ABSTRACT
Exhibitions had been widely supported by German reformers before 1851 as a means of educating producers about technology and markets. States and functionaries had begun to sponsor visits by manufacturers and artisans to exhibitions, request from them reports in return, and disseminate these through relevant publications and channels. The Exhibition's propaganda value was also recognized. It might persuade Prussian society of the benefits of modernization, present Prussia as the promoter of progress, and be applauded by liberals across Germany. The Great Exhibition generated an enormous amount of publicity, both at the time and later. In general, the vast majority of this literature did not concern itself with one specific country. The international Exhibition gave Semper a unique opportunity to contrast different styles and to adopt an anthropological approach to aesthetics. The Exhibition fuelled for years to come the calls of reformers for state-administered technological and aesthetic educational establishments along the lines of those found in Prussia and other German states.
