World Columbian Portfolio--Eight Books of 40 Pages in 1893/Just the Flyer Today

I am only offering this great advertising piece from the Columbian Expo, not the 320 pages of artwork in a portfolio format it offers. Each 40-page folio was available for a dime! That was even pretty darned cheap more than 130 years ago. Having been involved in publishing and printing my entire life (I began working at a printing business in high school which seems like it was about as long ago as the Columbian Expo), I cannot imagine printing a full color, high quality bound 40-page publication that one could buy for a dime.

And as a student of history, I do know what a dime would buy in 1`893 at the world's fair; compared to the myriad publications published during the WCE, selling ANY of them for ten cents even in 1893 was quite a bargain.

This is definitely an item for the collector interested in paper, from tickets and passes to books and booklets, stamps and letterheads to brochures and banners. I find it truly amazing and nearly unfathomable how many companies and individuals offered published products in Chicago in 1893.

I know many WCE collectors focus on medals and tokens rather than paper products, but I also know that I've personally sold paper items such as this to hundreds of different customers in the last 45 years. If paper ephemera from the fair is of interest, you shouldn't pass up this opportunity (or dozen of others in this sale).

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WCE PAPER ITEMS: You no doubt have seen the lot at the beginning of this sale with a wonderful printed rarity from the Empire of Japan. I have not decided just how to sell a few more Columbian books: I have TEN shelves in our office crammed with just Columbian books published in 1892-1894.

I have not undertaken a complete inventory, but these roughly 300-400 books were published about the world's fair between the year before and the year after it was held. Included is my own library and a separate group that were acquired as inventory to sell. If/when I find the time to create an inventory with the specs and an editorial summary for each book I will decide how to prepare a sale of the WCE publications here, or if an auction house or a rare book dealer would be better equipped to do so.

IF YOU HAVE INTEREST IN WCE BOOKS & OTHER PUBLICATIONS from the fair, please contact me. There has never been a great demand for books among WCE collectors; that is the status with many types of collectibles. I have a friend and former client who owns a spectacular Civil War library, simply overflowing with rarities. Yet when he took to ebay to sell duplicates, the results were very disappointing. I think the problem is that while he and I collect books along with a variety of ephemera on our special interests, most collectors view books as reference material, not as collectibles.

I was reminded when I attended the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair in October that there are a whole lot of people interested in books related to their collecting interests. I was reenergized to attack my Columbian books to offer hundreds of them for sale. This project will remain on the back burner for now, but if you have interest in 19th century books, please let me know. The conversation won't cost a thing and just might provide you with some valuable information.