Le Globe Céleste
Views and plans of five international exhibitions held in Paris between 1855 and 1900.
Paris hosted 16 international exhibitions between 1798 and 1900. Of these, five were given the label “Exposition Universelle” and it is these that are represented in this pack. The 53 different images in sepia on cream show plans, exhibition halls and other views, each one named and dated at the foot. The legacy of these exhibitions is visible even today when one visits Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadéro, the Grand Palais, and so on. The Globe Céleste (KC), situated near the Eiffel Tower, was meant to be a major attraction at the 1900 exhibition but its renown was tarnished following an accident only a week after the exhibition opened when a walkway leading to it collapsed and at least five people were killed. The structure was not retained after the exhibition closed.
The present pack was issued on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in Seville in 1992 • see the box
Above: Le Globe Céleste commemorative deck made by Héron S.A., Mérignac, for Mijoke SARL (Michel Gomart), Villes-sur-Auzon, France, 1992. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 1 extra card in tuck box. Size: 63 x 88 mm.
By Roddy Somerville
France • Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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