The New York World's Fair, 1939/1940

The New York World's Fair 1939/1940 may not have been the greatest of all world's fairs, but it is probably the most fondly remembered of all of them, a spectacle that no one who was there has forgotten. The 700-foot-tall Trylon and the 200-foot-wide Perisphere are still vivid symbols and memories of a wonderful and lost time for millions of people.

Do you remember seeing or being told about the vast diorama of Democracity representing the theme of the Fair in 1939, "Building the World of Tomorrow"; GM's Futurama ride; the world's largest mirrored ceiling; 3-D movie; Elektro, a robot seven feet tall; the Town of Tomorrow; Toyland; the Parachute Jump; Bill Rose's Aquacade? The Fair is here in this book which recaptures its abiding images in 155 photographs, 93 of them by Richard Wurts, and catalogs some of its best-remembered artistic and scientific achievements.

There is the typical 1930s decor of the Bauhaus and Art Deco persuasion designed by such top-flight industrial designers and architects as Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy, Albert Kahn, Morris Lapidus, Edward D. Stone, Skidmore and Owings; its scientific contributions (fluorescent lights, nylon, television); its paintings, fountains, sculptures, and murals by artists like Salvador Dali, Rockwell Kent, Isamu Noguchi, Alexander Calder, Jo Davidson, Carl Milles, Paul Manship; its cultural and popular attractions; personalities like Eleanor Holm, Johnny Weissmuller, H. V. Kaltenborn, and many others.

The detailed introduction relates the history of the Fair and the people and principles involved. The accurate and informative captions give the architects and important statistics of the buildings illustrated, and tell about many more exhibits and features not pictured. You will revisit the New York World's Fair and recapture some of its magic within this book.