Postcard of the 1893 Columbian Exposition World\'s Fair held in Chicago, showing the Agricultural Building. Very RARE postcard printed in black on tan paper, published by Girsch & Roehsler for Joseph Koehler. The wrapper, which I have, states the cards were patented November 1, 1892. According to Megson\'s reference book \"American Exposition Postcards 1870-1920\", this 12-card set is believed to be the first set of American pictorial postcards. Note these were issued in 1892, a full 6 months before the Exposition opened in 1893. Slightly over sized at 3.8\" x 6.1\". Unused 1892. Condition is excellent. Megson valued individual cards for this rare set at over $52 each in 1992. What is it worth to you 23 years later?
IMPORTANT NOTICE – I will be taking a brief vacation to attend my 50th HighSchool Reunion in Decatur Illinois in mid-September.sales that end on or before September 12th need to be paidquickly so I can get them in the mail to you.There will be a brief period from Sept. 13 thru Sept. 15 where I willhave no sales listed on .Beginning with Sept. 16, I will start listing circus relatedpostcards. I will NOT be opening emails or sending emails from about Sept. 17 toSept. 23.
The Columbian Exposition of1893 was a World’s Fair held in Chicago Illinois. Its theme wasthe celebration of the 400-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrivalin the New World. The Fair asdesigned by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted in the Beaus Arts styleand neoclassical architecture. TheExposition site covered 600 acres. 46countries had pavilions and there were over 200 building constructed for the Fair. It opened May 1, 1893 and closed October 30, 1893, with an attendance of 27 million people. Two buildings survived: the World’s CongressAuxiliary building became the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Palace of Fine Arts went on to house the Field’s Columbian Museum whichhas since been relocated as the Field Museum of Natural History. One long lasting development that came fromthe Columbian Exposition was the use of alternating current to deliverelectricity. Thomas Edison and GeneralElectric (GE) proposed to illuminate the Fair using direct current. Westinghouse proposed the use of alternatingcurrent. Westinghouse’s alternatingcurrent was selected, mainly due to the lower cost. Westinghouse presented may exhibits relatingto electricity to the 27 million Fair visitors.Many attribute the Fair as the pivotal moment when the future ofelectricity was decided in favor of alternating current.
If you have any corrections or additions to this description, please send me an email.This is1 ofmany postcards and photographsthat I will be offering on . Watch my sales over the next 2 to 3 years if you are an amusement park, circus, carnival, theater, vaudeville,playground,or amusement device postcard collector, Iam listing on my 35-year collection ofpostcards. Abbreviations: rppc = real photo postcard,est. = estimate my best guess, used = postal used, unused = not postal used but may have written message. Winner pays$1.85 postage and handling cost. Multiple sale wins that are paid from a single combined invoice with a single PayPal payment and are shipped together in 1 package, receive reduced total postage cost when possible.
