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“Process exhibits” at the 1893 World’s Fair

A new article posted at History.com explores the evolution of how manufacturers exhibited their products at expositions. In “How Early World Fairs Put Industrial Revolution Progress on Display,” Elizabeth Yuko describes how exhibitors at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition used “process exhibits” to give fairgoers “the chance to witness firsthand how everything from glass to shoes to foods were made.” A view looking north along Columbia Avenue in the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. [Image from The Graphic [...]

By |2021-12-04T11:33:50-06:00December 4th, 2021|Categories: NEWS|0 Comments

Jun. 19, 2021–Jan. 9, 2022: “Chicago: When the Comics Came to Life” (Chicago Cultural Center)

Chicago’s role in the development of the early comic strip is the focus of a temporary exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center. Curated by artist and author Chris Ware, and Chicago Cultural Historian Emeritus, Tim Samuelson, “Chicago: When the Comics Came to Life” features the works of prominent Chicago artists and publishers from circa 1880 to 1960, with most artifacts coming from the curators’ personal collections. The vibrant and colorful story of the history of comics runs through the [...]

By |2022-01-25T07:43:20-06:00October 24th, 2021|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments

Oct. 8, 2021: “City on Fire” opens at the Chicago History Museum

Embers of the Great Chicago Fire continue to smolder. Stories of tragedy and triumph from October 8–10, 1871, and the years of rebuilding that followed have been cause for somber remembrance and jubilant celebration throughout the years, including at “Chicago Day” held at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Fire, the Chicago History Museum has opened a new permanent exhibit, “City on Fire: Chicago 1871." Several displays and artifacts connected to the 1893 [...]

By |2022-08-11T15:27:02-05:00October 16th, 2021|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (current)|Tags: , |0 Comments

“Jennie” survived the Great Chicago Fire and visited the 1893 World’s Fair

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition celebrated the twenty-second anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 with “Chicago Day” on October 9, 1893. With around three-quarter-of-a-million people filling the fairgrounds, it was thought to be the largest peaceful gathering in human history. Among the visitors was one special guest who had survived the Fire due to the dedication her “mother,” ten-year-old Fannie Belle Becker. The article below, from the October 10, 1893, issue of the Chicago Tribune, describes the [...]

By |2021-10-09T12:56:48-05:00October 9th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: |1 Comment

Sept. 21, 2021: World’s Fair Auction #39 closes

Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #39, now open for preview. Online bidding closes at 10:00 PM EST on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 21 through 71 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include several products commemorating various building of the White City: a china vase decorated with an image of the Horticultural Building; Report of the Committee on Awards World's Columbian Commission two-volume [...]

By |2021-09-12T12:43:33-05:00September 12th, 2021|Categories: ANTIQUES, EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

“The dearest spot on earth” at the 1893 World’s Fair

What some visitors thought of as exorbitant prices for food and lodging in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition became the stuff of legend. The fanciful tale told below, originally published in the July 2, 1895, Chicago Tribune and reprinted in newspapers across the country, captures one not-so-fond memory of the 1893 World’s Fair. We can only guess to the identity of the restaurant he had patronized. A photograph by Charles Dudley Arnold of the lovely Café [...]

By |2021-08-24T20:30:51-05:00August 29th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|0 Comments

Death of the Republic: The fiery end to the golden colossus of the 1893 World’s Fair

They toppled the Republic at dawn on August 28, 1896. As the first rays of the sun spread across Lake Michigan and into Jackson Park, a funeral pyre lit inside the colossus began to spread up the structure. A flash of light soon appeared in her raised left arm. On a pedestal in the lagoon, the ghostly goddess stood with impassive dignity as muffled cracking within her heralded impending doom. A halo of yellow light formed about her head, [...]

Changes to Jackson Park 1893-2021

Construction in and around the Obama Presidential Center site in Jackson Park began on Monday, August 16. The long-delayed project on 19.3 acres of Jackson Park is set to be completed in 2025. In April, we posted a static map showing the "Footprint of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park" and have now posted a YouTube video showing Jackson Park from 1893 World's Fair to Obama Presidential Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzbmUTu3Pf8

By |2021-08-17T19:35:38-05:00August 17th, 2021|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , |0 Comments

An original painting of the 1893 California State Building sells at auction

An original painting of the California State Building from the 1893 World’s Fair sold at auction for $2,800 on June 25, 2021. The 9.75-by-13.5-inch, unframed oil on canvas features the second largest state building (after that of Illinois) on the Columbian Exposition fairgrounds. Artist William Woodward (1859–1939), who served on the planning commission for his home state of Louisiana, depicted with impressionist flair a crowd passing in front the Mission Revival style building designed by architect A. Page Brown. [...]

By |2021-08-14T16:48:10-05:00August 15th, 2021|Categories: ANTIQUES, NEWS|Tags: |0 Comments
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