The (Im)Perfection of Rude Simplicity: Davy Crockett’s Descendant Visits the Hunter’s Cabin at the 1893 World’s Fair

Many visitors to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago on June 9, 1893, were eagerly trying to spot the Infanta Eulalia, the visiting Princess from Spain, as she toured the White City and Midway Plaisance. Meanwhile, just off the south end of the Wooded Island, a direct descendant of the legendary pioneer Davy Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) visited the quaint Hunter’s Cabin. Sponsored by Theodore Roosevelt and his Boone and Crockett Foundation and designed by prolific [...]

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Looking North from the South Colonnade (p. 84)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 84 – LOOKING NORTH FROM THE SOUTH COLONNADE LOOKING NORTH FROM THE SOUTH COLONNADE.—In the opinion of many people the most striking extended view to be had upon the Fair grounds was from the Obelisk, at the southern extremity of the South Canal, or better still, from the Colonnade immediately in its rear. From this point opened a vista nearly a mile in length terminated only by the beautiful [...]

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Brazil Building (p. 83)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 83 – THE BRAZIL BUILDING THE BRAZIL BUILDING.—The structure erected by the greatest of the South American Republics was what might have been expected from that great country. Brazil appropriated for the Columbian Exposition no less than $600,000, and of this sum $50,000 was expended on the building where all visitors were entertained and where were the official head-quarters of the commission. The edifice was in the form of [...]

By |2019-07-20T06:29:48-05:00July 21st, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Tales from the Swedish Café

Swedes from Chicago and around the world celebrated Sweden Day at the World’s Columbian Exposition on July 20, 1893. Many of the festive events took place at the beautiful Swedish Building. Nearby stood the Swedish Restaurant, which served as another site for Swedes to gather on the fairgrounds and as a concession to showcase Scandinavian fare to visitors from around the world. The Swedish Restaurant (also called the Swedish Café) was run by Robert Lindblom (1844-1907), a prominent Swedish-born trader [...]

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Michigan Building (p. 81)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 81 – THE MICHIGAN BUILDING THE MICHIGAN BUILDING.—Of all the State buildings on the Fair grounds none was more popular than the Michigan Building. Standing near the Fifty-seventh street entrance, its handsome front catching the eye of visitors, its doors always hospitably open, not to Michigan people alone but to the multitude, and its spacious rooms and luxurious appointments inviting all to their enjoyment, it was generally the resting [...]

By |2019-07-06T09:44:26-05:00July 6th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments

“Moving With Perfect Freedom” on the Fourth of July, 1893

The Fourth of July was one of the great “Special Days” of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The passage below comes from “The World's College of Democracy” by John Brisben Walker, published in the September 1893 issue of The Cosmopolitan, of which he was the owner and editor. Of all the wonders of the Fair around him, Walker boasts most about the conduct of the visitors on Independence Day. It was my good fortune to be present [...]

By |2022-12-10T10:09:46-06:00July 4th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: |0 Comments

“The couple gasped in horrified surprise.” Nude Art at the 1893 World’s Fair

The 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago exposed visitors to a new world. Many experienced what has been described as the "shock of the new” when facing awesome technological advances and the rich variety of human cultures on exhibition. Others felt a shock just from seeing the human form openly displayed. “No one can help noticing the frankness and more than pagan un-reserve with which contemporary artists are treating the nude, both in painting and in sculpture.” wrote Julian Hawthorne in his [...]

By |2024-09-24T09:06:18-05:00May 28th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Columbian Fountain from the Rear (p. 80)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 80 – COLUMBIAN  FOUNTAIN FROM THE REAR COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN FROM THE REAR.— Father Time became a familiar figure during the Fair to the hosts who gathered about the music stands on the eastern part of the Grand Plaza, for the barge of the Columbian Fountain rode stern on to the plaza and Time was at the barge's helm. The illustration is an excellent one of the fountain from the [...]

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Victoria House (p. 79)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 78 – VICTORIA HOUSE VICTORIA HOUSE.—Great Britain's Building, known as Victoria House, was hardly what might have been expected from the Mother Country. It cost $80,000, was not a particularly imposing structure, though by no means ungraceful, and was closed to the public most of the time. It occupied a charming position on the lake front, being the only structure east of the Lake Promenade. It was a Gothic, [...]

By |2019-05-12T09:49:33-05:00May 18th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

“She has waxed bigger and uglier than ever.” An Englishman’s View of 1893 Chicago

Mr. Harry Hems of Exeter, England, submitted the following report on his return visit to Chicago for the opening of the 1893 World’s Fair. At the Exposition, he worked in the British section of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. His unflattering missive from May 15, 1893, about “the most dangerous town in the world” was reprinted in the June 1 issue of the Irish Builder. Let’s hope the rest of Mr. Hems’ time at the Chicago fair left [...]

By |2019-05-10T18:33:42-05:00May 15th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: |0 Comments
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