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THIS IS A LOAN from Isabella Stewart Gardner
A new Netflix documentary This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist reveals the grievous but fascinating story of a 1990 art theft from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Two paintings from the collection (thankfully not stolen!) were loaned by Mrs. Gardner to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and exhibited in the Palace of Fine Arts. Hanging in the Swedish display in Gallery 70 [...]
116. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Sedan Chair Carriers
THE SEDAN CHAIR CARRIERS.—There was a partial return to the ways of our forefathers at the Fair, though the fad was not introduced as the result of any spasmodic whim of society, but by fez-wearing men from the Orient. The concession for the Sedan chairs belonged to the Turkish Village people and near this, at one side of the Plaisance, the Sedan bearers, sturdy Turks as one could wish [...]
The Windy Cities Historians Podcast visits the Columbian Exposition
The Windy Cities Historians Podcast has been working its way chronologically through Chicago history and has now reached the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Episodes 19-21, “The Third Star,” are a three-part look at the event now represented in Chicago’s municipal flag. Co-hosts Chris Lynch and Patrick McBriarty interview Paul Durica, the Director of Exhibitions at the Newberry Library and co-editor of the annotated Chicago by Day and Night, and [...]
April 14, 2021: “The (Whole) Story of the 1893 Midway” (online)
Join the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) for a virtual walk down the Midway Plaisance of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, where visitors saw ice and snow in the summer, heard the clang of Egyptian swords, smelled bratwurst in a German Village, tasted Orange Cider, and felt the ground fall away as they ascended the Ferris Wheel. The CAC will be hosting an online lecture "The (Whole) Story of the 1893 [...]
The women of Effingham, Illinois, go the 1893 World’s Fair
Many small towns sent their best for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. "Effingham County [Illinois] had much to be proud of in its contributions to the exhibits in the Woman’s Building at the Columbian Exposition in 1893," writes Delaine Donaldson. "It’s women were achieving success in a variety of ways and were vital to shaping the course of the county’s history and future." See "A Yearlong Celebration" in [...]
Apr. 30, 2021: “A Day at the 1893 World’s Fair” (online)
Our friends at Chicago Detours have provided engaging and informative virtual programming during our pandemic quarantine, with online events such as “Innovations of the 1893 World’s Fair,” “Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair,” and “LGBT Chicago History in 1893.” They are heading back to the World’s Columbian Exposition on Friday, Apr. 30, 2021, with a virtual tour called “A Day at the 1893 World's Fair.” They will depart for [...]
115. Picturesque World’s Fair – Under the Horticulture Building Dome
UNDER THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING DOME.—The largest hothouse in the world had sights worth seeing. The great dome of the Horticulture Building, one hundred and eighty feet in height and one hundred and fourteen feet in diameter, overhung a charming scene where gigantic palms, ferns, bamboos and other products of tropical growth were flourishing, and where one coming in from the grounds outside seemed transported suddenly to some equatorial country. [...]
Conrad Seipp Columbia Bock is Back from 1893 World’s Fair
The 1893 World’s Fair bar is stocked with a new brew. Columbia Bock from Chicago-based Conrad Seipp Brewing joins Revolution Brewing’s “Fist City” beer, Temperance Beer Company’s “All the World is Here” beer, Virtue Cider’s Southcider, Journeyman Distillery’s Field Gin, and the long line of Columbian Exposition themed products from Few Spirits. Columbia Bock from Chicago-based Conrad Seipp Brewing. The German-style lager is an attempt to recreate [...]
“Farthest North”: An Arctic Tableau at the 1893 World’s Fair
Crowds gather at the 1893 World's Fair to see a panorama depicting the Greely Expedition to the North Pole. [Image from the Illustrated American World's Fair Special Issue, 1893.] Seventy five years ago today, arctic explorer David L. Brainard (1856–1946) died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. He was the last survivor of the famous Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881–84 under the command of Lieutenant [...]
From Hades to Heaven: Penelope Gleason Knapp’s Visit to the Court of Honor
A visit to the 1893 World’s Fair inspired Penelope Gleason Knapp to pen a romantic and effusive love letter to the wonders of the White City. With Victorian flourish, she describes her rapturous experience in the Court of Honor, “where enchantment reigns supreme.” Her memoir offers a reminder that electric illumination on such a grand scale was an overwhelming experience for many visitors from small towns in America. Penelope [...]
A gem from the 1893 World’s Fair is back on display in New York
A massive block of vibrant blue azurite and green malachite that was first exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago is back on display in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. Among the approximately 5,000 pieces on display in their new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, which reopened on February 17, 2021, is a popular artifact from the Fair that [...]
Pieces of Siam Pavilion from the 1893 World’s Fair Sell for $1,600
Carved wood architectural brackets, reportedly from a Siam exhibit at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from Fairfield Auction.] A set of fifteen carved architectural brackets, possibly from the Siam Pavilion at the 1893 World’s Fair, sold at auction for $1,600 on Mar 10, 2021. Fairfield Auction offered the interesting lot, described as coming from the Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, CT, which had obtained them “reportedly from [...]
1893 World’s Fair Replicas in Chicago Parks
The Chicago Public Library Blog post "World’s Fair Replicas in Chicago Parks" offers a brief review of four replica sculptures from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition that can be seen today in various Chicago Parks. These include Daniel Chester French's Statue of the Republic (1918 replica) in Jackson Park, George Wade's Fountain Girl (2012 replica) in Lincoln Park, and Edward Kemey's Prairie King and Sound of the Whoop bison [...]
114. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Norwegian Building
THE NORWEGIAN BUILDING.—Despite their political connection, Norway and Sweden had separate buildings at the World's Fair, each a credit to its country. The Norwegian Building was situated near the lake front and east of the North Pond, amid a group of trees familiar to those who have visited Jackson Park before an Exposition was thought of. In size the building was sixty by twenty-five feet, and was con-structed almost [...]
“American Gods” at the 1893 World’s Fair
“In the summer of 1893 on the shores of Lake Michigan, the United States took its place on the global stage, not through war but through technological innovation ….” The television series American Gods paid a short visit to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago during Season 3, Episode 5 (“Sister Rising”). The episode opens with an action shot of an elongated coin machine—an unusual but effective historical reference [...]
Mar. 3, 2021: Columbian Exposition Museum Auction
Hundreds of items relating to Christopher Columbus and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago will hit the auction block on March 3, 2021. The collectibles come from the Christopher Columbus Museum in Columbus, Wisconsin, and include 1893 World's Fair books, tickets, stereoview cards, souvenir coins and ribbons, and an amazing one-of-a-kind, hand-made mechanical model of the Ferris Wheel. The sale will be conducted by Beloit Auction and Realty [...]
113. Picturesque World’s Fair – North Front of the French Building
NORTH FRONT OF THE FRENCH BUILDING.—The French Building at the Exposition consisted, practically, of two parts connected by a semi-circular colonnade. Of these the one to the north, a facade of which appears in the illustration, was the larger and more important. Built in the Renaissance style and richly decorated, it was a beautiful object in its conspicuous position at the junction of the main east and west thoroughfare [...]
Chicago Statues from the 1893 World’s Fair Under Scrutiny
The City of Chicago has announced the beginning of a process to review forty-one statues, monuments, murals, and plaques in the city that have been “identified for public discussion.” The list includes four statues that have a direct connection to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago: The Republic by Daniel Chester French https://chicagomonuments.org/monuments/the-republic This 1918 smaller replica of the original 1893 Statue of the Republic by Daniel Chester [...]
“Devil in the White City” Update from Eric Larson
In an interview with The Naples Daily, Eric Larson offers this status report on the adaptation of his The Devil in the White City. “It’s slated to be a Hulu series. DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are still involved, I believe, but as executive producers. I don’t think DiCaprio has any intention of playing the killer Holmes, as was originally contemplated. The saga of adapting Devil for film or TV [...]
Mar. 2, 2021: World’s Fair Auction #38 closes
Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #38, now open for preview. Online bidding closes at 10:00 PM EST on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 20 through 92 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include several products commemorating various building of the White City: a "World's Fair 1893" turquoise art glass creamer, an Agricultural Building china [...]