and colonnades derived from Antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. On the ground level, a landing and stairway led up from the lagoon to a terrace six feet above the water. Upon ascending another staircase, one would enter the pavilion,

Elina Koskinen: Oh my.

Sheryl Skytower: won't someone think of the children!

KlausWulfenbach Outlander thinks of Herr Branagh and covers his eyes

no name Then, Jimmy grins wide ...

Linus Lacombe gives the children ice cream money then returns his eyes to the stage

Breezy Carver: gives Jimmy big cotton candy !!

Breezy Carver: set back about 108 feet from the water. The first terrace contained lovely flora ??? low shrubs and flowerbeds ??? that transported one immediately to a villa in the Italian countryside. The first story was set ten feet from the ground line, with a wide staircase rising to the central pavilion. There were a triple arched entrance and open colonnade on the second story.

Viv Trafalgar: ::covers jimmy's eyes::

Jimmy Branagh: ((hehe))

Breezy Carver: at No other time had woman had such a fine place in the working Many History!

Breezy Carver: At the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 a Dress Reform Congress was held. Among the fruits of this revival of an earlier Cause were the Rainy-Day Clubs forthwith organized in many cities, and the popularization of the "Rainy-Day Skirt." This novel garment, completely Clearing the ground, was regarded as very practical in sloppy weather. The alterations in women's behavior, however, were at that time more subtle than sensational. And, though sloppy weather continued to appear, this shortened skirt might have disappeared altogether in favor of the standard length had it not been for the development in women's behavior largely occasioned by the bicycle.

Rhianon Jameson recoils

Breezy Carver: In 1893, at the Egyptian Theater on the World's Columbian Exposition Midway in Chicago, Raqs dancers performed for the first time in the United States. Sol Bloom presented a show titled "The Algerian Dancers of Morocco", which included Spyropoulos, though she was neither Egyptian nor Algerian, but Syrian. Spyropoulos was billed as Fatima, but because of her size, she had been called "Little Egypt" as a backstage nickname. Spyropoulos stole the show, and popularized this form of dancing, which came to be referred to as the "Hoochee-Coochee"

Linus Lacombe: First bare ankles...then gin from a bottle!

t1g3y Oh realizes she has been subtly mimicking the gyrations on stage & stops, glancing to see if she had been noticed.

Rhianon Jameson discretely nips at gin from her flask.

Charlemagne Allen: hoochee-coocheee sounds a tad bit infantile

Ahnyanka Delphin winks over at you as she playfully flicks her gossamer skirt, lifting it just enough to show a flash of ankle before sashaying into a leisurely turn.

Breezy Carver: Ladies and Gentlemen I give YOU .. grins Little Egypt a hand please *smiles*

KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds

no name Jimm nibbles at the cotton candy, eyes bugged out.

Edward Pearse claps

Perryn Peterson: Applause!!

t1g3y Oh claps politely

Jimmy Branagh applauds.

Obedience Mactavish notes the thick ankles and applaudes politely

Breezy Carver: or the "shimmy and shake". At that time the word "bellydance" had not yet entered the American vocabulary, as Spyropoulos was the first in the U.S. to demonstrate the "danse du ventre" (literally "dance of the belly") first seen by the French during Napoleon's incursions into Egypt at the end of the eighteenth century.

Rhianon Jameson averts her eyes and applauds.

Linus Lacombe: /daubs at his forehead with a hanky, flabbergasted by the exposed ankles on stage

Ghilayne Andrew applauds.

Charlemagne Allen: oooh lovely visuals

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: (I thought Jummy's eyes were covered by two people.)

Alexander Daffyd aplauds

Victor1st Mornington applauds

Sheryl Skytower: yay!

Viv Trafalgar: ((apparently Jimmy is wilely))

Breezy Carver: okay the word "hootchy-kootchy" generally means an erotic suggestive dance and is often erroneously conflated with the group of dances originating in the Middle East that we now call bellydance. Subsequently, several women dancers adopted the name of Little Egypt and toured the United States performing some variation of this dance, until the name became somewhat synonymous with exotic dancers, and often associated with the Dance of the Seven Veils.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: applauds

Beq Janus claps

Breezy Carver: Spyropoulos then claimed to be the original Little Egypt from the Chicago Fair. Recognized as the true Little Egypt, she always disliked being confused with Ashea Wabe, after Wabe's performance at the Seeley banquet. Spyropoulos danced as Little Egypt at the 1933 Century of Progress in Chicago at the age of 62.

Charlemagne Allen: napoleon had good taste... ;)

Edward Pearse thinks there far more than just ankles being exposed on the stage

t1g3y Oh suggest a larger cotton candy for Jimmy

Linus Lacombe: Yay Spyropoulos!

Ahnyanka Delphin's eyes seem to sparkle as they look directly into yours from above her veil. You almost don't notice the increased motion of her hips due to the steady gaze.

Breezy Carver: but there is more *smiles* Corsets were big business. At World Fairs in Philadelphia in 1873 and Chicago in 1893 there were special rooms devoted to corset innovations, concepts that promised faultless figures, grace and even health. Even in pregnancy, special corsets were worn. Corsets where perhaps the Most Popular Display The Ladies and The Fair Took Corset and the Ladies that modeled them and wore the to a whole never level Doors were opened that had never been a jar before and the world of women's fashion as we knew it was no longer the same

Edward Pearse: And women complain we never look them in the eyes.

Charlemagne Allen: oh corset was big business

Breezy Carver: There also were "bum pads" tied around the waist to add girth to the derriere, and bust enhancers, garments that could be stuffed with cloth and attached at the cleavage to create the monobosom. Chemises, corset covers, drawers, petticoats and stockings completed the underwear suite, all of which was expected to match the woman's outer dress.

Rhianon Jameson doubts you are at this moment.

Linus Lacombe: Did they have a fainting couch innovation exhibit too?

Breezy Carver: Ditching the corset was not an option for any woman who wanted to be accepted in genteel Victorian society. Of course Men had it easier, wearing wool union suits in winter, and silk

Breezy Carver: (( Yes they did ask Miss Canolli next time ))

Viv Trafalgar: ((Furnishings in November yes!))

Redgrrl Llewellyn: (((OOOER! loves me some furnishings!))

Breezy Carver: WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, CHICAGO, 1893
If the Centennial marked the emergence of the United States as an economic power, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 marked the country's coming of age as a political and industrial power. It represented the change from a predominately agricultural America concerned with domestic problems to a modern urban and industrial nation involved in world economy and politics. For the Exposition, Chicago built an entire new city--"The White City"-- larger, more elaborate, and more truly international in scope than any previous fair. The White City represented an unprecedented collaboration of artists, architects, engineers, sculptors, painters, and landscape architects who joined forces to create a single work - an ideal model city. Lauded as an American Venice, the White City was composed of a "Court of Honor" of classically styled white buildings with columns and gilded domes linked to the other parts of the grounds by a series of lagoons and canals. Leading national architectural firms including Richard Morris Hunt, McKim, Mead, and White, and Louis Sullivan designed the major buildings. Well-known sculptors such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French were involved in the architectural decoration.

Ordinal Malaprop: These days, we have civilised Diets instead of barbaric Corsets.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: yay Krupp

Breezy Carver: There were 65,000 exhibits displayed at the fair, showcasing every conceivable product from a 1,500 pound chocolate Venus de Milo to a 46-foot cannon by Krupp, the German munitions manufacturer. Among the many products introduced at the fair were Cracker Jacks, Aunt Jemima Syrup, Cream of Wheat, Pabst Beer, and Juicy Fruit gum. The Fair also introduced picture postcards to the American public, as well as two mainstays of the late-twentieth century diet--carbonated soda and hamburgers.

Sheryl Skytower: nom nom nom...

Redgrrl Llewellyn: ((tummy grumbles))

Charlemagne Allen: that explains the diets/corsets

Edward Pearse: Heh

Charlemagne Allen: soda and burgers

Linus Lacombe: Beer and a burger was born there...fascinating~

Linus Lacombe titters

Breezy Carver: While the public may have been awestruck by the grandeur of the architecture and impressed by the array of consumer products, what kept them at the fair was the Midway Plaisance, a commercially-sponsored self-contained amusement area. It featured popular entertainment such as German beer halls, the original Ferris Wheel, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and exotic dancers.

The Fair was immensely popular, drawing over twenty-seven million visitors from around the world during its six-month run. Visitors included Frederick Douglass, Jane Addams, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Scott Joplin, Susan B. Anthony, Henry Adams, and L. Frank Baum, who would go on to transform the White City into the Emerald City of Oz. Although the products, inventions, and amusements were what visitors remembered most about the event, its long-term legacy was in the interplay of consumerism, technology, and entertainment. The corporate-designed amusements and mix of product with entertainment led directly to the late twentieth-century fascination with the late twentieth-century fascination with Disneyland and McDonald Happy Meals.

Viv Trafalgar: oh wow. HUH.

Charlemagne Allen: that all makes sense now...

Ochazuke Ying: There's a twentieth century now?

Breezy Carver: this is a mecca to all around the world there was never anything like nor will be again I thank YOU for your time and Now please thank My lovely Ladies of the Midway

Ordinal Malaprop: Well, it is all a continuum.

Rhianon Jameson: Time travel is so confusing.

Perryn Peterson: Applause!!

Viv Trafalgar: ::applauds wildly

Rhianon Jameson applauds.

Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´

Elilka Sieyes applauds enthusiastically

Ordinal Malaprop: One led to the other less than one was the same as the other.

Perryn Peterson: Huzzzah!!

Ordinal Malaprop claps

Alexander Daffyd applauds

Edward Pearse claps politely

Canolli Capalini applauds

Ochazuke Ying applauds and bows.

Breezy Carver: and I hand the stage to dear Mr Cleanslate *smiles*

Sheryl Skytower: yay!

Ochazuke Ying takes a humble bow

Victor1st Mornington applaudes

Viv Trafalgar: Awesome Breezy!!

Jedburgh30 Dagger: woohoo

Breezy Carver: aww thank YOU *smiles*

Saffia Widdershins applauds

Charlemagne Allen claps

Viv Trafalgar: Thank you Red and Ahnya!

Ghilayne Andrew applauds!

Talisa Shriner: /smiles applauding

PJ Trenton golf claps

KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds

Obedience Mactavish applaudes!

Linus Lacombe applauds dear Mr Cleanslate

Viv Trafalgar: Folks please hold your questions for Breezy until the end - i know you have many

Ahnyanka Delphin winks and bobs a curtsy.

Viv Trafalgar: what an outstanding presentation!

Wes Franklin claps

Sheryl Skytower: is there going to be any men dancing... *hopeful look*

Viv Trafalgar: Next up, is the honorable and venerable Mr. Cleanslate...

Viv Trafalgar: hmm

Viv Trafalgar: who might dance?

Edward Pearse laughs at the dwaggin

Charlemagne Allen: so we're starting off with a clean slate?

Linus Lacombe: Perhaps Mr Cleanslate...he is already up thre

Sheryl Skytower: I need some beef.... cake...

Charlemagne Allen: /drum roll

Breezy Carver: nudges AE *smiles* whispers wake up

Aeolus Cleanslate waves!

Breezy Carver: oh good *smiles*

Ahnyanka Delphin slinks off stage with a wink over her shoulder.

Ghilayne Andrew applauds for Mr. Cleanslate.

Charlemagne Allen: eek... sorry, camming

Redgrrl Llewellyn: [smiles, winks saucily and leaves the setage]

Redgrrl Llewellyn: or stage even

Aeolus Cleanslate: hi everyone! that was amazing...

Viv Trafalgar: Mr. Cleanslate - we await your wisdom!

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Heh, no more distraction, eh?

Aeolus Cleanslate: I want to give her another round of applause...

Obedience Mactavish smiles

Jasper Kiergarten: anyone needing a chair, IM me

Saffia Widdershins applauds

Obedience Mactavish: That was fascinating, truly.

Victor1st Mornington applauds

Aeolus Cleanslate: now - if you'll reorient your attention a bit - I'll just mosey over to the other side of the Salon...

Obedience Mactavish claps again for Lady Breezy

Viv Trafalgar shifts carefully in her seat

Aeolus Cleanslate: I've been meaning to try this - please give me a sec to swap in my machine...

Alexander Daffyd stands up and stretches his legs a bit

Viv Trafalgar: folks Mr. Cleanslate will speak, we will have questions for both speakers, and then i will lay out the craft

Viv Trafalgar: I cannot tell you what a phenomenal start to the season this is

Aeolus Cleanslate: aha - there we go

Rhianon Jameson marvels at the technological wonder

Aeolus Cleanslate: thank you all so much -

Jasper Kiergarten: wrings hands greedily over the craft...

Ghilayne Andrew raises her hand. "Could you raise it some more, Mr. Cleanslate?"

Ghilayne Andrew: Perfect, sir.

Aeolus Cleanslate: today I'll be attempting to illustrate my remarks with the newfangled "kinoscope" device

Wes Franklin looks at the intresting invention with curiosity.

Aeolus Cleanslate: for more information, please tap the poster to my right

Elina Koskinen: Interesting...

Aeolus Cleanslate: In Gibson and Sterling's The Difference Engine (required steampunk reading, by the way, for those who have not yet had the pleasure), the kinoscope (shortened from "kinetic-scope," meaning "mechanical instrument for viewing") was a kind of cinema screen made from a 2D matrix of rotating prisms. Each laquered wooden prism had a different colour on each face, and they spun to switch to different colors, making each one a sort of mechanical "pixel." When viewed as a whole the result was a physical passive-matrix display (like a moving painting or the screen of Amazon's Kindle) rather than the active-matrix light-emitting devices on a laptop. In the novel, analytical Engines many generations beyond Babbage's original design drove the display of these screens, and programmers (referred to as 'clackers' from the sound the prisms make when they rotate) used punchcard technology (derived from common jacquard loom technology of the time) to instruct the prisms when to turn and what to display. Sets of punchcards encoded in such a way were the CDs of the day.

Dante Moreau: hello!

Aeolus Cleanslate: Such kinoscopes were used as background illustrations behind popular lecturers to enliven what could otherwise be rather dry presentations.

t1g3y Oh attempts to listen faster

Aeolus Cleanslate: hopefully we won't need it *grin*

Talisa Shriner: chuckles

Aeolus Cleanslate: okay so here we go with the main event -

Ordinal Malaprop nods

Aeolus Cleanslate: After the recent Relay For Life build, I was privileged enough to absorb some of the research and lore of the 19th century World’s Fairs.

Aeolus Cleanslate: it's a wonderful area - As many of you know, the Fairs were all the rage in the latter half of the century. There were many dozens of them. But a few caught the zeitgeist, as it were, and really set the tone for the age. And as we will see (and Breezy has shown), cast cultural reverberations down through the centuries to the present day. I thought that I would touch a bit on the most prominent few, providing a bit of context, some history, and an emphasis on noteworthy structures (my personal favorite) and happenings, as well as a bit of a comment on their longer term impact *ahem*

Ordinal Malaprop: Please do!

Aeolus Cleanslate: So we’ll go chronologically – the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, the 1889 Exposition Universale in Paris,

Charlemagne Allen is all ears

Aeolus Cleanslate: a brief bit on the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, and if we have time, the 1900 Exhibition in Paris- which set the stage for the 20th century

Elina Koskinen: Ooh.

Aeolus Cleanslate: Before 1851, fairs were relatively small, and national in focus – sponsored by the nations and designed to promote national interests exclusively.

Wes Franklin: Wow

Aeolus Cleanslate: But the 1844 Paris fair caught the eye of a Briton named Henry Cole, who resolved to do more

Rhianon Jameson watches and thinks that moving pictures will never catch on.

Aeolus Cleanslate: Cole was a character - he (arguably) invented the postage stamp, christmas cards, and industrial objects under a pseudonym (to insulate his elite status from more prosaic pursuits). but it was The involvement of Prince Albert brought unimpeachable prestige to what might otherwise have been an overlooked project of the new capitalists. Without him funds for the fair would not have been raised. The 1851 Great Exhibtiion arguably set the standard for future fairs, and all that followed were compared to it

Linus Lacombe: Did they let him out of his can to help with the fair?

Viv Trafalgar: /facepalm

Sheryl Skytower: *snorgles*

Aeolus Cleanslate: *rimshot for Linus

Aeolus Cleanslate: It was held in Regent’s Park in the heart of London, and had pavilions from other countries scattered all over. (there it is there in the middle .. *grin*) But of course the highlight was the Crystal Palace. Designed by Joseph Paxton (a greenhouse expert) + structural engineer Charles Fox; the build committee included IK Brunel (Icky, to his friends)

Edward Pearse: Not a bad little glass house

Aeolus Cleanslate: (me and Icky are like this...) The Palace was 1848 feet (about 563 metres) long by 454 feet (about 138 metres) wide, and went from plan to grand opening in nine months.

Elina Koskinen sets the weather to midday ...which helped

Aeolus Cleanslate: It was one of the largest structures ever built at that time and has been inspiring structural engineering ever since

Obedience Mactavish watches with fascination

Aeolus Cleanslate: today's atria and modern architecture are arguably direct descendants of the Palace. The original was never intended to be permanent but was so popular it was Moved to Sydenham (South London) afterward, but destroyed by fire in 1936

Charlemagne Allen: aww...

Edward Pearse: Which became known as Crystal Palace (as a suburb)

Aeolus Cleanslate: Some other noteworthy points about 1851 – over 13000 exhibits were featured; including the programmable heart of the British textile industry, the Jacquard loom; a revolutionary envelope machine, and dozens of other firsts

Ghilayne Andrew: fax machine?

Linus Lacombe: all the good stuff burns down...

Aeolus Cleanslate: Of particular interest to me was the digital fax machine, using telegraphy and dot-matrix technology. In 1851. Amazing.

Linus Lacombe: WOW...1851??

Aeolus Cleanslate: ya - totally, huh

Viv Trafalgar: do tell Mr. Cleanslate... i want to see a print out

Viv Trafalgar: i could have faxed my letter to.. oh nevermind

Beq Janus: sadly noone invetned thermal patper for it for another 80years

Aeolus Cleanslate: they had all the basic back then - it's weird that it never really materialized

Sheryl Skytower: fax me a check....

Viv Trafalgar: lol

Aeolus Cleanslate: Interms of its impact, the very idea of a fair of this sort worried people.

Charlemagne Allen: what was it called?

Rhianon Jameson: No one had anything worthwhile to fax. Not like nowadays...

Aeolus Cleanslate: heh

Edward Pearse: "Quick, this must be twittered...."

Linus Lacombe: Right...all the little "fax machine jokes" were not yet invented

Aeolus Cleanslate: Crowds were scary, of course – this was just a few years before Great Stink, and a few years after revolutions of 1848, which Britain had escaped

t1g3y Oh: it was foxed back then

Aeolus Cleanslate: The British deliberately stationed 10,000 soldiers in London during the Exhibition, just in case

Viv Trafalgar: hahaha

Aeolus Cleanslate: luckily admissions decreased as summer wore on and the wealthy left London

Aeolus Cleanslate: Marx loathed it, calling it “quintessential capitalist fetishism”

Aeolus Cleanslate: (which means it was awesome)

Viv Trafalgar: he said that about horses too i think

Rhianon Jameson: Harpo was the funny one, anyway.

Obedience Mactavish: fetishes can be nice

Jasper Kiergarten: lol

Linus Lacombe: I think he even said it about himself

Viv Trafalgar: Miss Jameson FTW

Aeolus Cleanslate: it was profitable - the surplus funding dozens of institutions that still exist and of course cemented Britain's reputation as the leading world imperial + industrial power.

Edward Pearse: *sighs at the mention of the V&A*

Aeolus Cleanslate grins at Mr Pearse

Aeolus Cleanslate: but perhaps most important was its cultural impact - arguably, it provided the British utilitarian response to the Luddites who were relatively powerful at the time and to Dickensian and clerical critics of the unmitigated evils of industrialism

Ordinal Malaprop: mm

Aeolus Cleanslate: the central question of the early industrial revolution was this: is this technology stuff a good idea and will it eventually destroy us?

Charlemagne Allen: yes and yes

Aeolus Cleanslate: ha

Aeolus Cleanslate: we now know it's impossible to go backwards, but at the time it was an open question

Sheryl Skytower: yes, no.... what was the question again

Aeolus Cleanslate: the Exhibition gave the answer: the fruits of the industrial revolution bring glory to the nation and should be used to benefit the common man. note - the common man

Ordinal Malaprop: mm again

Aeolus Cleanslate: from there to today's consumer culture and global economy - a straight line

Aeolus Cleanslate: okay - moving on! A generation later – the 1876 Exhibition in Philadelphia designed as a “coming out party” for the U.S. in the post-Civil War era. Held on 100th anniversary of signing of US Declaration of Independence, it presaged US industrial expansion and was the only fair where U.S. states (as well as countries) were invited to display

Linus Lacombe: Out of the closet or as a deb?

Jedburgh30 Dagger: deb

Aeolus Cleanslate: depends on your orientation ... *grin*

Rhianon Jameson: East, at the moment.

Linus Lacombe: hehe

Aeolus Cleanslate: a few architectural notes – the main exhibit hall was – again – the largest building in the world by area at the time, enclosing twenty-one and a half acres. It had a 75-foot high ceiling.

Alexander Daffyd chuckles

Aeolus Cleanslate: depends on your orientation ... *grin*

Rhianon Jameson: East, at the moment.

Linus Lacombe: hehe

Charlemagne Allen: cough cough penis extension

Linus Lacombe blinks

Aeolus Cleanslate: exhibits from the United States were placed in the center of the building and foreign exhibits were placed around the center based on the nation's distance from the United States

Viv Trafalgar: i love love love that hall

Aeolus Cleanslate: Japan was out in the back

Aeolus Cleanslate: kidding

Aeolus Cleanslate: but still, an interesting cultural point of American opinions of global predominance

Edward Pearse bites tongue

Aeolus Cleanslate: The Statue of Liberty was still a pipe dream at the time, and a decade or so from taking up station in New York Harbor. But the Hand and Torch were erected in Philadelphia and used as a way to raise funds. Visitors were charged 50 cents to climb to the top – about twenty feet – but receipts largely funded the completion of the statue. A great building I came across was the Horticultural hall – used for organic display from around the world – and a great example of a unique architectural form

Edward Pearse: 50 cents wouldn't have been cheap at the time either

Perryn Peterson: Half a day's wages for a skilled workman.

Alexander Daffyd nods

Viv Trafalgar: wow

Aeolus Cleanslate: it lasted almost a century, and would still be with us except for a damned hurricane

Aeolus Cleanslate: (I've got to come back and build a version of that one in SL - too cool...)

Aeolus Cleanslate: and soooo steampunk

Edward Pearse: Too bad al the colour faded from the picture

Perryn Peterson: ((Huzzzzah!))

Jimmy Branagh: ((20000 prims))

Aeolus Cleanslate laughs

Viv Trafalgar: oh very good idea Mr. CLeanslate

Perryn Peterson: ((Textures, people, textures.))

Aeolus Cleanslate: The Machinery Hall (a new innovation in Fair architecture) featured the the monumental Corliss Centennial Engine.

Aeolus Cleanslate: (one for Merryman to reproduce...)

Wolf Copperfield: oooh

Aeolus Cleanslate: It was so large it had to be dismantled after the Exhibition ended since no factory in the country required an engine of its size.

Victor1st Mornington: deckard and quinn already made it i think

Aeolus Cleanslate: George Pullman purchased the engine in 1880 to power his new railroad car factory then under construction - in Chicago

Viv Trafalgar: wonders at the idea of building an engine without a purpose

Edward Pearse: Just because

Aeolus Cleanslate: and in a nice historical irony, the fire at his plant in 1896 destroyed many of the buildings of the 1893 Fair ...

Viv Trafalgar: Pullman who built the train that was too large to run on any track

Linus Lacombe: They could...and had to show i off...like a concept car...

Aeolus Cleanslate: Other notes – America’s first steam engine - John Bull steam locomotive (1831) – made an appearance; as did Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, early typewriters, Heinz Ketchup and Hires Root Beer.

Viv Trafalgar: yay root beer

Elilka Sieyes hisses Bell ;)

Aeolus Cleanslate: there was also a fantastic steam monorail …

Charlemagne Allen: yay wasn't the John Bull a copy of the English trains?

Linus Lacombe: Is that before he too the nick name Ma, to become Ma Bell?

Aeolus Cleanslate: yes inde3ed - stolen directly, in fact

Edward Pearse: You'd think the name John Bull was a dead giveaway

Aeolus Cleanslate: the steam monorail - another project worth exploring and reproducing, I'm sure...

Alexander Daffyd chuckles

Rhianon Jameson: Indeed.

Ghilayne Andrew laughs!

Charlemagne Allen: (IP violations-- US did it and now China does it!) ;)

Ghilayne Andrew: Unsurprising about the Turkish exhibit.

Aeolus Cleanslate: "good engineers mimic - great engineers steal"

Victor1st Mornington chuckles at the turkish exhibit

Aeolus Cleanslate: The Turkish exhibit introduced marijuana to the US for the first time and was – quite understandably – the most popular exhibit at the Fair.

Charlemagne Allen dies laughing

Sheryl Skytower: *eats more cake*

Wolf Copperfield facepaws >.<

Edward Pearse: Which later explain the existence of corn dogs

Ghilayne Andrew: got the munchies, Miss Skytower?

Jana Wizenheim: aaah, holmes and watson

Linus Lacombe: And who made the first bong in the US...and was it in existance at the fair?

Viv Trafalgar: ahahaha

Aeolus Cleanslate: ... and probably how they got people to pay 50 cents to climb twenty feet in the air

Jana Wizenheim: hello

Sheryl Skytower: nom nom nom.... hmm?

Elina Koskinen: Yes?

Wolf Copperfield giggles.

Aeolus Cleanslate: In terms of impact, the fair Lost money, but stimulated Philadelphia’s depressed economy, which was a major undertaking. It was deliberately positioned to help heal Civil War sectional rifts, and much of the debate at the time was around whether Southerners should attend

Sheryl Skytower: stimulation is good...

Alexander Daffyd grins

Aeolus Cleanslate: A cool quote I found:

Aeolus Cleanslate: "At the very threshold an important question occurs that requires patient consider-ing — a question that is asked probably in the South thousands of times a day—“Shall we go to the Centennial?”

Linus Lacombe: Come to the north, Johnny Reb...there be pot here!

Aeolus Cleanslate: By this is meant really, “Shall the South patronize the International Exhibition?” With proper deference we would with emphasis respond — “By all means, whether or not your State has contributed money and material, let all go who can afford to do so, for it is our Centennial as well as the Centennial of the Northern people.”

Rhianon Jameson makes a discreet exit due to RL commitments, but applauds Mr. Cleanslate's presentation and is disappointed she could not stay for the remainder.

Aeolus Cleanslate: We are a part of the Union. This country is our country. Here we were born and reared, here we live, and here we must die. In the past we had our fierce antagonisms, our sorrows and disappointments; but it is now more than eleven years since the last Confederate gun was fired and the battleflag of the defeated hosts was furled. Let the dead past bury the dead. Let all bittermemories be forgotten.

Aeolus Cleanslate waves

Aeolus Cleanslate: the jury is out as to whether it worked

Aeolus Cleanslate: Moving forward to 1889 – the fair after which our RFL build was patterned. The French were arguably at their cultural and industrial high point. In many ways, 1889 was directly designed and perceived as an opportunity to display French cultural and material supremacy

Victor1st Mornington: ahhhhhh

Aeolus Cleanslate: ... in light of the perceived threat from the Kaiser’s Germany, France was 20 years away from having been beaten by Bismarck in 1870 and losing Alsace-Lorraine, and just five years away from the Dreyfus affair. This would have been a good time to be French. At the 1889 fair there were 28,000,000 visitors

Viv Trafalgar: aha

Aeolus Cleanslate: ... and 61,722 exhibitors, of which 55% were French.

Sheryl Skytower: hmmm.... the pastries.......

Breezy Carver: grins at the little dragon

Aeolus Cleanslate: the site was selected as part of urban renewal – large areas of Paris were torn down to build it. But of course it became one of the best-known areas of Paris. Of course the huge cultural signature of 1889 was the Tour Eiffel. Mr Gustav Eiffel’s design was selected out of 100 submitted. 300 prominent names (including Zola and many others) protested it before it was built: calling it “useless and monstrous”. Which it was

Charlemagne Allen: hey, airship mooring!

Viv Trafalgar: XD

Aeolus Cleanslate: but it was also awesome.

Alexander Daffyd chuckles

Aeolus Cleanslate: Interestingly – it was originally called “Le Tour 300 Metres,” but changed after the notoriety of its designer hit record heights. A bit of technical context here – the Tower is 1069 feet (320.75 meters) high, about **105 stories**. Let me repeat that - 105 stories. Remember, this was in 1889. (are your jaws dropping? mine is wide open). The World Trade Center was 110.

Breezy Carver: grins

Viv Trafalgar: that's amazing

Jimmy Branagh: Yeps

Breezy Carver: and nods

Aeolus Cleanslate: it was made of “purified” wrought iron (a term used to describe the alloy process used to get rid of impurities). It weighs 7300 metric tons…less than the air that surrounds it. The Tower sways six inches in the strongest winds ever recorded over Paris, but it was designed by Eiffel to sway 30 inches – in a classic engineering overdesign that explains why it is still here

Edward Pearse: And can now be seen as the establishing shot with the words Paris, France for any Hollywood movie set in France

Aeolus Cleanslate: it's a bit cliche now, but any site visit will remind you how remarkable is was. Incidentally – the “glass cage” elevators were designed by the American firm Otis, whose brand still decorates elevators today.

Aeolus Cleanslate nods knowingly to Mr Pearse

Sheryl Skytower: *coughcompensatingforsomething, ehcough*

Aeolus Cleanslate: okay I'm going to pick up the pace a bit - you're all very kind for hanging in there

Edward Pearse: Oh, I've been trying to find our when the archways on the first level were removed

Edward Pearse: No luck so far

Jana Wizenheim: you mentioned, that it was and still is a prefered sight for suiciders?

Aeolus Cleanslate: I’ll touch briefly on my favorite building from 1889 – the Galerie De Machines. In many ways the sister structure to the Tour Eiffel, but long forgotten. Indeed it is - and always will be romantic to smooch and die from. What better legacy for an architect?

Aeolus Cleanslate grins

Viv Trafalgar: which is much messier than kiss and tell

Charlemagne Allen: or live and let die... ;)

Aeolus Cleanslate: the Galerie de Machines was the inspiration for my contribution to the RFL site

Linus Lacombe: They should have filed "a kiss before dying" there then

Ghilayne Andrew: Somehow, jumping off someplace high just doesn't sound like the easiest way to suicide.

Aeolus Cleanslate: Again, it spanned the longest interior space in the world at the time, and was in its own way as much of an engineering feat as the Tower. Made of ‘prefabricated hinged arches’ cast from iron (steel was too expensive and slow), it could easily (and did) house airships indoors.

Breezy Carver: grins

Aeolus Cleanslate: The structure was used for the 1900 fair and destroyed by fire in 1910.

Aeolus Cleanslate sighs again

Charlemagne Allen: i knew airshps would come into this!

Charlemagne Allen: /rocks out

Aeolus Cleanslate: a couple of notes about 1889

Wolf Copperfield waits for pirates

Aeolus Cleanslate: there were naturally extensive French Colonial exhibits, including war materiel around the raging arms race that would eventually lead to WWI

Linus Lacombe: When did the first fire extinguisher appear at a world's fair

Edward Pearse: Someone should have invented a decent sprinkler system instead of bigger bloody buildings

Viv Trafalgar: spot on Edward

Aeolus Cleanslate: amen

Aeolus Cleanslate: another amazing bit - the Human Zoo was an exhibit of indigenous peoples in native dress and mimicked environments – by far the most popular exhibit at the Fair, and perhaps the least politically correct display I’ve ever heard of.

Linus Lacombe: Human Zoo? creepy

Aeolus Cleanslate: ya

Ochazuke Ying: Hmmm

Aeolus Cleanslate: I didn't include pictures for fear of disturbing our 21st century sensitivities

Breezy Carver: heh !

Edward Pearse: This was a time when Freakshows were common

Sheryl Skytower: *pouts* exhibitionism....

Aeolus Cleanslate: true that

Victor1st Mornington: very true edward

Jimmy Branagh: ((I like my 21st Century sensibilities disturbed))

Aeolus Cleanslate: a whole ugly side of our culture. More firsts - Claude Debussy first heard Javanese gamelan music at the 1889 fair, arguably the beginning of the Ambient genre. Heineken received the Grand Prix at the exposition (a Dam Good Bier),

Jedburgh30 Dagger: but did they play it on the elevators?

Linus Lacombe: Debussy fields?

Edward Pearse: /megrins

Aeolus Cleanslate: ((yes, on the tower - which is what drove so many suicides)

Aeolus Cleanslate grins

no name Jimmy chuckles.

Aeolus Cleanslate: and Buffalo Bill and American sharpshooter Annie Oakley performed for packed audiences

Alexander Daffyd chuckles loudly

Linus Lacombe: hehe!

Breezy Carver: of course it did !

Aeolus Cleanslate: I love the 1889 Fair - my favorite, I think

Aeolus Cleanslate: Even while 1889 was going on, Chicago was planning the 1893

Aeolus Cleanslate: so wonderfully highlighted by Breezy

Breezy Carver: *smiles*

Viv Trafalgar: really truly both of you are phenomenal

Aeolus Cleanslate: I’ll skip past a bit, pointing out that in grand Worlds Fair traditions, most buildings were designed to be temporary proved to be when they were damaged extensively by fire just a short time after the fair closed – during the seminal labor strike at the Pullman factory nearby. Good old Pullman. Great shot there

Elilka Sieyes: >.<

Aeolus Cleanslate: here's a map of the Midway -

Linus Lacombe: Well, at least now we can ride around in Pullman cars on any railro---oh---no those are gone too

Aeolus Cleanslate: heh

Aeolus Cleanslate: One noteworthy structure worth pointing out –

Edward Pearse: Save Ferris

Aeolus Cleanslate: The world’s first Ferris Wheel

Viv Trafalgar: oooh

Obedience Mactavish: The Ferris wheel... oh my

Obedience Mactavish: it was huge..

Viv Trafalgar: so I did name this salon correctly

Aeolus Cleanslate: inspired by the Eiffel Tower and deliberately designed to be the ‘distinctive structure’ for the 1893 fair

Alexander Daffyd: ((that's what she said))

Aeolus Cleanslate: Designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, either on the spur of the moment, over a dinner napkin, or designed years earlier, and just revealed. The jury is out on that historical point, but no matter - Ferris was 30 when he proposed it. So either way, fricking AWESOME.

Viv Trafalgar: very much so

Aeolus Cleanslate: No one had ever imagined doing something like this before

Viv Trafalgar: "you know, for kids!"

Alexander Daffyd nods

Aeolus Cleanslate laughs

Aeolus Cleanslate: It was designed and built in four months, powered entirely by steam.

Jimmy Branagh: yay!

Aeolus Cleanslate: There were 36 cars, each 24 feet long, 13 feet wide, and 10 feet high, weighing 26,000 pounds. Twisted wire chairs were provided for 38 of the 60 passengers, and a conductor was assigned to each car to help reassure the passengers, few of which had ever been more than a few dozen feet in the air. Remember: prior to this there had been no flight, balloons were new, and skyscrapers – even in Chicago - unusual. It freaked people out. Interestingly, Ferris died in 1896 at only 37 years old

Linus Lacombe: like the movie with the guy shooting into the camera...

Aeolus Cleanslate: the Wheel was reassembled for St Louis Exhibition in 1904, but dynamited in 1906 as an eyesore

Viv Trafalgar: what did he die of Mr. Cleanslate?

Jana Wizenheim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BepyTSzueno (a vid from Franz reichelt on his last parachute test from the eiffel tower in 1912, enjoy it!)

Aeolus Cleanslate: good question - I'll have to look that up

Aeolus Cleanslate: A great quote from the time - “The wonder of two continents by reason of its cost, its dimensions, and its utter uselessness … Chicago was glad to get rid of it and St. Louis is said to have witnessed its destruction with satisfaction.”

Aeolus Cleanslate: another structure I wish I could have visited

Charlemagne Allen: people are unappreciative....

Aeolus Cleanslate: briefly - the World's Congress Auxiliary Bldg is now the Art Institute of Chicago… Some quick passing notes – the Palace of Fine Arts is still standing, and is now Chicago’s Museum of Fine Arts. And was featured in the movie Flatliners in the 80s, a point I love to make. *grin*

Linus Lacombe imagines the citizens of St Louis running about with pitchforks and torches, ready to tar and feather the Ferris Wheel and ride it out of town on a rail, but instead just kill it

Charlemagne Allen has been there...

Edward Pearse: Oooh I like that building

Aeolus Cleanslate: The World's Congress Auxiliary Bldg is now the Art Institute of Chicago… … and the Maine State Building was moved to Poland Spring resort after the fair – (the home, for us Americans, of Poland Spring water) *grins*

Aeolus Cleanslate: Other noteworthies - the John Bull locomotive returned - now 62 yrs old. And the electrotachyscope (aka Geissler tube) competed with zoopraxiscope … all early moving picture technologies. And of course, John Philip Sousa played daily, Cracker Jack, hamburgers, Hershey chocolate, Scott Joplin/ragtime, Hawaiian hula dancers all made firsts.

Wolf Copperfield hides

Aeolus Cleanslate: okay - two more minutes and I'll rush past 1900 and into the 20th

Alexander Daffyd: mmmmm hersheys

Aeolus Cleanslate: hang in there

Aeolus Cleanslate: the 1900 Exposition in Paris was arguably a retread of 1889 except punctuated by SO MANY 20th century technologies it's worth mentioning. Same location - same Eiffel Tower, except - the Palace of Electricty stole the show

Edward Pearse: When are we building that?

Charlemagne Allen: everyone must have been charged up to see that

Aeolus Cleanslate: and there were full - bore moving sidewalks installed throughout the entire fairgrounds

Sheryl Skytower: the roads must roll!

Linus Lacombe: bwhaha!

Charlemagne Allen: it was very current stuff...

Viv Trafalgar: oooh

Aeolus Cleanslate: unbelievable

Aeolus Cleanslate: all-weather, electrically powered

Alexander Daffyd: still waiting for those sidewalks!

Wolf Copperfield: I would have hurt myself

Wolf Copperfield giggles.

Aeolus Cleanslate: really interesting about 1900 were the amazing motion pictures recorded there by Edison (who won the bid, by the way). The videos are all out there and digital, and worth watching. They made me tear up.

Aeolus Cleanslate sighs

Aeolus Cleanslate: and of course, not to be outdone,

Linus Lacombe: ((those old movies always do that to me...they seem so innocent of what is coming down the pike))

Aeolus Cleanslate: the French decided to beat the Americans at their own game. The cars for the French version were so large, they were removed and used as homes for French families in the region devastated in World War I

Jimmy Branagh: WHoa!

Viv Trafalgar: wow

Wolf Copperfield: o.o

Aeolus Cleanslate: another one I wish I could have seen, demolished in 1937 to build a mall

Sheryl Skytower: ooh... that'd be a nice build! *snorgles*

Aeolus Cleanslate: ...

Wolf Copperfield: typical french

Breezy Carver: grins

Breezy Carver: now now

Wolf Copperfield giggles.

Wolf Copperfield: what? we all know a mall beets a 100 meter feris wheel

Aeolus Cleanslate: the centrepiece of the Palais D'Optique was the largest refracting telescope ever built

Elina Koskinen: at least it didn't burn down...

Breezy Carver: we might do a fair again wiff them someday laughs ..

Aeolus Cleanslate: immense, and open to the public

Aeolus Cleanslate: noteworthy from 1900 -Talking films, escalators,

Linus Lacombe: Too bad they didn't just put the stores in the ferris wheeel cars...first ever ferris mall

Aeolus Cleanslate: Rudolf Diesel exhibited his diesel engine, running on peanut oil.

Ghilayne Andrew: that would be wonderful good fun

Wolf Copperfield: now THAT would have been interesting

Aeolus Cleanslate: the Human Zoo made another appearance - again hugely popular

Ghilayne Andrew: Linus... now there's an idea....

Aeolus Cleanslate: Campbell's Soup was awarded a gold medal (an image of which still appears on its label). So - fifty years have gone by, almost exactly. Fairs are a common occurrence, more or less but then another event creeps in - the Olympic Games. Iin 1900, a sideshow to the fair, even more so in 1904 in St Louis. Fairs were increasingly used as propaganda

Edward Pearse: Unlike the Olympics....

Linus Lacombe: lol @ mr Pearse

Aeolus Cleanslate: and after WWI, the idea of industrial and military and imperial might became decidedly passe. The Olympics were kinder and gentler, by comparison
Aeolus Cleanslate: and slowly eclipsed their more materialistic forebears

Charlemagne Allen: everything's relative....

Aeolus Cleanslate: while providing a forum for the same nationalist/competitive ideas. Of course by the mid-20th century the same could be said about the Olympics, but they are arguably the legacy of the Fairs - as is Epcot. Not only was it inspired by the format of the Worlds Fairs dating back to 1851. Its architecture was directly related. As Fairs became showcases for national supremacy, they also suggested how nations would be *in the future*. And Disney took that sucker home

Viv Trafalgar: hah

Viv Trafalgar: oh dear

Elilka Sieyes gets earwormed just looking at it.

Aeolus Cleanslate: folks - thanks so much for your attention!

Jimmy Branagh applauds.

Perryn Peterson: Applause!!

Elilka Sieyes applauds

Sheryl Skytower: yay!

Alexander Daffyd applauds

Wolf Copperfield: YAY!

Linus Lacombe: /PP

Elina Koskinen: Hurrah!

Jimmy Branagh: Yay!

Viv Trafalgar: ok before you start peppering the speakers with your questions

Beq Janus applauds

Charlemagne Allen applauds

Victor1st Mornington applauds

Perryn Peterson: Huzzzzzah!

Obedience Mactavish applaudes loudly

Edward Pearse applauds

Viv Trafalgar: and your applause

PJ Trenton: ''*·.¸ APPLAUSE ¸.·*``

Aeolus Cleanslate: I'm amazed you all stuck with me! thanks again!

Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´

Saffia Widdershins: Thank you Mr Clenslate! That was fascinating!

Obedience Mactavish: Oh that was wonderful, thank you so much

Annechen Lowey: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´

Jimmy Branagh: Great job speakers!

Viv Trafalgar gets rolled over by the applause

Jana Wizenheim: braaavo

Viv Trafalgar: I have a few announcements!

Linus Lacombe helps Ms Trafalger up from the ground

Viv Trafalgar: and then we will have questions

Edward Pearse hates being hit with the clap

Ghilayne Andrew cheers Mr. Cleanslate enthusiastically!

Viv Trafalgar: First, thank you so very much Mr. Cleanslate and Ms Carver - you are phenomenal speakers and guests. Thank you to everyone here for being a fantastic audience! Please remember that the speakers jar goes directly to the speakers, and also beside the stage you will find The Carousel of 1893. This wonderful Carousel is a music box complete with the Death March theme created by New Bababge’s very own Canolli Capalini.

Perryn Peterson: HUZZAH!

Beq Janus: May I add that you can support the Salon itself by contributing at the sign at the door here

Viv Trafalgar: Commissioned by Breezy Carver To remind all of the wonders of The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition Midway in Chicago. We hope you enjoy it for years to come ………….

Sheryl Skytower: *snorgles*

Victor1st Mornington: ohhhhhhh :)

Aeolus Cleanslate applauds

Linus Lacombe: fatTASTic!

Viv Trafalgar: please do pick up your copy of this phenomenal craft

Viv Trafalgar: now. back to our speakers

Viv Trafalgar: who has questions?

Edward Pearse: Copy of what?

Aeolus Cleanslate: ((gorgeous, Miss Capalini))

Edward Pearse: Ah down there

Viv Trafalgar: just beside the exhibitionism poster to the left of the stage

Wolf Copperfield: it is beautiful

Viv Trafalgar: it is exquisite

Breezy Carver: and it plays the death march

Sheryl Skytower: huzzah!

Saffia Widdershins: wonderful!

Edward Pearse: Yes I haz a question

Breezy Carver: so you all dont forget Dr Holmes

Breezy Carver: grins

Viv Trafalgar: Please Mr. Pearse

Linus Lacombe: :-)

no name Jimmy chuckles.

Viv Trafalgar: (yes i have a few regardingDr Holmes))

Breezy Carver: who knows . i wasnt able to say what happen to him

Edward Pearse: Mr. C, when was the last of the Fairs held?

Breezy Carver: perhaps he is on his way

Breezy Carver: to babbage !!

Viv Trafalgar: meep!

Breezy Carver: grins

Aeolus Cleanslate: well technically they're still going on

Breezy Carver: indeed !

Aeolus Cleanslate: there is an international body that makes them "official"

Edward Pearse: Are they still called World Fairs?

Edward Pearse: Ah

Breezy Carver: (( you will all have to read the book ))

Sheryl Skytower: we do need a build of his "Castle" for Hallowween somewhere...

Aeolus Cleanslate: they are - if they're official

Elina Koskinen: Excuse me, bed time for this Holmes ;)

Aeolus Cleanslate: but in many ways they lost their cultural importance after 1968

Elina Koskinen: Thanks all, and goodnight!

Aeolus Cleanslate waves

Edward Pearse: Ta ta

Jimmy Branagh: Noight sir!

Jana Wizenheim: bye holmesie

Viv Trafalgar: Good night sir!

Viv Trafalgar: Why do you think things trended big at exhibitions Mr. Cleanslate?

Alexander Daffyd nods politly to those leaving

Aeolus Cleanslate: apparently Brisbane may get the 2020 fair... *grin*

Wolf Copperfield: oooh

Edward Pearse: Ahhhhh

Jana Wizenheim: you know about franz reichelt?

Jasper Kiergarten: apologies if I've plowed into anyone

Edward Pearse now remembers "Expo '88"

Aeolus Cleanslate nods - and London 2000

Charlemagne Allen: i was wondering about the 1851 fax machine...

Obedience Mactavish: Perhaps it hadsometing to do with the national pride issues Miss Trafalger?

Viv Trafalgar: ok too many questions

Viv Trafalgar: Miss Andrew will you keep track?

Viv Trafalgar: I have Miss Wizenheim, Miss Allen, and whom else?

Ghilayne Andrew: Miss Mactavish

Viv Trafalgar: Exactly

Obedience Mactavish smiles

Viv Trafalgar: and then i have 10,000 more questions

Viv Trafalgar: Miss Wizenheim - please

Jana Wizenheim: you know about franz reichelt?

PJ Trenton: Hello Miss Underwood

Viv Trafalgar looks at Mr. Cleanslate and Miss Carver for an answer

Linus Lacombe: I would like to be added to the question list too if possible

Aeolus Cleanslate: I'm sorry I don't

Viv Trafalgar: Certainly Mr. Lacombe

Wolf Copperfield: well, i must be going..

Jana Wizenheim: he made a parachute test from the eiffel tower in 1912

Ghilayne Andrew nods to Mr. Lacombe.

Breezy Carver: oh sorry

Elegia Underwood bows to Mr Trenton.

Breezy Carver: what was the question grins

Wolf Copperfield: Good day, and wonderful presentation!

Sheryl Skytower: "nite, all - great session and my adorations to the speakers!!!

Viv Trafalgar: Like base jumpers do Miss Wizenheim?

Linus Lacombe: From me?

Breezy Carver: ya *smiles*

Viv Trafalgar: Night Sheryl - thank you for coming

Sheryl Skytower: *grabs piece of cake on the way out* :)

Jimmy Branagh: Night Miss Sheryl!

Jana Wizenheim: the funny thing is, there still exists a video footage

Sheryl Skytower: nom nom nom..... good night, all!

Viv Trafalgar: Miss Wizenheim, then Miss Allen, then Miss Obedience, then Mr. Lacombe

Breezy Carver: Yes there is a good deal

Edward Pearse: Night night Dwaggins

Linus Lacombe: Ah...I am wondering if there has been any consideration given to a Steamlands exposition..

Charlemagne Allen: i need to run

Ghilayne Andrew: Your question after Miss Mactivish, Mr. Lacombe.

Linus Lacombe: ops

Breezy Carver: i will post a bunch on my blog grins *smiles*

Charlemagne Allen: wonderful lecture Mr. Cleanslae and Mrs. Carver

Viv Trafalgar: yes please both of you post on your blogs your gorgeous slides -

Viv Trafalgar: and what are the link addresses?

Aeolus Cleanslate: erm, I haven't posted mine yet

Viv Trafalgar: :D

Viv Trafalgar: well please let us know

Aeolus Cleanslate: should I do JPGs or powerpoint?

Aeolus Cleanslate: or both?

Ghilayne Andrew: do you know where we might see the footage Miss Wizenheim

Viv Trafalgar: we will post them with the transcript at http://aethersalon.blogspot.com

Breezy Carver: grins well .. thats something that always can be Proposed although New Babbage just did a nice one and may plan .. do something local in 2010 looks at Mr Cleanslate

Viv Trafalgar: in the next few days

Jana Wizenheim: one moment

Obedience Mactavish: Both please Mr. Cleanslate, that was an amazing presentation

Aeolus Cleanslate: I think a Steamlands Fair would be awesome

Breezy Carver: grins

Aeolus Cleanslate: thank you Miss Mactavish - and congratulations

Aeolus Cleanslate smiles

Obedience Mactavish: Sir, of all the Fairs, which in your opinion was the most impressive? And thank you.

Jasper Kiergarten: excellent presentations, both oy you!

Obedience Mactavish smiles

Breezy Carver: well After Mr Cleanslate gets charge of the Sceince and .. umm .. steam build

Breezy Carver: SUre *smiles*

Beq Janus: !hug Jed

Jana Wizenheim: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BepyTSzueno

Aeolus Cleanslate: well I'm partial to 1851, Miss Mactavish, but I think 1851 would have to take the cake

Beq gives Jedburgh30 a big hug.

Edward Pearse: There was a steampunk inventors Exhibition held a few years back but nothing recently

Aeolus Cleanslate: sorry - I'm partial to 1889

Obedience Mactavish: And why is that?

Ghilayne Andrew: 'Miss Wizenheim is searching for footage, Miss Allen, Miss Mactavish, Mr. Lacombe.

Jana Wizenheim: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BepyTSzueno

Jimmy Branagh: Oy've got to runn too, all. Thanks very much Miss Breezy an' Mr. Cleanslate, an' Miss Viv faw sponserin' it an' awl!

Breezy Carver: grins i am a 1893 gal myself

Jimmy Branagh: Night now!

Aeolus Cleanslate: well I think 1851 was so far ahead of its time -

no name Jim waves

Breezy Carver: the most scandles really the chicago way

Aeolus Cleanslate: technologically and culturally

Obedience Mactavish: ah, with things like the fax machine

Viv Trafalgar: Night Jimmy!

Aeolus Cleanslate: and the Palace itself

Ghilayne Andrew: Thank you, Miss Wizenheim!

Jana Wizenheim: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Reichelt

Aeolus Cleanslate: a huge leap forward

Viv Trafalgar: oh perfect!

Aeolus Cleanslate: but they all have their moments and charms, no doubt

Jana Wizenheim: a short info on wiki, too

Breezy Carver: each one was really when you think of time and years

Aeolus Cleanslate: I think the way they fit in with history is fascinating

Breezy Carver: agreed

Aeolus Cleanslate: in context, each one is amazing

Breezy Carver: we are junkies on the topics

Obedience Mactavish smiles, 'You move me to learn more sir. That in itself is really wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your passion.

Aeolus Cleanslate: and worth time traveling back to - should I get the chance

Breezy Carver: topics can you all tell *smiles*

Ghilayne Andrew smiles. "Your question, Miss Allen?"

Jana Wizenheim: the footage is really short - but amazing

Obedience Mactavish: And you as well Miss Breezy

Breezy Carver: i think thats what makse them special

Breezy Carver: that they are short

Breezy Carver: leaves you wanting more

Breezy Carver: stays with YOU

Breezy Carver: haunts YOU *smiles*

Breezy Carver: each build calls you to look deeper

Obedience Mactavish: You are correct

Ghilayne Andrew looks around for Miss Allen.

Breezy Carver: great marketing

Breezy Carver: gm should try it

Obedience Mactavish: I found many interesting things in the whole presentation.

Viv Trafalgar: I think she's gone

Aeolus Cleanslate: fax machine

Obedience Mactavish: besides that

Obedience Mactavish smiles

Obedience Mactavish: the sheer amount of effort put into something they knew would not last

Viv Trafalgar: hmmm

Breezy Carver: you know i think Mr Cleanslate would agree concure rather its a wonderful topic sort of YOU cant put it down

Aeolus Cleanslate: true

Ghilayne Andrew nods. "Mr. Lancome was after Miss Mactavish

Obedience Mactavish: but the ripple of all of them still trickle down to us today. I for one love Hersy's chocloate!

Obedience Mactavish: oh my, do excuse me.

Obedience Mactavish smiles and falls silent

Aeolus Cleanslate grins

Viv Trafalgar: chuckles, not at all Miss McTavish

Viv Trafalgar: you are quite fine

Ghilayne Andrew: If he is yet present?

Linus Lacombe: I fear I blurted out my question...or comment rather...out of turn...but it was well taken. :-) Thank you

Viv Trafalgar: other questions?

Elilka Sieyes: I have an entirely trivial one...

Viv Trafalgar: I wonder how much research has been done about this other Holmes - the Chicago Holmes - piles of it?

Breezy Carver: grins they are still looking into him. To this day truth! I think he is an over sight. Too many dont even know about him. He was secret for decades.

Jasper Kiergarten: facinating character, indeed

Edward Pearse: I'm sure the aetherweb could answer that Mr. Holmes :-)

Jasper Kiergarten: so able to charm, true to a serial killer

Breezy Carver: he has his own site

Obedience Mactavish: One has to wonder about the female serial killers

Jana Wizenheim: what was his name?

Breezy Carver: hhholmes.com

Breezy Carver: that was not his real name

Viv Trafalgar worries a bit at Miss Mactavish

Edward Pearse: Heh. Apparently turned up in an episode of Supernatural :-)

Breezy Carver: i have his real name if YOU would like

Linus Lacombe: I would love to look Holmes up in a census...see who was living with and around him in the various censuses

Obedience Mactavish smiles blandly, and winks at Miss Trafalgar.

Viv Trafalgar grins somewhat uncomfortably

Ghilayne Andrew smiles. "Dr. Watson, your question was next?"

Jedburgh30 Dagger looks stern

Elilka Sieyes: Ah, it is entirely trivial, and does no justice to these masterful presentations but....

Elilka Sieyes: A medal...for soup?

Aeolus Cleanslate: haha!

Linus Lacombe: :-)

Perryn Peterson: Aye, and for chocolate as well...

Jedburgh30 Dagger: it's what made Pabst "blue ribbon"

Ghilayne Andrew: ok... now the chocolate I can get behind.

Aeolus Cleanslate: remember, before refrigeration, the idea of exported *prepared* food was extremely odd. Most canned goods were poor, and spoiled rapidly. Better than raw food, but not by much

Edward Pearse: Soup in a tin that you didn't have to make from scratch would have been rare

Aeolus Cleanslate: exactly. So *any* food of any quality in a can was remarkable

Ghilayne Andrew: that didn't kill you

Aeolus Cleanslate: and for its day, Campbell's wasn't terrible. The brand was premium until fairly recently, actually

Linus Lacombe: So it was not so much the quality of the soup but rather the novelty of living to tell about it after consuming it...

Aeolus Cleanslate laughs - exactly

Obedience Mactavish: it still isn't bad, who doesn't like tomato soup?

Edward Pearse: I've got a lovely book from the 1890s telling you how to tell whether the meat you had was still able to be used and how to scrape off the blue bits

Linus Lacombe does NOT like tomato soup

Aeolus Cleanslate: !! you're all extremely kind

Jana Wizenheim: warhol liked it

Elilka Sieyes grins "Thank you, I did wonder at it!"

Keithen Darkfold HATES tomatoe soup aswel

Aeolus Cleanslate: folks - this has been wonderful, but I'm afraid I must make my departure...

Ghilayne Andrew nods to Miss Darkfold.

Edward Pearse quite likes pumpkin soup

Aeolus Cleanslate: RL calls

Jasper Kiergarten: good day Aeo

Aeolus Cleanslate: thanks again!

Linus Lacombe: Thank you for the fine presentation...both presenters!

Jana Wizenheim: bye

Keithen Darkfold: oh my pumpkin soup?

Breezy Carver: AE thank YOU soo much

Jasper Kiergarten: great presentaitions, both of you!

Breezy Carver: grins at YOU

Keithen Darkfold: yes very well shown!

Viv Trafalgar: Huge applause mr cleanslate!

Aeolus Cleanslate: excellent work - everyone. Breezy - it was an honor to share the stage

Elilka Sieyes applauds the pair.

Keithen Darkfold claps

Aeolus Cleanslate waves

Ghilayne Andrew: Thank you both... that was a fascinating presentation... and many thanks to Viv who arranges all this so the rest of us can enjoy.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: applauds

Obedience Mactavish claps

Ghilayne Andrew applauds!

Perryn Peterson: Huzzah once more !!

Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´

Obedience Mactavish: Thank you both so much

Saffia Widdershins applauds

Viv Trafalgar: Are there any more questions for Miss Carver?

KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds

Viv Trafalgar: I will notify on the new babbage ning when the transcript is availalbe

Ghilayne Andrew: With pictures, I hope?

Viv Trafalgar: and please do not miss next month's salon

Viv Trafalgar: yes i hope so!

Viv Trafalgar: Next month ...

Ghilayne Andrew: and Miss Wizenheim's video clip

Viv Trafalgar: i shouldn't say now

Ghilayne Andrew: it's amazing

Viv Trafalgar: I should say in a few days, maybe... weeks

Ghilayne Andrew: oh, just tease us a little, Viv.

Viv Trafalgar: oh yes

Viv Trafalgar: mhm

Viv Trafalgar: this was a stunning salon and i'm happy to just bask in it a bit

Viv Trafalgar: it was a wonderful finish to our first year

Elilka Sieyes grins

Jedburgh30 Dagger: woohoo

Saffia Widdershins: That was fascibating

Viv Trafalgar: and the next salon will be our first anniversary salon

Edward Pearse: A whole year

Viv Trafalgar: the topic will be Whimsy!

Ghilayne Andrew beams!

Viv Trafalgar: and the speakers

Viv Trafalgar: ... well what do you think Breezy, should I tell them?

Ghilayne Andrew: YES!

Breezy Carver: yes

Ghilayne Andrew laughs and blushes slightly.

Viv Trafalgar: aw. you sure?

Breezy Carver: YES

Viv Trafalgar: it's hard on them to have to follow you and Mr. Cleanslate

Breezy Carver: makes faces

Victor1st Mornington chuckles

Viv Trafalgar: The speakers for Next month's salon will be Dame Ordinal Malaprop and Miss Hyasynth Tiramisu.

Breezy Carver: plays with the music box

Viv Trafalgar: :D

Breezy Carver: grins

Ghilayne Andrew: ooooooooo

Ghilayne Andrew: ok.

Viv Trafalgar: And we will recognize all of our speakers from this year at the start of the event

Edward Pearse: That's got to be the most spritely funeral march I've ever heard

Breezy Carver: Awww

Viv Trafalgar: with a special treat

Breezy Carver: thats great sensation .. Big smile

Ghilayne Andrew laughs at Mr. Pearse and nods.

Obedience Mactavish: Thank you all again.

Linus Lacombe: It is perhaps for a wicked witch?

Edward Pearse: Well I must be off. Thanks again for a wonderful Salon

Breezy Carver: aww

Viv Trafalgar: Thank you so much for coming! Edward good to see you this side of daylight

Edward Pearse grins

Ghilayne Andrew smiles and nods. "It was delightful seeing you again, Mr. Pearse. I must be heading along home, as well."

Edward Pearse: This morning rubbish will kill me

Victor1st Mornington: i must be off as well folks :) work calls at the studio in clockhaven :)

Keithen Darkfold: Aswell as me, the clinic calls!

Keithen Darkfold: Very good presentation!

Jasper Kiergarten: thank you Breezy, that was most informative

Jasper Kiergarten: I'm a fan of the 93 fair myself :)

Linus Lacombe: What a sweet little carousel!

Viv Trafalgar: it's stunning

Linus Lacombe: Thank you all who played a part in the event for a wonderful set of lectures!