World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, 1892-1893, 1896, undated

The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was held in Chicago, Illinois, from May 1 to October 30, 1893, to commemorate the four-hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in North America in 1492. Several leading architects were responsible for the design of exhibition buildings, including George B. Post, Sophia Hayden, Charles McKim, and Richard Morris Hunt. The Columbian Exposition was the first World's Fair to include a separate amusement area, called the Midway Plaisance, which featured the world's first Ferris wheel, which had been an attempt to outdo the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the Paris World’s Fair of 1889. The Exposition also showcased the city's progress since its devastation by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The bulk of collection comprises material from the Columbian Exposition and contains advertisements, trade cards, invitations, programs, contracts, a scrapbook, photographic prints, and realia souvenirs, including a silk scarf, weavings, and a stereoscope.