1939-40 NY World’s Fair History

For their first major fair, New York’s civic leaders chose 1939, the 150^th anniversary of the 1789 inauguration of George Washington at Federal Hall in New York, the nation’s first capital. The fair’s design board included such visionaries of modernism as Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy, Henry Dreyfuss, and Walter Dorwin Teague.

Building the World of Tomorrow: the Trylon & Perisphere

The Trylon, a 610 foot tower, and the 180 foot diameter Perisphere became the signature structures of the fair, and may be the most recognizable of all World’s Fair icons.  The empty Trylon was connected via a spiral walkway called the Helicline to the Perisphere, which housed an exhibit called Democracity.

A Brief History of the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair

The year 1964 was chosen to celebrate the 300^th anniversary of the founding of the colony of New York by the British.  Robert Moses, chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Transit Authority of NY was appointed president of the Fair Board.  Moses had been active in promoting the Flushing Meadows site for the 1939-1940 World’s Fair, in the hopes that the profits generated would be sufficient to redevelop the site into a city park, but in this, he was disappointed.  The 1964-65 fair provided a second chance.

Peace through Understanding: The Unisphere

The Unisphere, a huge metal globe was the signature and central structure of the fair, and stood in the location of the Trylon & Perisphere of 1934-35.   The open grid work globe sat in the center of a vast plaza, surrounded by a reflecting pool and fountains. Constructed by U.S. Steel, the 12 story, 120’ diameter globe perched gracefully on a slender three pronged base.  Encircled by three orbiting bands commemorating international achievements in space travel, the Unisphere was meant to portray the Fair’s theme, “Peace through Understanding.”

1939 World’s Fair: Collectibles, Souvenirs & Memorabilia

An overwhelming majority of the collectibles from this fair feature images of the Trylon and Perisphere.  These items were fabricated of the common materials of their day, including celluloid, Bakelite, and wool.  Prices have come down for ’39 World’s Fair items, possibly because nostalgia oriented collectors, especially those that attended the fair as children, are selling off their collections, or at the least, no longer buying.  A Bakelite Trylon & Perisphere thermometer I purchased in the ‘90’s for $60 or $70 regularly brings only $30 or $35 today.

1964 World’s Fair Collectibles

While many of the ’64 Fair collectibles feature the Unisphere (which still stands in Flushing Meadow Park) it isn’t as universally recognized as the ’39 symbol.  More than any other fair, the 1964-65 fair was a celebration of industry, and the emphasis was on the corporations and manufacturing, and many of the souvenirs are corporate handouts.  You can still get a small metal tray for $6 on eBay, but a hollow plastic brontosaurus from Sinclair Oil will set you back $27.  I wish I still had mine.   

Dear iTaggit Users,

I would like to thank you for your patronage to my blogs, as I have thoroughly enjoyed writing for you over the past eight months. Today is sadly my last day at iTaggit, but I could not be handing over the reigns to a cooler blogger. You may have seen me mention ummjamiesha and her collections in past blogs, and Ms. Jamie is indeed my successor. I look forward to taking part in iTaggit as strictly a user now, and will enjoy reading Jamie's contributions to the site. Thank you again for all of your comments and encouragements in the past. They certainly helped me develop my skill.

Keep on collecting!

-Kristen

Hello iTaggit friends,

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I was very pleased when some of my items from my iTaggit wish list appeared under the tree this year. I especially look forward to setting up my new green iPod mini! I hope all of you comic collectors out there received some great collectible additions, all of you antique and art aficionados acquired new pieces to be displayed in your homes, and of course all of you entertainment enthusiasts added new games, music, and dvds to your shelves, but all of you must be sure and add them to your iTaggit collection and share them with the rest of our community! There's no time like the present to get started on your birthday wish lists, and our Gallery is a great place to find ideas. I look forward to seeing what you all add, ask us if you need your collections valued, and I hope you have a happy new year!

What fuels a collector to collect? How does one start? Would you say you started piece by piece over the years, or did you suddenly take interest in something and began buying everything you found of that genre? Luckily collecting does not have to be an expensive hobby, and most everyone has a collection of some kind, whether they realize it or not. Collecting has certainly been around since the cavemen era, when the hunters would create and collect tools for hunting and making shelter, so in some of my spare time, I decided to research collections on the Internet that had some zany or kookie qualities to them, just to see what I could find. Check out some of the stuff I found out there:

Air Sickness Bags:
Curator Steven J. Silberberg brings us the Air Sickness Bag Virtual Museum. He writes that Air Sickness Bags are art. "One can tell a lot about an airline's image from their Air Sickness Bags. Some barf bags are no more than a baggie with a twist tie, while other sick bags could win international design competitions. Are they art? I think so. You decide." He also posts that he has never been out of North America and is single.

Chocolate Wrappers:

Martin Mihal, of the Czech Republic, collects chocolate wrappers from all over the world. He created his chocolate wrapper indexing site to "popularize this hobby, let anybody browse chocolate wrappers from five continents, and to find new collectors of chocolate wrappers in the world to exchange chocolate wrappers and cooperation." As of January 31, 2006, Mihal has 38,579 wrappers from 99 countries.

Fat Collectibles:

Bill and Becky Sherman, of Illinois, have a number of collections, but my favorite one for its oddity is the fat collectibles collection. Though they do not shed too much light on the story behind the figurines and books, they do share an interesting hobby which Bill introduced into their relationship, and which I now bring to you.

Rum Bottle Labels:
Petr Hlousek, of the Czech Republic, is a member of the Curiosities Collectors Club from Prague and an avid collector of rum labels from around the world. He has 6,407 labels from 98 countries, 4,046 of which are unique. He also has 366 full bottles of rum from 38 countries. Lastly, he lists 2,832 labels that he does not yet have, and asks for help from the cyber-community in obtaining them. His collection is categorized by country and then further dissected by region of the world.

Soviet Calculators:
Sergei Frolov has a rather large collection of Soviet calculators, about 150 models in fact. Although I couldn't understand some of his site for language barriers, he does have several models missing from his collection that he is actively seeking out.

And Last But Not Least.....
Drum Roll Please....

Tissue Box Covers!!!!!!!:
A lady of unknown name or origin has been collecting decorative tissue box covers for a decade now. She purchased some through mail order catalogs, but really began to increase the size of her collection when she found an eclectic assortment of them on eBay. 

Collections bring passion and interest into the lives of those they enrich. Like any other hobby, avid collectors give a structured purpose to their free time so they can amass and organize collections. Keep on collecting and showing off your stuff for the betterment of the world!!! Or at least us here at iTaggit!

I was giving this after the passing of my mother june 1 2007 she met them in a restaurant and got their signature..