World fairs and expositions collection
Scope and Content Note
This artificial collection comprises a variety of material documenting world fairs and expositions, spanning the dates between 1851 and 1967, with the bulk of the collection dating from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Material consists of printed matter and ephemera, including newspapers, programs, invitations, maps, brochures, viewbooks, advertisements, stationery, contracts, bonds, trade cards, and a scrapbook; photographs and prints; and realia souvenirs.
The collection is arranged chronologically by fair, in ten series: I. The Great Exhibition, London; II. Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia; III. World's Cotton Centennial, New Orleans, Louisiana; IV. World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago; V. Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York; VI. Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri; VII. Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco; VIII. 1939 New York World's Fair; IX. 1964 New York World's Fair; and X. 1967 International and Universal Exposition (Expo 67), Montreal.
As the world fairs were venues for commercial enterprise, a variety of advertisement and trade cards are present in the collection, including Pears Soap, a company which made significant use of pictorial advertising in the nineteenth century.
Further materials related to the world fairs and expositions are cataloged with imprints in Special Collections and can be found by searching DELCAT.
Dates
- Creation: 1851-1967
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1893
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce isrequired from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec
Historical Note
Beginning with the Great Exhibition of 1851, world fairs have promoted and stimulated industry, progress, commerce, education, and amusement. International in scope, yet an opportunity for national and local pride, each fair attempted to outdo its predecessor in size, grandeur, and novelty. World's Fairs have made lasting contributions to technology and architecture, as well as to the development of a new commodity culture born from the emphasis on industry and progress.
It was at these exhibitions that many advancements in science and technology made their debut, including Alexander Graham Bell's telephone (at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876) and the Ferris wheel (at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.) The impermanent structures that housed the exhibitions and transformed a space into a different world have also made a lasting impact on architecture and urban planning. Buildings and centerpieces in an array of architectural styles, many designed by leading architects of the time, such as Norman Bel Geddes (the Futurama exhibit of the 1939 New York World's Fair), from the traditional to the ultra-modern, embody progress and reflect the theme of peaceful cultural exchange.
Jackson, Anna. Expo: International Expositions, 1851-2010. London: V&A Publishing, 2008.Meyer, Jonathan. Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851-1900. Woodbridge, Suffolk, England: Antique Collectors Club, 2006.
Extent
0.6 linear foot (2 boxes)
5 oversize box
Abstract
This artificial collection comprises a variety of types of material documenting world fairs and expositions, spanning the dates between 1851 and 1967, with the bulk of the collection dating from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Material consists of printed matter and ephemera, including newspapers, programs, invitations, maps, brochures, viewbooks, advertisements, stationery, contracts, bonds, trade cards, and a scrapbook; photographs and prints; and realia souvenirs.
Source
Multiple accessions, including purchases, 1980-1988; and gifts, 2001.
Shelving Summary
- Box 1: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (upright manuscript boxes)
- Box 2: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (1 inch)
- Box 3: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (17 inches)
- Box 4: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (18 inches)
- Box 5: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (20 inches)
- Box 6: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (24 inches)
- Box 7: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (28 inches)
Processing
Processed and encoded by Maureen Cech, December 2010.
Subject
- Great Exhibition (1851 : London, England) (Organization)
- Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.) (Organization)
- World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition (1884-1885 : New Orleans, La.) (Organization)
- World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) (Organization)
- Pan-American Exposition (1901 : Buffalo, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.) (Organization)
- Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.) (Organization)
- New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.) (Organization)
- New York World's Fair (1964-1965 : New York, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Expo (International Exhibitions Bureau) (1967 : Montréal, Québec) (Organization)
- Pears (A. & F.) Limited (Organization)
Genre / Form
- Advertisements
- Advertising fans
- Albumen prints
- Bonds (negotiable instruments)
- Contracts
- Invitations
- Maps (documents)
- Newspapers
- Pennants
- Photographs
- Postcards
- Programs (documents)
- Scarves (costume accessories)
- Scrapbooks
- Souvenirs
- Stationery
- Stereographs
- Stereoscopes
- Trade cards (advertising)
- Viewbooks
Geographic
- Buffalo (N.Y.)--History--20th century
- Chicago (Ill.)--History--19th century
- London (England)--History--19th century
- Montréal (Québec)--History--20th century
- New Orleans (La.)--History--19th century
- New York (N.Y.)--History--20th century
- Philadelphia (Pa.)--History--19th century
- Saint Louis (Mo.)--History--20th century
- San Francisco (Calif.)--History--20th century
Topical
- Exhibitions--England--London--History--19th century
- Exhibitions--United States--History--19th century
- Exhibitions--United States--History--20th century
Uniform Title
- Title
- Finding aid for World fairs and expositions collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
- Date
- 2010 December 20
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Delaware Library Special Collections Repository