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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Krupp Gun (p. 37)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 37 – THE KRUPP GUN KRUPP GUN EXHIBIT AND LEATHER AND SHOE TRADES BUILDING.—The building in which was the famous Krupp Gun exhibit and that devoted to the Leather and Shoe Trade displays were situated together on the lake front, in the southeastern part of the Exposition grounds, and both appear in the above Illustration. The big gun shown in [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Hunt Ball (p. 36)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 36 – THE HUNT BALL "THE HUNT BALL. "—Among the hundreds of magnificent paintings exhibited in the Art Palace, the work of artists widely renowned in their special fields, certain pictures had always a throng about them from morning until mght. Among these was one, which, from its intrinsic merit, even beyond its size and brilliant coloring, attracted a continuous [...]
April 25, 2018 (Reno, NV): 1893 World’s Mini-Fair at the National Automobile Museum
The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition is coming to Reno, Nevada, for three days in April. The National Automobile Museum, is holding its 14th annual History Symposium on April 25, 26, and 28, with a theme of “The 1890s: Peril and Power.” The Museum will host national and local authors and historians who will address the winds of change that marked the 1890s. A special highlight of this year’s symposium [...]
In Like a Lion
The month of March, the saying goes, comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” Lions—both real and plaster—could be found at several locations around the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. One example is Lions by German sculptor M. Arthur Waagen. This set of four lion sculptures adorned the base of the obelisk, which stood in the center of the Colonnade in the South Canal, [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Fisheries Building (p. 35)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 35 – THE FISHERIES BUILDING THE FISHERIES BUILDING.—Quite unlike any other structure on the grounds, yet so situated and so constructed as to blend with the harmonious whole of the Exposition, the Fisheries Building afforded a striking example of an obstacle overcome by architectural genius. The space allotted to the Fisheries was irregular in form, and in what was considered an [...]
March 16, 2018: 1893 Scavenger Hunt in the Chicago Loop
If you love learning about the history of the 1893 World’s Fair, are passionate about Chicago architecture, enjoy puzzles, and want to stretch your legs, then don’t miss out on “Glitz, Glamour…and Panic! A Hunt for the History of 1893 in Chicago.” Atlas Obscura Chicago Field Agent Patti Swanson is once again hosting her "Google-proof" scavenger hunt in the Chicago Loop on Friday, March 16, 2018. You will meet [...]
May 29, 2018: Chicago History Museum Celebrates the 1893 Fair
"The Ferris Wheel Waltz-Polka" sheet music. [Image from Johns Hopkins University.] To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the World’s Columbian Exposition, the Chicago History Museum (CHM) is hosting a talk by Donald C. Meyer, Professor of Music at Lake Forest College, on May 29 at the museum. Prof. Meyer’s digitization project to preserve sheet music associated with the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago includes an online archive of [...]
Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
March, waltz, polka, and hoochie koochie your way back to the 1893 World’s Fair with Souvenir Music from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, a new recording of vintage sheet music from Lake Forest College Press. Donald C. Meyer, Professor of Music at Lake Forest College, has assembled a fascinating collection of 18 pieces of music written for or about the Columbian Exposition. A trio of musicians (pianist Chris [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Massachusetts Building (p. 35)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 35 - THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING.—Typical of the history and character of the Old Bay State was the Massachusetts Building, which stood just east of New York on the broad roadway leading east from the Fifty-seventh street entrance to the grounds. It was in the old Colonial style and, as nearly as was practicable, a duplicate of the [...]
Happy Birthday to Architect Robert Peabody
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Robert Swain Peabody on February 22, 1845. Peabody was a cofounder of the Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns, designer of Machinery Hall (also known as the Palace of Mechanical Arts) and the Massachusetts Pavilion for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Architects invited by Daniel Burnham to contribute building for the World's Columbian Exposition gathered in Chicago on [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Egyptian Dancing Girls (p. 34)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWSPage 34 – EGYPTIAN DANCING GIRLSEGYPTIAN DANCING GIRLS.—That prominent feature of the Midway Plaisance, a Street in Cairo, had a theatre among its attractions, and what doubtless drew most visitors to this place of entertainment, was the performance of the Egyptian Dancing Girls. The illustration gives excellent portraits of the three dusky beauties who were most prominent there, and shows also the [...]
Presidential Painting
A painting of a young Abraham Lincoln, reported to have been on display at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, was unveiled on February 9, 2018, at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. The Young Abraham Lincoln by William Morton Jackson Rice [Image from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.] The Young Abraham Lincoln, a 56-by-85-inch oil painting by William Morton Jackson Rice (1854-1922), depicts Lincoln [...]
Site of the World’s Columbian Exposition
The piece below, from the first issue of The World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated (Vol. 1 No. 1, February 1891) and likely written by editor James B. Campbell, offers an enthusiastic description of the locations that Chicago had recently selected to host the 1893 World’s Fair. The editorial boosterism belies much of the bitter fighting that went into reaching the decision to use Jackson Park as the main fairgrounds. At [...]
March 8, 2018: Union League Club of Chicago lecture on “The Columbian Exposition”
The Union League Club of Chicago (ULCC) is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the 1893 World's Fair with a presentation by Greg Cook titled "The World's Columbian Exposition and its Transformation of Chicago Architecture" on Thursday, March 8 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Union League Club (65 Jackson Boulevard in Chicago). The Union League Club of Chicago. [Image from https://www.facebook.com/ULCChicago/] A cocktail reception with a cash bar and light appetizers will start [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. – Dome of Agriculture Building (p. 33)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 31 – DOME of AGRICULTURE BUILDING DOME OF AGRICULTURE BUILDING.—The agriculture department of the World's Columbian Exposition was housed in a palace, for the great building devoted to the purpose was a magnificent structure, both as to dimensions and architectural character. The main building stood beside Lake Michigan its principal facade facing the grand basin in the Court of [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Royal Berlin Porcelain Vase (p. 32)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 31 – ROYAL BERLIN PORCELAIN VASE ROYAL BERLIN PORCELAIN VASE.—There were some very beautiful objects in the porcelain display by Germany, in the Manufactures Building, but easily first was the Royal Porcelain Vase, nine feet in height, which is the subject of this illustration. It was part of the showing made by the Royal Berlin Porcelain Works, which are [...]
Happy National Ferris Wheel Day!
Up 'n' down Ferris wheel Tell me how does it feel To be so high Looking down here. -- Norah Jones "Carnival Town" Grab a box of chocolates and a bouquet of roses, because today is ... National Ferris Wheel Day! This annual celebration honors the anniversary of George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.’s birth on February 14, 1859, in Galesburg, Illinois. Ferris, of course, was the engineer who invented the [...]
March 6, 2018: World’s Fair Auction #31 ends
World's Fair Auction #31 is now open for preview and online bidding closes on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/CATALL.CGI
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Interior of “Old Vienna” (p. 31)
Page 31 INTERIOR OF “OLD VIENNA."— From: PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS INTERIOR OF “OLD VIENNA."—To leave the Exposition without having visited the Austrian Village, more widely known as "Old Vienna," was, in the opinion of many people, not to have seen the Fair at all. It was one of the most popular places of resort for the multitude, despite the expensiveness of the luxury, for prices [...]
Mar. 23-Aug. 29, 2018-Exhibit Showcases Mexicans at the 1893 World’s Fair
An upcoming exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago features the early artistic involvement and influence of Mexican immigrants in Chicago beginning with the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Arte Diseño Xicágo: Mexican Inspiration from the World's Columbian Exposition to the Civil Rights Era opens on Friday, March 23, 2018, with a reception from 6–8 pm, and continues through August 19, 2018, in the Main Gallery. One [...]