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Postcard: 1964 New York Worlds Fair Farris Wheel, U.S. Royal Giant Tire

Souvenirs from the N.Y. Fair in Flushing Meadows Include Everything from Unispheres to Uniforms

The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair was not an economic success, but 44 years later, there’s a strong market for Sinclair Dinosaurs, maps, coins, and more!

In the days before the internet, or even telephones, World’s Fairs and Expositions were a way to spread the word about industrial, cultural, and artistic advances.  The very first World’s Fair was at  the Crystal Palace in London in 1851, and after that, the World Exposition became a craze all over Europe.  For over 150 years, citizens of the world have been introduced to some mankind’s greatest technological achievements in the exhibit halls of World’s Fairs.

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.

The Unisphere & Peace through Understanding

The Unisphere, a huge metal globe was the signature and central structure of the fair. The open grid-work globe sat in the center of a vast plaza, surrounded by a reflecting pool and  fountains with  the avenues of the fair radiating off the plaza.  Constructed by U.S. Steel of 250 tons of stainless steel, the 12 story, 120’ diameter globe perched gracefully on a slender three pronged base. The continents were overlaid on the grid, and world capitals were indicated by pinpoint lights that came on at night.  Encircled by three orbiting  bands commemorating international achievements in space travel, the Unisphere was meant to portray the Fair’s theme, “Peace through Understanding.”

Sinclair Dinosaurs, U.S. Rubber Ferris Wheel & We Try Harder

Due to a general lack of participation by most major European nations, the 1964-65 World’s Fair was more than any previous fair, a concentrated exhibition of commercial and industrial technology.  The largest exhibits were sponsored by Ford, General Motors, and IBM.  Sinclair Oil displayed animatronic dinosaurs,  US Rubber featured its 80’ tall Ferris wheel in the shape of a giant tire, and number two car rental giant, Avis introduced its ”We try Harder” campaign.  Sponsored by Pepsi, and designed by  Disney, the  popular It’s a Small World exhibit featured 289 animatronic dolls representing the children of the world singing the Small World theme song in five languages.

1964 New York World's Fair Unisphere and space rocket mechanical coin bank

1964 New York World's Fair collectible souvenir plate

Collectible New York World’s Fair Souvenirs

Since the 1964-64 World’s Fair was a tourist destination, memorabilia and collectibles number into the hundreds of items.  All the typical  gift shop souvenirs exist: spoons, glasses, mugs, plates, pennants, postcards, salt and pepper shakers, handkerchiefs, scarves, playing cards, ashtrays, pins, thimbles, dolls, coins, maps, guidebooks, snow globes, serving trays, coin banks, rain bonnets, and more.

Collectible NY 1964-65 World’s Fair Memorabilia

Some of the highest prices for the fair’s collectibles are for items that were made not for sale as souvenirs, but for use during the fair. These are objects produced for the day-to-day operations of the fair, and include uniforms, employee ID cards, admission tickets, and posters.

-by p4A contributing editor Susan Cramer.

Reference & Further Recommended Reading:

1933 poster by Weimer Pursell for the Chicago World's Fair, depicting the Hall of Science

A Century of Progress Souvenirs and Collectibles

The 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago celebrated science, made a profit, and set the style for the 1939 Fair in New York.  This fair, themed “A Century of Progress” offers the collector a wealth of souvenirs and collectibles.

Despite the great Depression, civic leaders in Chicago, Illinois were busy planning for Chicago’s second world’s fair in 1933 to celebrate the city’s centennial.   Though commemorating a historical event, the fair committee decided against the sort of historical theme that had proven to be unpopular and unsuccessful in the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.  They decided instead to focus on the progress that had been made in science and industry and “A Century of Progress” became the theme of the fair.

Chicago’s Century of Progress World’s Fair Celebrates Science
Chicago’s 1933-34 exposition focused on developments and innovations in science, and to that end, the fair committee enlisted the support of The National Research Council, an organization of scientists that had been formed in 1916 to advise on war technology.  For the first time, lighting played a major artistic role as companies like Westinghouse and General Electric vied to outdo each other in creating modern and exciting artistic effects with the latest lighting technology and materials.

The Art Deco World’s Fair in Chicago
As the country was mired in the Great Depression, early Art Deco was the logical economic choice for the overall architectural style of the fair.  The concrete structures were cheap to build, and eye catching effects could be created inexpensively through the use of bold color and innovative lighting.  Like the White City of the Columbia Exposition of 1893, the buildings were unified through the use of the limited color palette used throughout that was developed by Joseph Urban, a well-known designer of stage sets.

Master Marble Co., 1933 Worlds Fair, Chicago box set

Chicago Fair Exhibits and Entertainments
In keeping with the Century of Progress theme, the Hall of Science was the largest and most important exhibit building of the fair.  Applied science exhibits were presented in the manufacturers’ hall, where visitors saw an early form of television and a working auto assembly line.  As always, dinosaurs were well represented, as the public still found them fascinating.  It wasn’t all prehistoric beasts and technology, however.  Sally Rand, a famous vaudevillian, danced naked with two large ostrich fans in a Parisian styled dance hall on the Midway.  At its close in 1934, the fair had played host to 48 million visitors, and made a profit of $160,000.

1933 Chicago World’s Fair Collectibles
Unlike the New York Fairs, with the Unisphere and the Trylon & Perisphere, this one had no single graphic identity that symbolized the fair, although a planet with a swooshing tail does appear on many collectibles.  Prices for souvenirs from this fair are lower than the more well known Columbia Exposition and the two New York fairs.  A base metal trinket box with embossed renderings of various fair buildings and exhibits was purchased on eBay for $16.  Postcards bring $1-2, and an enamel compact will fetch $50-60.  The highest priced fair collectibles are items having to do with day to day operations, such as season ticket holder IDs, employee IDs and similar items.

Reference: Robert Rydell & John Findling; Fair America: World’s Fairs in the United States.

-Article by p4A contributing editor Susan Cramer.