The Smithsonian participated in major exhibitions such as the nation's Centennial at
Philadelphia in 1876, the Ohio Valley Centennial at Cincinnati in 1888, and the
World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. This activity was seen as "making
the work of the Museum known to the people of the Republic," and involvement in
these expositions furnished the Smithsonian with excellent opportunities to acquire
collections.
Congress appropriated funds to purchase objects for these expositions. As official
government projects, they represented another means of building the National
Collection. Curator S. R. Koehler bought some splendid prints for the exhibitions,
including the choicest old master prints in the collection. He showed these examples,
together with photomechanical specimens, to represent chronological and topical
sequences in the development of printed pictures. A selection of fine prints purchased
originally for the Cincinnati and Columbian expositions is displayed here.