New books explore the colorful campus and souvenir coins of the Columbian Exposition and profile a host of people associated with the Fair, including architect Stanford White and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, photographer Alice Austen, exhibitors Nancy Green (who portrayed Aunt Jemima) and Louis Vuitton, and another investigation of H.H. Holmes. That devil also creeps into a supernatural thriller.

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NONFICTION

The World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago World’s Fair, A Walking Tour in Full Color by Dave Ford. Barnes & Noble Press, 2025. 180 pages. Paperback, $33.49. ISBN 9798341879676.

If you have ever wanted to take a tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, this is the book for you. Dave Ford guides readers through a well-researched and detailed walking tour of many of the exhibition palaces and other sights on the fairgrounds. Featured along the route are more than 300 never-before-seen-like-this photographs of the Fair, presented in full and authentic color. Using his thorough knowledge of the Exposition and modern tools (not AI!), Mr. Ford has carefully colored vintage photographs from sources such as The Magic City, Shepp’s World’s Fair Photographed, Official Views of The World’s Columbian Exposition by C.D. Arnold and others. The result is a rich and rewarding view of the Exposition, complemented by an engaging text and maps.

Striking History: The U.S. Mint at the Chicago World’s Fair by Robert Penn. Independently published, 2024. 75 pages. Hardcover, $24.95. ISBN 9798325275975.

From America’s first commemorative coins to the Columbian Exposition Award Medal, this monograph explores the historical and cultural significance behind one of the most influential events in numismatic history. The analysis of the U.S. Mint’s contributions to the Columbian Exposition also includes the key figures behind it.

Stan and Gus: Art, Ardor, and the Friendship That Built the Gilded Age by Henry Wiencek. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025. 320 pages. Hardcover, $30.00. ISBN 9780374162498. Paperback, $20.00. ISBN 9781250437914.

Architect Stanford White and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens maintained an intimate friendship and partnership that defined the art of the Gilded Age. Historian Henry Wiencek explores their personal and professional relationship of two men who contributed to the beauty of the 1893 World’s Fair.

The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic by Lindsey Stewart. Legacy Lit, 2025. 400 pages. Hardcover, $30.00. ISBN 9781538769508.

This crucial telling of U.S. history centering the Black women whose magic gave rise to the rich tapestry of American culture, wellness, and spirituality that we see today includes a study of the advertising character of Aunt Jemima, first presented to the public at the 1893 World’s Fair.

Too Good to Get Married: The Life and Photographs of Miss Alice Austen by Bonnie Yochelson. Empire State Editions, 2025. 288 pages. Hardcover, $39.95. ISBN 9781531509507.

Alice Austen embraced the rebellious spirit of the “New Woman,” a moniker given to those who defied expectations by pursuing athletics, higher education, or careers. As one of America’s earliest female photographers, she captured images of life in Gilded Age society. Many photographs she took during a visit to the Columbian Exposition survive in the collection of Historic Richmond Town. Yochelson’s analysis explores the life and times of a woman who has earned an important place in LGBTQ and photographic history.

From Louis to Vuitton by Assouline. Louis Vuitton, 2025. 250 pages. Hardcover, $250.00. ISBN 9781649803955.

Though Louis Vuitton is one of the most recognized names in the world of fashion, few know much about the man behind the label. Vuitton established his Parisian workshop in 1854, focusing on flat-topped trunks. His son Georges became the first to take the Louis Vuitton brand outside France, when he traveled by boat to exhibit at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago the year after his father’s death. A small part of this handsome volume shares this story.

The Devil’s Playground: H.H. Holmes, the 1893 Chicago Fair, and the Birth of Serial Murder in America by Wesley P. Velez. Independently published, 2025. 143 pages. Paperback, $11.99. ISBN 9798299004755.

A new addition to a full bookshelf about the alleged serial killer.

FICTION

City of Lights and Skulls by Kathryn Rose. Chateau Boho Books, 2025. 360 pages. Hardcover, $12.45. ISBN 9798991882705. Paperback, $7.40. ISBN 9798991882712.

Clara has infiltrated the scholastic secret society. Fernando works on the Ferris Wheel to pay back a business loan and is on a mission to destroy the Westinghouse electric lights on the fairgrounds. Together, they learn of a mystery in Chicago—one that powerful men are desperate to keep secret.

The Labyrinth of Confessed Lies by Dorian Aurelius Grimm. Independently published, 2025. 472 pages. Paperback, $21.99. ISBN 9798276335032.

In the gaslit shadow of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, H.H. Holmes isn’t just building a hotel; he is constructing a cage for an entity known only as Mr. Grin. A photographer named Minnie Williams captures the truth on silver halide—a six-eyed shadow living in the walls—and strikes a desperate bargain. To save the evidence, she must do the impossible: survive her own murder and exist as a “living lie,” slowly dissolving into the architecture to leave breadcrumbs across a century for the one person lonely enough to find them. Described as House of Leaves meets the historical grit of The Devil in the White City, this third and final volume in the MR. GRIN IS WATCHING series offers a dark and twisted reimagining of H.H. Holmes and the 1893 World’s Fair.