The Great Exhibitions
George Wallis was appointed a deputy commissioner for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and he successfully acted for several manufacturing districts and the whole of Ireland. During the period of the Exhibition he was Superintendent of the British textile division, and a deputy commissioner of juries.
Later he also was actively involved in preparation and overseeing of different international exhibitions: in 1853 he was one of the six commissioners sent by the government to the 1853 New-York International Exhibition, with additional duties to analyse the development of art and manufactures in America. Wallis reported that his 5,000 miles long tour embraced "the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Eastern Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio." From his report and that of Sir Joseph Whitworth on machinery was compiled ‘The Industry of the United States,’(1854).
In 1855, he was appointed Special Superintendent of British and Colonial manufactures which were displayed at the International 1855 Exhibition in Paris. He was then actively engaged in the British section of the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1862 and 1867. In the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery, there is a number of medals awarded to him by Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and Louis-Napoleon of France.
In 1869, he initiated similar South Staffordshire Industrial and Fine Arts Exhibition which was held at Wolverhampton.
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