The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 Collection 1892-1930
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| Title: | World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1892-1930 |
| Size: | 19.5 linear feet (18 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 Collection gathers together a range of materials produced during and after the fair. Held in Chicago’s Jackson Park, the World’s Columbian Exposition was organized to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in America and both the nation’s and “civilization’s progress” since then. The Collection’s materials cover the years 1892 to 1930 (bulk 1892-1894) and contain a noteworthy gathering of photographs, illustrations and newspaper articles on the fair. Users will also find tickets, event programs, guides and memorabilia. |
The collection is open for research. Photographs by C. D. Arnold and E. R. Walker have been digitized and are available as part of the University of Chicago Photographic Archive.
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When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Following the successes of the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and the 1879 Universal Exposition in Paris, calls were made in the 1880s to organize a world’s fair to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to American in 1892. Congress selected Chicago as the host city on February 25, 1890 and President William Harrison approved the resolution in April. As part of bidding to host the World’s Columbian Exposition, planners in Chicago secured $5 million in pledges from 30,000 parties who then became stockholders in the corporation later established to finance the fair. After Chicago was chosen to host, the board and officers of the stock corporation joined with the World’s Columbian Commission, a body of members appointed by President William Harrison, to organize, build and administer the fair.
The organizers had grand ambitions, aspiring to put on the “fairest fair of all” and outshine the 1889 Paris Exposition, then considered the greatest fair of the century. To realize those aims, they selected renowned landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmstead to be chief architect. His plan of the fairgrounds transformed Jackson Park (a 600-acre tract of land) by diverting water from Lake Michigan to fill a dredged system of lagoons, islands and waterways that mimicked the canals of Venice. The Chicagoan Daniel H. Burnham was named chief of construction, and it was he who selected and oversaw the architects, engineers and craftsman need to build the more than 200 buildings that were erected for the fair. The fourteen Great Buildings, most of which surrounded Wooded Island and Grand Basin, were designed by various architectural firms across the U.S. One of these architects was Henry Ives Cobb, who designed the Fisheries Building but also several of the original buildings on the University of Chicago campus (Foster Hall appears in one of the collection’s photographs of the Ferris Wheel). The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Buildings was the largest structure on the fairgrounds, encompassing 1.3 million square feet or 31.5 acres.
Burnham and the organizers held a national contest to solicit ides for an attraction that would surpass the Eiffel Tower of the Paris Exposition. Initially deemed too ambitious, George Ferris’ proposal for an enormous revolving wheel that could carry 40 passengers was eventually selected and proved an immense sensation. In fact, overall attendance of the fair exceeded expectations, ultimately totaling 27.5 million visitors. The Exposition was open to the public from March 1 to October 30, 1893 and admission cost 50 cents for adults and children. Various attractions within the Exposition or on the Midway Plaisance had special admission fees, typically 25 or 50 cents. Examples include: Esquimaux (Eskimo) Village, Cairo Village, Dahomey Village, Ferris Wheel, Japanese Tea House, and Old Vienna. The Convent La Rabida was a replica of the Franciscan monastery where Christopher Columbus stayed before being granted an audience with Queen Isabella of Spain.
In accordance with plans made beforehand to identify financing sources, most of the Great Buildings were torn down and their steel sold for scrap metal. Although many were built in classical styles that suggested stone edifices, none of the buildings were made to endure, typically having facades made of “staff,” a hardened mixture of plaster, cement and hemp. Buildings whose raw materials would not be resold were burned in planned and accidental fires in early 1894. The only surviving building that is still on the fairgrounds is the Fine Arts Palace (now the Museum of Science and Industry). Three other structures survive but have been relocated from Chicago. They are the Maine Building (now in Poland Springs, Maine), the Dutch House (Brookline, Massachusetts), and the Norway Building (Blue Mounds, Wisconsin). The tragic fire that razed the Cold Storage Building and is depicted in one of the collection’s photographs occurred on July 13, 1893.
The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 Collection ranges from 1892 to 1930, with the bulk spanning 1892-1894. Items in the collection are arranged in six series according to material type: Administrative Records (Series I); Ephemera (Series II); Souvenir Literature (Series III); Memorabilia (Series IV); Subsequent Writings (Series V); and Photographs (Series VI). Material in all series are arranged alphabetically.
Series I contains records pertaining to logistics, planning and putting on the Exposition, including congress auxiliary documents.
Series II is divided into three subseries. Subseries 1 gathers together ephemera related to attendance of events and the fair itself. Ticket stubs may be found here along with programs, invitations and a map of the fairgrounds. Subseries 2 contains clippings from, and in some cases full issues of, newspaper and magazine articles that narrate or depict visits to exhibits and buildings. Some of the magazine clippings on exhibits in Box 3 include depictions of how non-Western cultures and peoples were portrayed at the fair. Subseries 3 also has descriptions of buildings and exhibits but they are all captured through a form of visual media, such as prints or illustrations. The “White City as It Was” Artfolio is a published collection of pictures with short narrative descriptions.
Series III houses items that were intended to be souvenirs or that pertain to the sale of souvenirs.
Items that are commemorative artifacts, coins and ornaments will be found in Series IV.
Series V has material that was generated subsequent to the fair and is a recollection or a reporting on the fate of certain structures.
Lastly, Series VI contains the Collection’s photographs. Of note here are two subseries dedicated to the fair scenes and buildings captured by the official Exposition photographer, C.D. Arnold, and Chicago photographer, E.R. Walker. The photographs by Arnold and Walker have been digitized and are available as part of the University of Chicago Photographic Archive.
Photographs by C. D. Arnold have been digitized and are available as part of the University of Chicago Photographic Archive.
Photographs by E. R. Walker have been digitized and are available as part of the University of Chicago Photographic Archive.
Albert, Allen D., Reports on World's Fairs
Buzzell, Edgar A. Collection
Cliff, Melissa. Collection
Green, Arnold. Collection
Lindblad, Andrew. Collection
Mueller, Ian. Collection
Scammon, Arianna E. Collection
Chicago Collections Consortium “1893 World’s Fair” Collection
Series I: Administrative Records |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Committee on Grounds and Buildings, Report, 1893 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Congress auxiliary pamphlets, 1893 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Exhibitor invoices, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Friday Club Auxiliary, Columbian Bazaar Catalogue, 1892 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Stock certificate and note to stockholders, 1892-1904 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Customs label for shipment from Germany, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Floor plan drawings of Manufactures and Liberal Arts buildings |
Series II: Ephemera |
Subseries 1: Ceremonies, Event Programs, Visitor Guides |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Event programs and daily bulletins, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | French coal mines brochure, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Invitations to banquets and ceremonies, Comte de Balincourt, General of the French Pavilion, 1893 [1/2] |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Invitations to banquets and ceremonies, Comte de Balincourt, General of the French Pavilion, 1893 [2/2] |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Invitations to ceremonies and receptions, Ms. Marion Talbot, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Invitations to and programs from ceremonies, Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Russell, 1892-1893 [1/2] |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Invitations to and programs from ceremonies, Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Russell, 1892-1893 [2/2] |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | World's Columbian Exposition. The Javanese Theatre, Java Village, Midway Plaisance, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893: Containing Also a Short Description of Java, the People, Languages, Customs, Food, Products, Etc. Chicago: Java Chicago Exhibition Syndicate, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | “Notebook for Visitors to the World’s Fair” with handwritten notes by unidentified fairgoer, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Official guidebook with map, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | Official program, New York Columbian Celebration, 1892 |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | Tickets and passes, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | “While We Are Honoring Columbus,” Song of the Fellowship Club, undated |
Subseries 2: Periodical Articles and Illustrations |
| Box 3 Folder 14 | Clippings and fragments, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 15 | Foreign language news articles, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 16 | Facsimile of Queen Isabella’s Will, 1893 |
| Box 3 Folder 17 | Illustrations of exhibits and grounds, magazine clippings, undated [1/3] |
| Box 3 Folder 18 | Illustrations of exhibits and grounds, magazine clippings, undated [2/3] |
| Box 3 Folder 19 | Illustrations of exhibits and grounds, magazine clippings, undated [3/3] |
| Box 3 Folder 20 | Pages from a scrapbook of the “Exposition Sketches” column in the Standard (Chicago), 1893 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Chicago Daily Tribune commemorative illustration, October 21, 1892 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), articles on past fairs from 1851 and on Congress auxiliaries, November 1, 1893 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Daily Inter Ocean Supplement (Chicago), cartoon by Thomas Nast, October 22, 1892 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Harper’s Weekly (New York), “Building our Great Fair,” circa 1892 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Printed photograph from a magazine of several exposition buildings, circa 1893 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | The Standard (Chicago), full issue including the “Exposition Sketches” column, July 13, 1893 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | The Standard (Chicago), clippings of the “Exposition Sketches” column, August to November 1893 [1/2] |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | The Standard (Chicago), clippings of the “Exposition Sketches” column, August to November 1893 [2/2] |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Newspaper issues reporting on “Chicago Day” at the Exposition, Chicago Heard and Chicago Dispatch, October 9, 1893 |
| Box 6 | Scrapbook of World’s Columbian Exposition. (Codex Manuscripts MS1369) |
Subseries 3: Visual Media of Grounds and Exhibits |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | “Chicago Tribune Art Supplements,” prints of fair scenes and grounds, 1893 [1/3] |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | “Chicago Tribune Art Supplements,” prints of fair scenes and grounds, 1893 [2/3] |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | “Chicago Tribune Art Supplements,” prints of fair scenes and grounds, 1893 [3/3] |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | Prints of paintings of Exposition site and structures, 1891-1894 |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | Youth’s Companion (Boston), “World’s Fair Number,” 1893 |
| Box 7 Folder 6 | World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated, first and second pages, April 1893 |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, front matter and overview, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 1, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 2, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 3, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 4, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 5, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 6, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 7, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 9 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 9, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 10 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 10, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 11 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 11, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 12 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 12, 1894 |
| Box 8 Folder 13 | “The White City as It Was” Artfolio, part 17, 1894 |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | Official postcard, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 2 | Rand McNally “Columbian Album containing Photographic Views,” part 9, 1894 |
| Box 9 Folder 3 | Rand McNally “Columbian Album containing Photographic Views,” part 10, 1894 |
| Box 9 Folder 4 | Rand McNally “Columbian Album containing Photographic Views,” part 11, 1894 |
| Box 9 Folder 5 | “World’s Fair through a Camera: Snapshots by an Artist,” undated |
Series III: Souvenir Literature |
| Box 9 Folder 6 | C. Graham, “The World’s Fair in Watercolors, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 7 | H. Liebes and Co. Souvenir Catalogue, 1893-1894 |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | Martin’s World’s Fair Album-Atlas and Family Souvenir, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 9 | Souvenir booklet sponsored by Heath and Milligan Manufacturing, undated |
Series IV: Memorabilia |
| Box 9 Folder 10 | Columbian half dollar coin, 1893 |
| Box 10 | Commemorative shaving blade by H. Boker & Co., undated |
Series V: Subsequent Writings |
| Box 11 Folder 1 | Clippings on the Fine Arts Building and demolition of a tower on the Midway, circa 1930 |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | Recollections of the Exposition and the University of Chicago by Harold Swift and Nathaniel Butler, 1923 |
Series VI: Photographs |
The photographs by Arnold and Walker have been digitized and are available as part of the University of Chicago Photographic Archive.
Subseries 1: Single Prints and Bound Albums |
| Box 12 | “The German Building” by William Federbusch, 1908 |
| Box 13 | Photo Album of Exposition photographs by E. R. Walker, 1893 |
| Box 14 | Photo Album of unofficial Exposition photographs by Gardiner, undated |
| Box 15 | Photo Album of Ocean Crossing and Visit to the Fair and U.S. Destinations, undated. (Codex Manuscripts, MS1457) |
Subseries 2: C.D. Arnold |
| Box 16 Folder 1 | Administration Building |
| Box 16 Folder 2 | Art Building |
| Box 16 Folder 3 | Arts Building from Wooded Island |
| Box 16 Folder 4 | The Café de Marine |
| Box 16 Folder 5 | Dedication Ceremony inside Manufacturers Building, October 22, 1892 |
| Box 16 Folder 6 | Electricity Building |
| Box 16 Folder 7 | Fire at the Cold Storage Building |
| Box 16 Folder 8 | Horticultural Building Dome, from Asian Garden |
| Box 16 Folder 9 | Interior Women's Building |
| Box 16 Folder 10 | In the Esquimaux Village [1/2] |
| Box 16 Folder 11 | In the Esquimaux Village [2/2] |
| Box 16 Folder 12 | Japanese Ho-o-den |
| Box 16 Folder 13 | Japanese Tea Garden [1/3] |
| Box 16 Folder 14 | Japanese Tea Garden [2/3] |
| Box 16 Folder 15 | Japanese Tea Garden [3/3] |
| Box 16 Folder 16 | Japanese Boat |
| Box 16 Folder 17 | Java Village, on the Midway |
| Box 16 Folder 18 | Lagoon, Looking South |
| Box 16 Folder 19 | Lagoon and West Side Manufactures Building |
| Box 16 Folder 20 | Liberal Arts Building from Wooded Island |
| Box 16 Folder 21 | Loggia, Women's Building |
| Box 16 Folder 22 | Looking West from Café de Marine |
| Box 16 Folder 23 | Looking West on Grand Basin |
| Box 16 Folder 24 | Looking West on South Side of Grand Basin |
| Box 16 Folder 25 | Machinery Hall |
| Box 16 Folder 26 | Manufactures Building |
| Box 16 Folder 27 | Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building |
| Box 16 Folder 28 | Mines and Mining Building |
| Box 16 Folder 29 | North West from Liberal Arts Building |
| Box 16 Folder 30 | South End Manufactures Building |
| Box 16 Folder 31 | South Entrance Fisheries Building |
| Box 16 Folder 32 | South West from Roof of Liberal Arts Building |
| Box 16 Folder 33 | West from Roof of Liberal Arts Building |
| Box 16 Folder 34 | West View of Manufactures Building |
| Box 17 Folder 1 | Boone and Crockett Club House [1/3] |
| Box 17 Folder 2 | Boone and Crockett Club House [2/3] |
| Box 17 Folder 3 | Boone and Crockett Club House [3/3] |
| Box 17 Folder 4 | California State Building |
| Box 17 Folder 5 | A Caravel |
| Box 17 Folder 6 | Cliff Dwellers |
| Box 17 Folder 7 | Columbian Fountain and Machinery Hall [1/2] |
| Box 17 Folder 8 | Columbian Fountain and Machinery Hall [2/2] |
| Box 17 Folder 9 | Columbian Fountain |
| Box 17 Folder 10 | Convent of La Rabida |
| Box 17 Folder 11 | Detail of the Columbian Fountain |
| Box 17 Folder 12 | Egyptian Temple, on the Midway (with Foster and Kent Halls in the background) |
| Box 17 Folder 13 | Famer's Boy Statue |
| Box 17 Folder 14 | German Village, on the Midway [1/4] |
| Box 17 Folder 15 | German Village, on the Midway [2/4] |
| Box 17 Folder 16 | German Village, on the Midway [3/4] |
| Box 17 Folder 17 | German Village, on the Midway [4/4] |
| Box 17 Folder 18 | German Gates, in the Manufactures Building |
| Box 17 Folder 19 | A Gondola |
| Box 17 Folder 20 | Group on Colonnade |
| Box 17 Folder 21 | Guatemala Building |
| Box 17 Folder 22 | India Building |
| Box 17 Folder 23 | Looking North from the Colonnade [1/2] |
| Box 17 Folder 24 | Looking North from the Colonnade [2/2] |
| Box 17 Folder 25 | Naval Exhibit |
| Box 17 Folder 26 | Norway Building |
| Box 17 Folder 27 | Old Vienna, on the Midway |
| Box 17 Folder 28 | The Peristyle and Arch |
| Box 17 Folder 29 | The Peristyle and Arch, Looking Northeast |
| Box 17 Folder 30 | Statue of the Republic |
| Box 17 Folder 31 | Under the Ferris Wheel |
| Box 17 Folder 32 | Virginia State Building (replica of Mount Vernon) |
Subseries 3: E.R. Walker |
| Box 18 Folder 1 | Administration Building |
| Box 18 Folder 2 | Administration Building, looking from Wooded Island |
| Box 18 Folder 3 | Agricultural Building, entrance |
| Box 18 Folder 4 | Agricultural Building, from Grand Basin |
| Box 18 Folder 5 | Arts Building, entrance on North Pond |
| Box 18 Folder 6 | Arts Building, looking West on North Pond |
| Box 18 Folder 7 | Columbia Fountain |
| Box 18 Folder 8 | Columbus Statue |
| Box 18 Folder 9 | Convent La Rabida |
| Box 18 Folder 10 | Court of Honor, looking East to Peristyle |
| Box 18 Folder 11 | Court of Honor, looking West to Administration |
| Box 18 Folder 12 | Cowboy (or Rancher) Sculpture |
| Box 18 Folder 13 | East Façade of Agriculture Building from South Inlet Peninsula |
| Box 18 Folder 14 | The Ferris Wheel, looking East down the Midway |
| Box 18 Folder 15 | Fisheries Building |
| Box 18 Folder 16 | Horticultural Building |
| Box 18 Folder 17 | Illinois State Building |
| Box 18 Folder 18 | Looking West from the Upper Promenade of the Administration Building |
| Box 18 Folder 19 | Machinery Hall |
| Box 18 Folder 20 | Manufactures Building, from Lake Michigan |
| Box 18 Folder 21 | Moose Sculptures |
| Box 18 Folder 22 | Native American Sculpture |
| Box 18 Folder 23 | Old Vienna Square, on the Midway |
| Box 18 Folder 24 | Painting of Well-to-Do Fairgoers Traveling to or from the Exposition |
| Box 18 Folder 25 | The Peristyle |
| Box 18 Folder 26 | South Canal and Obelisk |
| Box 18 Folder 27 | Statue of a Bull on South Canal, looking North |
| Box 18 Folder 28 | Statue of the Republic |
| Box 18 Folder 29 | Unknown Painting or Mural |
| Box 18 Folder 30 | Woman’s Building |