Fairs & Conventions

Dates: 1891-1893. Size: 23.75 linear feet in 20 boxes, includes 12 volumes, 1,091 plates. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. This visual record of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, photographed by official fair photographer C.D. Arnold, documents construction of the fair and interiors and exteriors of the major buildings. Arnold also made general views of the Exposition. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1893. Size: 2 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. A portfolio of facsimile illustrations by well-known artists of World’s Columbian Exposition buildings, fairgrounds and exhibits. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1928-1934. Size: 13.25 linear feet, includes 19 oversize folders, 24 artifacts, 239 photographs, 129 negatives, 54 postcards. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Commemorating Chicago’s centennial anniversary, A Century of Progress was the name given to the international exposition held in Burnham Park along Chicago’s lakefront from 1933-1934. Technological innovation was the theme of the fair. The collection contains artifacts, brochures, booklets, guides, maps, photographs, postcards, fairgoer scrapbooks, souvenirs and viewbooks from the 1933-1934 World’s Fair as well as publicity and fundraising addresses, press releases and other planning materials. Selected items from this collection are available in the Library's More From Our Collections Digital Collection.  [Finding aid]

Dates: 1933-circa 1939 (Bulk dates, 1933). Size: 5 linear feet in 4 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. This collection comprises of 11 scrapbooks of news clippings related to Chicago’s Century of Progress World’s Fair. Most of the clippings in the scrapbooks are from Chicago newspapers though the creator is unknown. While many different aspects of the Fair are covered, there is a significant amount of dedicated to Sally Rand, the burlesque dancer and actress, known for her fan dance. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1891-1931 (Bulk dates, 1891-1899). Size: 0.5 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Elizabeth (Bessie) Chandler and Albert Hafner were engaged to be married shortly before Albert moved to Chicago for business in 1891. Over the next decade, Albert wrote letters back to Bessie in Florida about his varied experiences in Chicago. The letters describe, among other things, the 1893 World's Fair, farm life in Evanston, cold winters, boarding houses, bicycling and business ventures from cigar sales to real estate. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1932-1934. Size: 0.5 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Mrs. Harlan Ward Cooley served as head of the Chicago Women's Club's Century of Progress Committee, which sponsored a series of lectures during the Century of Progress Exposition entitled, "Women in Civilization." This collection includes correspondence between Mrs. Cooley and speakers, as well as copies of speeches delivered at the Exposition. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1965, 1968. Size: 3 linear feet in 4 boxes, including 2 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago determined that Hubert Humphrey would be the Democratic candidate for president. Throughout the Convention, anti-war protestors demonstrated around Chicago and experienced police violence and arrests. The majority of this collection details the events and messages of the Convention itself through the officially produced material that was distributed to delegates and press. The protests surrounding the convention and the ensuing police crackdown are covered through a series of national alternative newspapers. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1892-1894. Size: 5.5 Linear Feet in 3 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. The Ellsworth-Arnold Albums were photographed by official Fair photographer C.D. Arnold for James W. Ellsworth, a member of the Exposition's Board of Directors. The images document the progression of Jackson Park from a mossy landfill into one of the most beautiful and fleeting architectural gems of the 19th century. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1880s-1901. Size: 12 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. Papers of one of the leading directors of the World’s Fair of 1893. Collection consists of outgoing correspondence (85 letters), incoming correspondence (926 letters), departmental records and ephemera. The collection documents fair activities from planning stages through the disposition of the exhibits and buildings after the close of the exposition. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1890-1895. Size: 3 microfilm reels. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. Moses P. Handy served as Chief of the Department of Publicity and Promotion for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. These microfilm reels contain copies of records pertaining to this part of Handy's varied career. The originals are housed at the Clements Library at the University of Michigan. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1929-1993. Size: 6 linear feet. Accession #2007/15. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. In 1992, Esther Parada, an artist and professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, created an exhibit entitled, “Who Dis/Covers, Who Dis/Colors?” The exhibit investigated the struggle of African Americans for representation of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable at the 1933 Century of Progress international exposition in Chicago. The papers include original art by Parada, research materials from the period of the exposition and press coverage of the 1992 exhibit. [Unprocessed]

Dates: 1958-1960 (Bulk date, 1960). Size: 3 linear feet in 3 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The 1960 Republican National Convention, held in Chicago, determined that Richard M. Nixon would be the party’s presidential candidate. As the incumbent vice president, Nixon was always a leading contender, but he worked with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to adopt platform planks that would appeal to the left wing of the Republican Party. Opposing Nixon was Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater who represented the right wing of the Republican Party. Some of this internal party division can be seen in these records which document the events of the Convention. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1940-1942. Size: 1 linear foot. Accession #1999/03. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Barbara Shepherd worked on the 1940 American Negro Exposition held at the Chicago Coliseum. She also served in staff positions in several social service organizations. This small photograph collection is one of the few sources that documents the construction and activities of the 1940 exposition. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1958-1959. Size: 7 folders, including 12 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. This small collection includes items Robert Sterling kept from his role as a referee for basketball games at the 3rd Pan American Games, held in Chicago in 1959. This collection includes twelve photographs of either the opening or closing ceremony at Soldier Field, official published programs, and a metal badge and certificate awarded to Sterling for his participation as referee. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1893. Size: 1.5 linear feet in 1 box, including 41 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. E.R. Walker was an official contracted photographer for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. E.R. Walker produced at least 175 different images for the Exposition. Fair visitors could select the photographs they wanted from among these 175, and build customized souvenir albums. This appears to be one such album, made up of 41 selected images. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1948-1950; 1985 (Bulk date, 1950). Size: 0.25 linear feet in 1 box, including 13 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. This small collection contains clippings, photographs, and documents pertaining to Rea Warg’s stage management of the Chicago Fair’s “Frontiers of Freedom” pageant in 1950. Of significance are Warg’s handwritten notes on casting and negotiations with the Actors Equity union. Minor information is included about the Railroad Fair of 1948-1949. [Finding aid]

Date: 1892-1893. Size: 3 linear feet, 350 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The collection consists of 350 photographs that document the U.S. War Department exhibit in the U.S. Government Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Eleven photographs show general views of the Ordnance Exhibit and the remaining photographs mounted to album pages show the installation of the exhibit and catalog the selected firearms and their schematic technologies on display. A.H. Russell was the Captain of Ordnance who was in charge of the Ordnance Section at the World's Columbian Exposition. It is possible that this album was assembled for him or his office. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1882-1895. Size: 2 linear feet (oversize album, 2 copies). Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Under the leadership of conductor Theodore Thomas, the Bureau of Music was charged with the creation of orchestral, choral and band performance plans and an exhibit of musical instruments at the World's Columbian Exposition. The Official Report created by Secretary George H. Wilson consists of an oversize album with typed narratives, copies of letters, photographs and clippings. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1890-1991, bulk 1891-1893. Size: 7 linear feet in 6 boxes and 31 oversize folders. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. Collection consists of approximately 200 ephemeral items such as trade cards, tickets, invitations, postcards and other printed ephemera. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1893. Size: 10 linear feet in 7 boxes, including 210 photographs and 44 glass plate lantern slides. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. Various scenes of the World's Columbian Exposition and Midway Plaisance on a variety of photographic media. The images depict buildings and scenes from the World’s Columbian Exposition and the accompanying Midway Plaisance. The Catholic Educational Exhibit that was on display in the Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building is especially well represented. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1878-1895, bulk 1893. Size: 4.75 linear feet in 5 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. Most extant images of the World's Columbian Exposition were taken by the official photographer of the Fair, Charles Dudley Arnold. The photographs in this Collection, taken by sometimes anonymous, sometimes named photographers, reflect the spontaneity and joy of snapshots, and not the formality of the professional portraits. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1892-1893; 1926 (Bulk date: 1893). Size: 1.5 linear feet in 2 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. The World’s Congress Auxiliary of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 consisted of a series of meetings, run by 19 departments, on almost every scholarly and cultural topic, and ran concurrently with the Fair from May 15 to October 28, 1893. The Congress of Authors, a division within the Auxiliary’s Department of Literature, was held July 10-17, 1893. This collection consists primarily of the correspondence of the congress’s Committees of Organization and Cooperation, and the responses of the numerous authors invited to attend and participate in the congress. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1889-1893. Size: 2.5 linear feet in 5 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. The World’s Congress Auxiliary of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 consisted of a series of meetings, run by 19 departments, on almost every scholarly and cultural topic, and ran concurrently with the Fair from May 15 to October 28, 1893. This collection consists of circulars, addresses, reports, and other materials generated by the Departments’ Committees on Arrangements and Organization. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1892-1893. Size: 1.5 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, World’s Columbian Exposition Collection. Youth's Companion was a weekly journal published in Boston. This collection consists of 36 issues, dating from October 20, 1892 to December 21, 1893, and containing articles and/or works of fiction related to various aspects of Fair activities, as well as advertisements of companies exhibiting their wares at the World’s Columbian Exposition. [Finding aid]