Souvenir containing views of exhibition buildings in West Fairmount Park, descriptive text, and metric and customary ruler diagrams on the recto and verso. Recto includes images of the front and back of the Centennial medal illustrated with the figures Genius of American Independence and Liberty and bird's eye views of Machinery Hall, Horticultural Hall, Main Exhibition Building, Art Gallery, Women's Pavilion, and Agricultural Building. Views also show visitor traffic, are captioned with building dimensions, and are occasionally surrounded by decorative frames. Recto also contains paragraph of text detailing the size of Fairmount Park, the names of the major exhibition buildings; the number of nations participating; and the opening date May 16, 1876. Verso depicts a customary (36 in.) and metric (100 cm.) ruler; diagrams of 4 inches, one decimeter, 10 centimeters, and 100 millimeters arranged for comparison; an explanation of "The Metric System," "Units of the System," and "Approximate Equivalents"; conversion charts of "Measures of Length," "Measures of Surface," "Measures of Capacity"; and "Rules." The Centennial Exhibition of 1876 celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art., Rolled., Rulers copyrighted by A & T.W. Stanley., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of Michael Zinman.
Date
[ca. 1876]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Michael Zinman World's Fairs Collection - Souvenirs [P.2008.36.43]