ABSTRACT
The Great Nordic Exhibition was first and foremost a celebration of an event, the end of serfdom, occupying a paradigmatic status in the national Danish narrative. The popularity of the dairy and of the agricultural section in general should be seen in relation to the revolution taking place within Danish agriculture in the 1880s. The Copenhagen Industrial Association was created as a semi-political body in 1838 by leading manufacturers, businessmen, scientists, academics, political leaders, and a handful of master artisans. In its way, the displays of the 1888 Nordic Exhibition reveal the social, political, and economic complexities of the era, while also contributing to shaping an emerging and modern Danish identity. The main political aims of the Association were: international commerce, the introduction of a secondary school system offering professional training of the workforce, and abolition of the country's medieval guild system.
