Humans on display

What looks like a postage stamp is actually a poster stamp. This was a popular advertising and collecting medium from the 1870s onwards. What we see underneath the hand of the over-sized Brabantia figure, which symbolises Belgium here, are the ‘other’ peoples. In 1851 Europe invented the world fairs, which still exist today under the name EXPO. At the time, these were exhibitions showcasing technical and cultural progress. Yet people were also put on show with increasing frequency. At the 12th World Fair in Brussels in 1897, this phenomenon assumed unprecedented dimensions: a Congolese village was reconstructed on just under 100 hectares exhibition space. Alongside import products and stuffed ‘exotic’ animals, more than 250 women and men from the Congo were ‘displayed’ as a special attraction – and proved a great hit with the public.