Old Postcards - Franco-British Exhibition, London 1908

The Franco-British Exhibition of 1908 was held to celebrate the "entente cordiale" which had been signed by Britain and France in 1904. The exhibition was housed in an area west of London now called White City. Nearby, the White City Stadium was constructed for the Olympic Games held in the same year. Originally scheduled for Rome, the venue had to be changed to London because of the devastation of Naples by an eruption of Vesuvius - the funds for the Olympics were instead used to rebuild Naples. (The White City stadium was later used for athletics and greyhound racing, and was demolished in 1985). A new tube station was built at Wood Lane - this opened to coincide with the opening of the Exhibition on May 14 1908. The opening ceremony was performed by the Prince of Wales - later King George V - in pouring rain.The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and was the largest exhibition of its kind in Britain. It was the first international exhibition co-organised and sponsored by two countries. It covered an area of some 140 acres, including an artificial lake, surrounded by an immense network of white buildings in elaborate (often Oriental) styles.

A large number of postcards was produced during 1908. We have reproduced a few here, and we have about 60 on our website, Postcards of the Past, which you may see by following the links below.
(The above by kind permission of "Postcards of the Past")