Arndt:
 
In terms of general references that may lead to texts dealing more
exclusively with the 1851 exhibition, you might want to start with:
 
Allwood, John
1977  _The Great Exhibitions_. London: Studio Vista.
 
Benedict, Burton
1983   _The Anthropology of World's Fairs_. London and Berkeley:
        Scolar Press & the Lowie Museum of Anthropology
 
Rydell, Robert
1988  _All the World's a Fair_.  Chicago and London: The University of
        Chicago Press.
 
All of these discuss the 1851 show in terms of its role as the lineal
founder of the worlds fair genre and movement. The Rydell book has an
excellent bibliography of primary and secondary sources.  If you don't have
access to it, and time is not a big constraint, I will be happy to xerox it
and forward it to you by snail mail.   Just let me know.   The Benedict
Book (a thorough treatment of San Francisco's Panama Pacific International
Exposition of 1915 published in conjunction with an exhibit of the same
title) offers a good contextualization of worlds fairs as cultural
representations grounded in the political economy of colonialism and
industrialization.  I recommend it highly, especially if you're assembling
a museum exhibition of the same sort. (By the way, Benedict is an
anthropologist on the faculty of UC Berkeley.)  Good luck with your project.
 
Terri Alford Castaneda, Ph.D.
Carmichael, CA
E-mail:  [log in to unmask]