During 1876, Signor Cagli had canvassed American and European industries to exhibit “manufactures of all kinds”,[6] which were to be grouped in 10 classes: alimentation, chemicals (perfume, medicine and surgical equipment), furniture, fabric and jewelry, transport vehicles and equipment, hardware, machinery, agriculture, science and education, and miscellany such as fire extinguishers.[4][5] Cagli's proposal was supported by the then-Colonial Secretary, Lord Carnarvon.[5]
The only countries and colonies with known recorded exhibitors include Great Britain, the Cape Colony, Natal, the Orange Free State, and Griqualand West.[5] However, representatives of the exhibition organizers were present and accepting submissions during the preceding months in "Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Turin and Amsterdam."[5] As such, it seems likely that exhibitors from France, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Netherlands also presented at the fair. Individual exhibitors included: Wertheim safes;[7] Taylor's sewing machines, who won a medal;[8] Sheffield-based Samuel Marshall, who showed hooks, hay knives, scythes and sheep shears;[9] and linen manufacturers Rylands & Sons, who won a prize (followed by another a year later at the Paris exhibition).[10]
After the exhibition, the main building was used as an assembly hall and a theatre, aptly called the Exhibition Theatre. In the afternoon of 21 February 1892, around 3:30 PM, carpenters and scenery painters were preparing for a new play when a fire broke out near the theatre entrance. In less than one hour, the entire building was destroyed, along with the adjoining Masonic Lodge and Native Affairs Office.[11]
^Pelle, Findling, ed. (2008). "Appendix D:Fairs Not Included". Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 424. ISBN978-0-7864-3416-9.
