商品詳細

This is a facsimile reprint collection of various guides, catalogues and other publications published in conjunction with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, which was the largest international exposition to date. US governments and forty-three of their states, and sixty-two foreign nations in total exhibited at the Fair which celebrated the opening of the century of America. In addition to its scale, the Fair is now notoriously famous for its `human zoo' exhibits where some of native in habitants in the America's newly acquired territories like the Philippines and Puerto Rico were `displayed'. Japan was about to declare war against Russia and took this as a perfect outlet for the nation's propaganda and tried to show themselves as a member of the civilized world. Like the US and other countries, they, too, `exhibited' Ainu people at the Fair.

Today, academic interest in this exposition are growing widely and in response to the demand from the scholarly community, this collection makes available primary source materials for the first time. Together with the authoritative publications released by the secretariat, the collection pays special attention to Japan's participation and features catalogues of the Japanese exhibition and a very rare souvenir program of Belasco & Long's theatre production of a Japonism play.