1853 New York Crystal Palace

The New York Crystal Palace exposition was America’s first world’s fair. Exhibitors from around the world showed off their latest machinery, consumer products, and raw materials.

The catalog of the 1853 New York Crystal Palace listed most of the items on display and indicated where they might be found.

More about the exposition and its catalogs

This tool allows you to list the items on display based on their country of origin, and item type (called a "class" in the catalog).

To see what was on display and where in the fair it was located, choose country and product class of interest.

To select more than one country or class, hold down the command (⌘) or control (ctrl) key.

The authors of this tool are: Brian Croxall, Emily Esten, Steffani Gomez, Steven Lubar, and Patrick Rashleigh.

1853 New York Crystal Palace

Select from the Catalog

Items on Display

Position in the building

First floor

Second floor

Catalog entries

USA
UK
Germany
France
Belgium
Austria
British-Guiana
Holland
Italy
Newfoundland
Switzerland
Swedish-Norway

Minerals, Mining and Metallurgy
Chemical and Pharmaceutical
Substances used as Food
Vegetable and Animal Substances
Machines and Railway
Machinery and Tools for Manufacturing
Civil Engineering, Architectural and Building
Naval Architecture and Military Engineering
Agricultural, Horticultural, and Dairy Machinery
Philosophical Instruments (including Daguerreotypes)
Manufacturers of Cotton
Manufactures of Wool
Manufactures of Silk
Manufactures of Flax and Hemp
Mixed Fabrics
Leather, Furs, and Hair
Paper and Stationery, Types, Printing and Bookbinding
Dyed and Printed Fabrics
Tapestry &c.
Wearing Apparel
Cutlery and Edge Tools
Iron, Brass, Pewter, and General Hardware
Work in Precious Metals
Glass Manufactures
Porcelain and other Ceramic Manufactures
Decorative Furniture and Upholstery
Manufactures in Marble, Slate, etc.
Other Manufactures from Animal and Vegetable Substances
Miscellaneous Manufactures
Musical Instruments