RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
Mar. 23, 2020: History of Postcards at the McHenry County (IL) Historical Society and Museum
The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago was home to many firsts, including the first postcard printed as a souvenir in the United States. The McHenry County Historical Society and Museum will offer a program on the history of postcards on Monday, March 23, 2020, at 4 pm. Katherine Hamilton-Smith, former director of cultural resources for the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville and founding curator of the Curt Teich postcard archive, will provide a talk on “Picture Postcards: The Happy Invention” as part of the society's 34th Annual Sampler Series. The program will be held at the McHenry [...]
CANCELLED Apr. 11, 2020: Devil in the White City Bus Tour
Experience the murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America on a 4-hour bus tour offered by the Chicago History Museum on Saturday, April 11, 2020, starting at 1 pm. Inspired by Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries), this tour will take you back to 1893 with historian Al Walavich, to follow the trails of Daniel Burnham and the devilish doings of H. H. Holmes. Visit the historic fairgrounds, the Garden of the Phoenix in Jackson Park, and discover what has become an iconic Chicago story. Tickets are $55 ($45 for CHM members) and available for purchase [...]
The World’s Fair That Ignored More Than Half the World
“The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 was a spectacle that has no real equivalent today: Think of a theme park where you can also listen to TED Talks, or the most cutting-edge trade show ever, held in obsessively manicured fairgrounds …” read the full article “The World’s Fair That Ignored More Than Half the World” by Rachel B. Tiven at JSTOR Daily.
POSTPONED Apr. 11, 2020: Chicago History Book Group Discusses Three Columbian Exposition Titles
At their meeting on Saturday, April 11, 2020, the Chicago History Book Discussion Group will discuss three important research books about the 1893 World’s Fair: An Early Encounter with Tomorrow by Arnold Lewis (University of Illinois Press, 1997) The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson (Crown, 2003), and The Fair Women by Jeanne Madeline Weimann (Chicago Review Press, 1981). The discussion, sponsored by the Edgewater Historical Society and the Chicago Public Library Edgewater Branch, begins at 10 a.m. in the library’s Betty A. Barclay Community Room, 6000 N. [...]
Autographed Letter about Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and the 1893 World’s Fair Sells at Auction
A letter inviting the International Folk-Lorre Congress of the 1893 World's Fair to attend Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show has sold at auction for $937.50. Heritage Auctions' February 20, 2020, "Americana & Political Signature Auction" included the hand-written letter from Nate Salsbury, manager of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Company. An 1893 letter from Nate Salsbury, manager of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, inviting the International Folk-Lorre Congress at the World's Columbian Exposition to see a performance. [Image from Heritage Auctions.] Dated January 19, 1893, Salsbury writes to the wife of Fletcher S. Bassett, who helped establish the International [...]
Raising the Ante for Midway Playing Cards
A Kickstarter campaign is raising funds for a new edition of Midway playing cards.
POSTPONED March 29, 2020: 26th Annual World’s Fair Memorabilia Show (Elk Grove Village, IL)
This event has been postponed. The 26th Annual World's Fair Memorabilia Show will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2020, from 10 am to 4 pm at the Holiday Inn at 1000 Busse Road (Rt. 83 and Landmeier Rd.) in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Collectors and dealers will meet to buy, sell, and trade items related to World's Fairs from 1876 to the present. Although the main focus will be on the 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair, there will also be items from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and other Chicago-related ephemera. More than 15 tables of World's Fair items for [...]
“Celebrating the Black History of Jackson Park” Video
The Obama Foundation has released a five-minute video titled “Celebrating the Black History of Jackson Park” that features the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Introduced by President Obama, the video touches upon the Haitian Pavilion, Frederick Douglass, and “Colored American Day” with historical perspectives from Chicago History Museum Assistant Curator Julius Jones, Associate Professor of History at the University of Chicago Adam Green, and President of the Jackson Park Advisory Council Louise McCurry.
WGN-TV Documentary Explores “Hidden History” of African Americans at the 1893 World’s Fair
In honor of Black History Month WGN-TV aired a new half-hour documentary show titled “Hidden History” that included a segment on the experience of African Americans at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. WGN News anchor Micah Materre opened the six-minute segment reminding viewers that “African Americans have a long and storied history in Chicago,” with one important moment of African Americans influence on the world taking place in and around the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago’s Jackson Park. Historian Kay James McCrimon details some of the “hidden history” of how officials systematic excluded African Americans from exhibiting at the [...]
Mar. 4, 2020: Toast Chicago’s Birthday with a (virtual) trip to the 1893 World’s Fair at the Chicago History Museum
The Chicago History Museum will toast Chicago's Birthday on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, with another opportunity to experience a virtual-reality visit to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The Chicago 00 Project will exhibit their spectacular 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition virtual reality experience. Guests will be taken on an immersive tour of the world’s fair, known for its dazzling White City and eclectic Midway Plaisance, experiencing Chicago’s past and present in 360 degrees and flying 264 feet in the air on a virtual ride of the world’s first Ferris Wheel. Due to limited capacity, advance sign up is required. Elsewhere in [...]