Fair

Fair, James Graham, 1831-94, American financier, b. near Belfast, Ireland. He emigrated to America as a child, grew up on an Illinois farm, and went west in 1851 in search of gold. In partnership with J. W. Mackay, J. C. Flood, and William S. O'Brien, he made a large fortune from the silver of the Comstock Lode. He was U.S. senator from Nevada from 1881 to 1887.

fair, market exhibition at which producers, traders, and consumers meet either to barter or to buy and sell goods and services. Before the development of transportation and marketing, fairs furnished the primary opportunity for the exchange of merchandise, and served as centers of community social life. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans the days of the public market were also used to announce new public laws. In early Christian times special occasions for marketing were frequently attached to religious gatherings, notably those of pilgrims coming to a town to celebrate a special feast. In the Middle Ages fairs were the major means of exchanging commodities not produced for subsistence. Fairs were incorporated by royal charter and had their own officials, laws, and courts. Major trade routes affected the growth of individual fairs; among the most prominent were those of Geneva, Antwerp, Leipzig, Madrid, Burgundy, Lyons, Bordeaux, Novgorod, and Sturbridge and Bartholomew Fair in England. Of the variety of goods traded at such fairs, cloth was probably the most important. The volume of trade was so great that by the 15th cent. some fair towns became banking centers and were subjected to special regulations. With the breaking of the manorial system, commerce became an expanding and regular part of economic life. Trade fairs declined and to a large extent were replaced by outdoor and indoor general markets. In the 17th cent. pleasure fairs, dominated by entertainments such as plays, became popular. The exposition, combining entertainment and commerce, flourishes today. A variety of advanced industrial wares (such as computers) are exhibited, and important technological innovations are displayed. International trade fairs, devoted solely to commercial display and directed toward businessmen, have also become popular since World War II. Agricultural fairs—held to improve farming methods, stocks, and crops—have been particularly important in the history of the United States. Many states and counties still maintain annual fairs, though some have been discontinued. In recent years, specialized fairs, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, have taken on international significance.

or trade fair

Temporary market organized to promote trade, where buyers and sellers gather to transact business. Trade fairs are organized at regular intervals, generally at the same location and time of year. They are especially common in Europe and Asia, where nearly every country has at least one major annual international exposition. They range in scope from those dealing with one industry or branch of industrial production to general exhibits of goods and merchandise. Trade shows and conventions confined to a single industry or even to a specialized segment of an industry have become increasingly common.

Learn more about trade show with a free trial on Britannica.com.

In the U.S., any law allowing manufacturers of brand-name or trademarked goods to fix the actual or minimum resale prices of these goods. (Elsewhere the practice is called price maintenance.) Fair trade laws were passed by many states during the Great Depression in an effort to protect independent retailers from price-cutting by large chain stores and consequent loss of employment in distributive trades, but most were later repealed at the state level. Critics argued that such laws restricted competition; the complexity of post-World War II marketing channels also made enforcement impracticable. In 1975 the few that remained in existence were repealed by an act of Congress.

Learn more about fair trade law with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Temporary market where buyers and sellers gather to transact business. Fairs are held at regular intervals, generally at the same location and time of year. An important form of commerce before the Industrial Revolution, fairs solved the problem of distribution and made possible the demonstration of arts and crafts and the sale and barter of goods. They were a fixture of the Roman Empire and medieval Europe, where they were held at major caravan crossroads and near religious festivals. The rules of the fairs eventually became the basis of European business law. Fairs began to die out as cities grew larger and transportation networks became more extensive, though some continued to exist as religious festivals or recreational events. County, agricultural, and livestock fairs are still held in many countries. The trade fair or trade show, often an international event in which exhibitors from one industry display their goods, gained popularity in the 20th century.

Learn more about fair with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Spanish Felipe

(born April 8, 1605, Valladolid, Spain—died Sept. 17, 1665, Madrid) King of Spain (1621–65) and of Portugal (as Philip III, 1621–40). He succeeded his father, Philip III, and left the administration of his rule to his chief ministers, the duke de Olivares (1621–43) and the duke's nephew Luis Méndez de Haro (1643–61). Spain's industry and commerce declined, and wars against Holland, France, and Germany further drained Spain's economy. Portugal regained its independence (1640), and Holland was lost by the Peace of Westphalia (1648). A poet and patron of the arts, Philip was the friend and frequent subject of Diego Velázquez.

Learn more about Philip IV with a free trial on Britannica.com.

See Fair