Nova Scotia’s Contribution to the Great Paris Exhibition of 1867

Early in the New Year of 1867, Nova Scotians were flocking to the Council Chambers at the Provincial Building in Halifax to view a wonderful collection of the province’s most extraordinary achievements.

Inside the impressive room were hundreds of objects that had been carefully chosen to reflect Nova Scotia’s abundance of natural resources and the many skills of its proud people.

There were specimens of gold-bearing quartz that were a visible reminder of the thriving state of mining in the province. Other tables held the best of Nova Scotian fabrics and wool. There was earthenware from Elmsdale, Keith’s XXX beer, Digby cheese, and Annapolis honey. Halifax furriers showed many luxurious pelts, while Starr and Sons of Dartmouth had contributed several pairs of their uniquely designed skates.

And, of course, tied as Nova Scotia has been to the sea, it was considered important for the exhibits - which were destined for the Great Paris International Exhibition - to include diverse samples of the province’s fishing industry. Hundreds of specimens of Atlantic fish had been collected and preserved in spirits and then hermetically sealed in glass jars; other samples had been dried and placed in wooden barrels.

Early in the spring of 1867, more than 150 packing cases were loaded on steamers heading for the coast of France.

Heading to Paris were Dr. David Honeyman, the head of the Nova Scotia Commission responsible for the exhibits, along with three colleagues.

When the exhibits arrived in Paris, the four men found the exposition site in a chaotic state. The vast park grounds and its 46 miles of paths were a mud field and the bitterly cold weather apparently did little to improve the miserable conditions.

Inside the main...