Hiding the pickle at the 1893 World’s Fair

The dramatic merchandizing showcased at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition included a quirky subset of exhibits that might be described as “a blank made out of blank.” Much of it involved playing with food. Visitors could admire a Liberty Bell made out of citrus fruit, a Knight on horseback made out of prunes, a landscape painting made out of cereals and grasses, and a Venus de Milo statue made out of chocolate. One tasty display that was promised to fairgoers should have drawn large crowds … if they could find it.

A map made out of pickles

Announcements about a pickle map coming to the 1893 World’s Fair circulated as early as April 1892, when a syndicated news story reported that:

“A unique exhibit from Pennsylvania will be a map of the United States, eighteen by twenty-four feet, made entirely of pickles, vegetables, fruits etc., preserved by the company which makes the exhibit. The state lines will be accurately shown, and the lakes and rivers will be represented by vinegar. The larger cities will be indicated by spices. The whole will be covered by a single piece of plate glass, which is being specially made for this purpose. The expense of this interesting exhibit of the pickling and preserving industry will be $15,000.” [“World’s Fair Notes”]

Advertising copy such as this likely originated in the Columbian Exposition’s Department of Publicity and Promotion. Essentially the same story ran in hundreds of newspapers across the country for more than a year, though later versions usually reported a price tag of only $10,000. (Despite the deflation, this was still a hefty sum for a company exhibit, amounting to approximately $330,000 in 2022 dollars.) Additional information or updates did not find their way into the story, though the editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune did offer a wry comment that “Pennsylvania, in this pickle map, will not look natural unless it is set out with a few sour-kraut trees.”

Even though the boilerplate news story ran in scores of Pennsylvania newspapers, the identity of the company sponsoring this creative display was absent from nearly all. Such a remarkable exhibit certainly would have been a source of local pride. Who was sponsoring this peculiar pickle panorama? The Pittsburg Dispatch revealed on May 7, 1892, that it was “a local firm” and the next day reported that the H. J. Heinz Company would be sponsoring what should be “probably the most unique exhibit” at the Fair: “a map of the United States made entirely of pickles and preserves while the rivers will be made out of vinegar.” The paper offered additional information about what may have become the Achille’s heal of the audacious display: the glass cover, which was enormous for that time.

“This sheet of glass is one-half larger than any ever attempted before. The Ford Plate Glass Company was afraid to take the contract as they said they would probably spoil an immense amount of glass before a perfect plate will be made. For the sake of the advertisement the Fords have agreed to bear half the loss and the Heinz Company will bear the other half. This piece of glass will weigh over two tons.”

In a confusing reversal, the same paper reported on November 21, 1892, that it would be a Philadelphia preserving works exhibiting the map of vinegared America.

Once the fair opened, no new coverage of the cucumbers emerged, no company publicly claimed credit for their creative cartography, and no visitor is known to have left a record of having been amazed by a model landscape of spicy cities and rivers of acetic acid.

Where was the pickle map?

Several guide books list the map made of pickles as being part of the Pennsylvania pavilion in Agricultural Building, but simply reprint the same publicity copy description of the exhibit that had circulated for a year. The Time-Saver, which rated notable exhibits on a scale of one to three, listed only Pennsylvania’s “artistic design Liberty Bell in cereals, hung in tower of grain and grasses.” Several modern books about the Columbian Exposition (Bolotin 76, Larson 248) repeat the claim of a pickle map, but seem to be using theses guide books as their source.

No newspaper articles yet found offer a first-hand account of the alleged exhibit. The closest thing to a primary report appears in the series of articles written by journalist Marian Shaw for a Fargo, North Dakota, newspaper. While she certainly did attend the Fair in Chicago, her concise report on the pickle map seems to be simply recycling the older publicity material: “A unique exhibit by a Pennsylvania firm is a map of the United States made of pickles, in which the rivers and lakes are represented by vinegar, and the larger cities by spices.” [Shaw 33]

Exhaustive accounts written after the Fair by Bancroft, Cameron, Johnson, and Shepp about the exposition exhibits each describe the Pennsylvania display in Agricultural Hall, but do not mention a pickle map. [Bancroft 348–49] [Cameron 310] [Johnson 9–10] [Shepp 164] Even the official Catalogue of the Exhibits of the State of Pennsylvania has no entry for any display of a cucumber cartograph.

Tudor Jenks’ fictional account of children touring the fairgrounds serves as a travelogue of actual sights. When reaching the Agricultural Building, her character finds some amazing pickles … in jars: “Harry was so pleased with these artistic groceries that his sketch-book came out at once. The pickle-jar was covered with white paper draped in graceful lines and tied down with a twisted purple cord and tassels!” [Jenks 145] But no pickle map for the kids to see.

James B. Campbell’s history of the Columbian Exposition includes a section on “Obscure Exhibits” and notes that “some of the most interesting things to be seen in the Agricultural building were found in the galleries … pickles could be had in all designs and styles.” [Campbell 361] If there had been a huge map made of pickles, it would have been a big dill.

Was Heinz hiding the pickle?

While Pennsylvania’s state pavilion stood on the ground floor of the Agricultural Building, companies exhibiting canned foods and pickles were located in the less prominent gallery level. Both the H. J. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh, and Charles Richardson of Fredericksburg, were prominent exhibitors of pickles.” [Johnson 38] Heinz famously attracted visitors up to the gallery by distributing around the fairgrounds invitations to see their display. The small cards promised visitors a reward for hiking up the stairs: a tiny watch charm shaped like a pickle. Although crowds swarmed the Heinz booth to pick up the green trinkets, reports make no mention of anyone seeing a pickle map up in the gallery.

Hiding a pickle ornament in a Christmas tree seems to have originated in the late 1800s and became a tradition among the Pennsylvania Dutch. Perhaps someone from the Keystone State thought they would fool fairgoers by hiding the promise of a pickle map in publicity materials for the 1893 World’s Fair? Or, perhaps the promised display failed to be built because of over ambitious plate-glass design? Lacking any evidence that it was exhibited, the pickle map of the United States will be preserved in the files of the imagined structures and displays destined for the Dream City of 1893.

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SOURCES

Bancroft, Hubert Howe The Book of the Fair. The Bancroft Company, 1893.

Campbell, James B. Campbell’s Illustrated History of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Volume II. M. Juul & Co., 1894.

Cameron, William E. The World’s Fair Being a Pictorial History of the Columbian Exposition. P.D. Farrell, 1893.

Catalogue of the Exhibits of the State of Pennsylvania and of Pennsylvanians at the World’s Columbian Exposition. Clarence M. Busch, 1893.

Flinn, John J. The Best Things to Be Seen at the World’s Fair. Columbian Guide Company, 1893.

Hamilton, W. E. The Time-Saver. W. E. Hamilton, 1893.

Jenks, Tudor The Century World’s Fair Book for Boys and Girls. The Century Co. 1893.

Johnson, Rossiter A History of the World’s Columbian Exposition Held in Chicago in 1893, Volume 3: Exhibits. D. Appleton and Co., 1897.

“Must Move at Once” Pittsburg (PA) Dispatch May 7, 1892, p. 2.

“A Philadelphia preserving works …” Pittsburg (PA) Dispatch Nov. 21, 1892, p. 4.

“Our Picayunes” New Orleans (LA) Times-Picayune Dec. 19, 1892, p. 4.

Rand, McNally & Co.’s Handbook of the Worlds Columbian Exposition. Rand, McNally & Co., 1893.

Shaw, Marian World’s Fair Notes: A Woman Journalist Views Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition. Pogo Press, 1992.

Shepp, James W.; Shepp, Daniel B. Shepp’s World’s Fair Photographed. Globe Bible Publishing, 1893.

Underwood, J. P. Best Things to See and How to Find Them. White City Publishing Company, 1893)

“A Unique Exhibit” Pittsburg (PA) Dispatch May 7, 1892, p. 2.

“World’s Fair Notes” Wilmington (DE) Morning News Apr. 18, 1892, p. 3.

The World’s Fair; Some of its Principal Sights and Exhibits. Columbia Novelty Publishing, 1892.