RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Irish Village (p. 74)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 74 – THE IRISH VILLAGE THE IRISH VILLAGE.—There were two Irish villages in the Midway Plaisance, each possessing many attractions. The one here shown is that in which the Countess of Aberdeen was interested and in which she had a cottage. The village was one of the first of prominent features at the left upon entering Midway from the grounds proper, and comprised the exhibit of the Irish Industrial Association. The entrance was a copy of the north doorway to a chapel built by Cormac, Bishop of Munster, in [...]
Louis Sullivan’s Transportation Building … in Green
Adler & Sullivan’s Transportation Building. [Image from The World’s Columbian Exposition Portfolio of Views by C. D. Arnold and H. D. Higinbotham (C. B. Woodward Co., 1893).] Finding references to the 1893 World’s Fair--especially in unexpected places--can be a delight. All the more so when images of the White City show up in the context of another personal passion. A few weeks ago, the yellow brick road led to the White City. The Paramount Theater in Aurora, Illinois, offered a marvelous production of The Wizard of Oz in their 2018-19 Broadway series. Amid the technicolor spectacle was a [...]
Jan. 24, 2019: Sophia Hayden’s Gold Medal To Be Auctioned
The reverse of Hayden's presentation medal . [Image from John McInnis Auctioneers.] John McInnis Auctioneers (76 Main Street, Amesbury, MA) will offer a rare item from the 1893 World’s Fair in their “Numismatics, Exonumia, Silver and Jewelry” auction on Thursday January 24, 2019. Lot 10 is a 14-karat gold presentation medal awarded to architect Sophia Hayden for her design of the Woman’s Building. An inscription on the obverse reads "Sophia G. Hayden--Presented by the Board of Lady Managers of the Worlds Columbian Commission 1893" with an image of her building. On the reverse is a portrait of Bertha [...]
“We will hardly make fools of ourselves.” Carter Harrison’s Bid to Be the World’s Fair Mayor
After serving four terms as mayor of Chicago from 1879 to 1887, Carter Harrison, Sr. ran again in 1893 to become the “World’s Fair Mayor.” He oversaw the city’s hosting of the World’s Columbian Exposition until the fateful evening that he was assassinated, just days before the scheduled closing of the Fair. Shortly after the mayor’s death, The Review of Reviews (December 1893, p. 663) published this article, which included a letter written to the journal by the mayor nearly a year earlier, on January 16, 1893. The mayor’s missive, characterized by “audacity, buoyancy, naivete and egotism in every [...]
Pillars of the Fair: John Root and Henry Codman
Two pillars of the 1893 World’s Fair died unexpectedly before they could complete their work on the fairgrounds. Even the preliminary architectural contributions of both men, however, played a monumental role in the success of the Columbian Exposition. So, it was fitting that a small monument to the memory of these two leading designers graced the fairgrounds. John Wellborn Root (left) and Henry Sargent Codman (right). Glorious achievements January 13 marks the anniversary of the death of landscape architect Henry Sargent Codman in 1893 due to complications following an appendectomy. A 29-year-old protégé of Frederick Law Olmsted, [...]
Feb. 2, 2019: Potter & Potter Auctions to Offer Columbian Exposition Collectibles
A Statue of the Republic plaster model up for sale through Potter & Potter Auctions on February 2, 2019. Potter & Potter Auctions of Chicago will offer several interesting World’s Columbian Exposition items in their February 2nd auction, “Fine Books and Manuscripts: Featuring Important Chicago Memorabilia.” A unique lot is a three-foot, golden Statue of the Republic plaster model, identified as being produced by Orlandi Statuary of Chicago in 1993 for the 100th anniversary of the Exposition. We reported on another of these statuettes (though one including both the staff for the left hand and the globe-with-eagle [...]
Jan. 29, 2019: World’s Fair Auction #33 closes
Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #33, now open for preview. Online bidding closes on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, at 10 PM EDT. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 7 through 25 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include several products commemorating various building of the White City: • a decorative powder box with a picture of the Administration Building; • a jig saw puzzle picturing the Transportation Building, with box; • a china pitcher decorated with an image of the Horticultural Building; • a porcelain plate showing the [...]
Japanese Vase from 1893 World’s Fair Was Hiding in Plain Sight
A rare Japanese vase made especially for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago has been hiding in plain sight in a California restaurant, reports the Chicago Tribune. The beautiful piece of World's Fair history will go up for auction next month. The recently identified Japanese vase from the 1893 World’s Fair, showing a dragon (symbolizing China) over waves. The vase decorated Spenger’s Fish Grotto in Berkeley, California, for many years. [Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery.] Dragon in the Restaurant For many years, the 8-foot-tall vase featuring the images of a dragon and a plover above waves [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The East India Building (p. 73)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 73 – THE EAST INDIA BUILDING THE EAST INDIA BUILDING.—Through the result of private enterprise instead of being strictly a governmental affair, the East India Building was representative, both as to exterior and contents, and was counted one of the most graceful of its group. It was eighty feet long, sixty feet wide and sixty feet in height, and had one large room surrounded by a gallery, the whole lighted by an extensive skylight. The structure was almost entirely of staff and though built for a foreign company, the [...]
Winter 2018 Trivia Question
Our quarterly newsletter includes a “Palmer Puzzler” exclusive to those who subscribe. (You can sign up here.) The first person to send us the correct answer wins a small prize. The Winter 2018 Trivia Question Which state building on the fairgrounds was surmounted by a 9-foot elk with antlers measuring ten feet from tip to tip? A. Idaho B. Montana C. Wyoming D. Nevada The winner of the Winter 2018 Trivia Question is R.S. from Wheaton, IL, who knew the answer is B. White & Igleheart's World's Columbian Exposition Chicago 1893 (P. W. Ziegler, 1893) describes the unique Montana Building [...]