RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
106. Picturesque World’s Fair – Dahomey Men
DAHOMEY MEN.—The Dahomey Village consisted of three houses and a group of huts, much of the material being brought from Dahomey for the purpose, and was occupied by sixty men and forty women. Other Pages from PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR.
Tiffany Coffeepot from the World’s Columbian Exposition Sells for $68,750
An exquisite coffeepot made by Tiffany & Company and exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair sold for $68,750 in July by Skinner auctions. The 10¼-inch-tall sterling silver and enamel piece, adorned with lapis lazuli and acid-etched arabesques, far exceeded its estimate of $15,000–25,000. Tiffany showcased eight “after-dinner” coffeepots in the company’s pavilion inside the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building at the Columbian Exposition. A Tiffany & Co. sterling silver coffeepot sold at Skinner's auction.
Eight Famous Parks Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted
"8 Famous Parks Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Plus a Tiny One You May Not Know About" by Wendy Bowman reviews many of the great works by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who died on this day in 1903. Included are the fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the adjacent (and often overlooked) Washington Park in Chicago. Olmsted & Vaux’s 1871 South Park Plan (from the Chicago Park District).
105. Picturesque World’s Fair – Hindu Jugglers
HINDU JUGGLERS.—Some time before the close of the Fair there was erected a small building on the Midway Plaisance in which Hindu jugglers appeared, to display their skill for the first time before American audiences. Other Pages from PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR.
Aug 27, 2020: “Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair” online presentation (Chicago Detours)
Chicago Detours will be offering a virtual tour of the World's Columbian Exposition fairgrounds on Thurs, August 27, starting at 6 pm (central time). The 50-minute virtual tour led via Zoom shares the inventions, engineering feats, and gastronomical exhibits that wowed visitors to the 1893 World’s Fair. Tickets for the online event can be purchased for $15 at https://chicagodetours.rezdy.com/406501/wonders-of-the-1893-world-s-fair
In-cider Information on a Columbian Exposition Beverage
The Columbian Exposition adult beverage shelf has a new addition. Reach past those cans of “Fist City” and “All the World is Here” beer, Field Gin, and the long line of products from Few Spirits and grab a can of Virtue Cider’s new Southcider. Crafted in their cider houses in Fennville, Michigan, using local apples and blended with botanicals, Southcider--along with its companion beverage Northcider--honors Chicago’s famous crosstown baseball series. Among several South-side Chicago images decorating the Southcider can is Daniel Chester French’s Statue of the Republic, designed for the 1893 World's Fair. As evidenced by her left hand, [...]
104. Picturesque World’s Fair – A South Sea Island House
A SOUTH SEA ISLAND HOUSE.—The South Sea Island Village included among its inhabitants natives of various islands in the Polynesian Archipelago, though so superior to all the rest were the Samoans that they soon attracted most attention, and the place was as often alluded to as the Samoan Village as otherwise. The houses were of Samoan construction, and the largest of them was a building of repute, having once stood for ten years in the village of King Mataafa, and coming here as his personal contribution to the curiosities of the Fair. It was a work of ingenuity and [...]
103. Picturesque World’s Fair – Soloman Joseph and Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Aye
SOLOMON JOSEPH AND TA-RA-RA BOOM-DE-AYE.—As a group of uncompromisingly rapacious and mannerless patronage-seekers the donkey boys of a Street in Cairo were probably never surpassed, and of these Solomon Joseph was admittedly the chief brigand. He was noisy, persistent and altogether intolerable in soliciting people to ride upon his dwarfish beasts, and was always grinning and good-natured. Of the two, the donkey shown in the picture had probably the greater number of lovable qualities, though even " Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-aye," as he was called, appeared to have suffered by association, and bore in his face and manner an air of [...]
Zoom to the 1893 World’s Fair with the Chicago History Museum
Stuck in endless online conferences? Ready to escape from the confines of your home office? Try adding a background that situates you at the 1893 World's Fair. The Chicago History Museum offers several images from their collection to use as a Zoom background. Among them is a famous photograph by C. D. Arnold of the Administration Building surrounded by crowds on Chicago Day [CHM, ICHi-002201] You can download the image at https://www.chicagohistory.org/zoom/ and start "Zooming through history."
1893 Chicago Midway Playing Cards & History of the World’s Fair Card Deck
1893 Chicago Midway Playing Cards & History of the World’s Fair Card Deck by Stuart Van Leer Bradley. Railway Station Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781951299057. Softcover, 40 pages. $15.00. This companion book to the recently produced set of Midway Playing Cards contains a summary of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the Midway Plaisance, technical notes about the set of Barnhart Brothers & Spindler (BB&S) type foundry printers ornaments, scans of a set of letterpress history cards, and an assortment of interesting and informative historical photographs and maps, several in color. This small, but handsome volume, complements and illuminates [...]