The Future on Display — The Graphic, 1881

This original wood engraving, published in The Graphic in 1881, documents the Paris Electrical Exhibition of 1881 — the first international exposition devoted entirely to electricity, and a defining moment in the public understanding of a technology that was about to transform the world.

The scenes are a vivid inventory of the electrical future as it appeared to a dazzled Victorian public: the Siemens electrical tramway running from the exhibition to the Place de la Concorde via overhead wires; a photographic saloon where portraits were taken by electric light; M. Trouvé's electric boat circling the moat around the great lighthouse; and a remarkable set of electrical musicians, including mechanical piano fingers controlled by the performer at any distance — prompting The Graphic to observe that Liszt could henceforth tour the world without leaving his own home.

The artist also captures the human comedy of the exhibition: visitors bewildered by galleries of simultaneously ringing bells; the crackle of sparks from the old cylinder machine; and a visitor being electrified in a modern contrivance, to the great amusement of the crowd.

• Publication: The Graphic, London
• Date: 1881
• Subject: Scenes from the Paris Electrical Exhibition — Siemens tramway, electric boat, photographic saloon, musical automata, electrical demonstrations
• Medium: Original wood engraving
• Size: Approximately 28 × 40 cm (11 × 16 inches)
• Scan: 350 dpi
• Condition: Original antique print — age-toning consistent with period. Any slight tears along the edges of the original print will be repaired using acid-free archival tape. No original prints will be sold where there is damage to the principal image area.

An exceptional piece for collectors of the history of technology, Victorian science, or Paris exhibition history.