by Larry SpilkinThis is the second in a series of articles about collecting postcards.
As any collector knows, world's fairs have always been a source of collectibles, but for memorabilia, the 1939 New York World's Fair has no equal. This is particularly true for the fans of art deco. The 1939 World's Fair had as its theme "The World of Tomorrow". At that time this meant a "modern" world filled with "streamlined" or "modern" buildings, which were peppered with futuristic interiors, furnishings and appliances. The dark clouds of war were about to bring an end to the International art deco style, but the fair exhibits managed to ignore the gloom and look to a bright tomorrow.
To impress the public with their vision for an advanced, hi-tech world of tomorrow, fair exhibitors employed the best architects and designers of the day. These designers tried to outdo one another with forward-looking buildings and interior designs, which resulted in extreme moderne and deco styling. The symbols of the fair were the Trylon and Perisphere.
In the Perisphere, designer Henry Dreyfus furnished fairgoers with a cityscape of the future entitled "The Democracity." Albert Kahn and Norman Bel Geddes teamed up to present Futurama, a moving fantasy of a future cosmopolitan city in the GM exhibit. Raymond Loewy provided an admiring public with a peek into the future world of streamlined transportation where man would be swiftly and efficiently carried from one metropolis to another. He also thrilled fairgoers with the "Rocketport of the Future," which envisioned the day when rockets would replace airplanes for intercontinental travel.
Walter Dorwin Teague, one of several prominent industrial designers who participated in the design of the fair, consulted on many notable exhibits including Ford Motor Company, Kodak, Dupont, National Cash Register, U.S. Steel and Consolidated Edison. His distinctive moderne style is reflected in the interiors, furnishings and products of these company's pavilions. It is not difficult to imagine how impressed the public was with the integration of Teague's industrial designs into the exhibits—most notably, the giant modern cash register crown on the NCR Building and the flowing, speed-lined exhibits for Kodak, which mirrored the numerous modern cameras he designed for them.
The public responded to the fair's call to the future by streaming in by the tens of millions. The 1939 World's Fair had the largest attendance in fair history. And, naturally, almost every fairgoer acquired souvenirs. These included items of every type and description to fit every budget. Postcards were sold and given away by the millions. Some were mailed home to family and friends, and many were kept as mementos of the trip.
World's Fair postcards were, for the most part, either linen or real photo cards. The linen cards, with their vibrant colors, were well suited for the deco architecture of the 1939 fair. Real photo cards, with their modern black and white hard-edge feel, were also perfect to showcase the fair. The large publishing firms such as Tichnor Brothers, Curt Tecih and Company, and Miller Art published World's Fair series, which showcased the different buildings, exhibits and views of the fair. Some of these had elaborate borders incorporating the Trylon and Perisphere symbols in an art deco style. Collectors today, of course, enjoy trying to complete these series.
There were also postcards that advertised the products or services of the companies exhibiting at the fair. Many of these were done in a graphic style, which reflected the forward-thinking impression these companies wished to make. Although they were freely given away at the exhibits, they are prized and sought after by today's collectors. These cards can always be identified as fair cards by the incorporation of fair symbols or inclusion of the popular "greetings from" salutation.
At the opening of the 1939 World's Fair, a time capsule was buried. Little did the fair organizers realize that "time capsules" were being carried home by the millions as souvenirs, which served to preserve this experience in the hearts and minds of collectors. The further away in time we get from "The World of Tomorrow," the more it seems we appreciate and wish to preserve that unique vision.
Greetings From Miami Beach (Part 1)
