Hardcover
1893 · [Chicago]
[Chicago], 1893. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Oblong quarto. Measuring 16.5" x 12.5". Black morocco boards with title on the front in gilt, gold dentelle borders, rounded spine and gilt pages; signed by the binder at the bottom of the front board: "F.W. Papke, Wien." Containing 35 tipped-in albumen photographs, measuring 12.25" x 9". Near fine with light wear at the edges of the album, with a few scrape marks and indentations; images near fine with some fading. A wonderful album of large format photographs from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair likely compiled by an Austrian or German tourist given the album's title and Austrian binder. While it is obvious that many of the images are commercially produced, with the name of the Fair's official photographer ("C.D. Arnold") signed in the negative or with his stamp on four of the photos, the creator of the rest remains unclear. Captured in the photos are iconic images of the Statue of the Republic, the Administration Building (with a separate image of the statue of Columbus by the main entrance), the Palace of Fine Arts, the Horticultural Building, Machinery Hall, the Golden Doorway of the Transportation Building, the Ferris's Wheel, and the Colombian Fountain, to name but a few. A wonderful album of images of this important exhibition that heralded America's industrial and artistic rise on the world stage.
(Inventory #: 424239)