Centennial Portfolio: A Souvenir of the International Exhibition at Philadelphia, Comprising Lithographic Views of Fifty of Its Principal Buildings, with Letter-Press Description

Philadelphia: Thomas Hunter, 1876. Landscape format (19cm). Dark red cloth over bevelled boards, stamped ornately in gold and black on front and spine, in blind on rear board, all edges stained red; brown coated endpapers; viii, [104pp, foliated 1-52]; 52 tinted lithographs and 2 black and white maps of the exhibition grounds. With the bookplate of William Crowninshield Endicott to front pastedown. Straight and bright, with minor reinforcement at head, tail, and corners, edges of endpapers gently rubbed, front hinge cracked through but holding, plates clean and bright: Very Good.

Souvenir views of the Centennial International Exhibition, the first official World's Fair in the U.S., with captions printed in German, French, and Spanish. The views depict pavilions dedicated to different states, countries (Canada, Japan, England, France, Brazil), technologies (printing, photography, sewing) and foods (a Brewers' Building, a Butter and Cheese Factory, and a French Restaurant)--as well as the Women's Pavilion, constructed by female fundraisers to exhibit "the industry, taste and manufacturing and artistic skill of the sex" (7). The success of the Centennial (which attracted 10 million visitors) inspired international fairs throughout the country (Rydell, The Books of the Fairs 5). RYDELL 296.