brian cassidy bookselle

48.
[Architecture]:
[1939 World’s Fair]
PILGRIMAGE TO TOMORROW
[World's Fair Souvenir Book
with Original Photographs]
[New York], 1939
Small 8vo. spiral-bound wraps with
flexible plastic covers and a metallic
design illustrating the fairgrounds,
measuring 7.25” x 5.25” approx. 44
leaves with 250+ black-and-white snapshots,
with various ephemeral items additionally
pasted in. Most photos measure
1.5” x 2.5” approx. and captioned
by hand. Book very good plus. Pages a
bit wavy, some adhesive residue and stains. Several photos and other
elements apparently perished; else photos generally about fine.
Souvenir book produced for the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair, encouraging
visitors to record their own experiences. As the preface
states: “You, yourself, must round it out by adding your personal
impressions to what you see. In years to come, therefore, this book
will serve as a complete record and accurate reminder of the Fair.”
And the owner of this book took full advantage of the allotted space
for photographs and notes; pages are filled with snapshots and exhaustive
captions, most quite objective, with information and statistics
on buildings, monuments, artworks, performances, and exhibits.
The book’s cover (a metallic rendering
of the fair’s iconic structures
the Trylon and Perisphere)
reflects both the fair’s theme of
“The World of Tomorrow” as well
as its overall art deco aesthetic.
Contents expand on this retro-futurism,
particularly in the “Futurama”
exhibition (designed by
Norman Belle Geddes) and commercial
exhibits from companies like
General Motors, Westinghouse, and
G.E., where visitors were invited
to marvel at new technologies and
innovations. Notations and photos
reveal this book to be the work of
a frequent visitor throughout both
the 1939 and 1940 seasons. A careful
record of a monumental spectacle
of 20th-century optimism
from an enthusiastic (obsessive?)
fair-goer.
-1800-
67