Symbols of Tomorrow

QUESTION: Many years ago I purchased a snowglobe from the 1939 New York World’s Fair that contains a miniature Trylon and Perisphere. What’s unusual about this snowglobe is that the snow in it is black. Have you seen one like this?

ANSWER: I get almost as many questions about souvenir items from the 1939 New York World’s Fair as there were items sold or given away at the Fair. Well, not really, but pretty many.

This snowglobe, featuring the Trylon and Perisphere, is one of the rarer souvenirs from the Fair. Originally, the snow inside the snowglobe was blue and orange, the colors of the State of New York, but over time, they reacted to the water and turned black or brown.

The Trylon and Perisphere were two monumental modernistic structures designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux that together were the Theme Center of the 1939 New York World's Fair. Harrison later went on to design the United Nations Headquarters.

After considering many different designs, the Fair Committee chose the Trylon and Perisphere to represent the Fair’s futuristic theme.

They chose the name "Perisphere," combining the Greek prefix peri-, meaning "all around", "about", or "enclosing" and the name "Trylon," coined from the phrase "triangular pylon." The simple structures could be seen from mid-town Manhattan as the Trylon was the tallest structure in Queens at the time.

Adjacent to it stood the Perisphere, a tremendous sphere 18 stories tall and 180 feet in diameter, connected to the 610-foot spire-shaped Trylon by what was at the time the world's longest escalator. The Perisphere housed a diorama by Henry Dreyfuss called Democracity which, in keeping with the fair's theme "The World of Tomorrow," depicted a utopian city-of-the-future.

The exhibit took up a space more than two-times the size of Radio City Music Hall. After paying 25 cents, visitors viewed the exhibit from two rotating balconies, dubbed “magic carpets,” that encircled the model while a multi-image slide presentation appeared on the dome of the sphere. Every six minutes a recorded narration extolled the wonders of this utopian city, and the lights dimmed to mimic nighttime as phosphorescent paint made the buildings look like they were lit from the inside. The theme song “Rising Tide” by William Grant Still accompanied the narration.

After exiting the Perisphere, visitors descended to ground level on the third element of the Theme Center, the Helicline, a 950-foot-long (290 m) spiral ramp that partially encircled the Perisphere. The 18-foot-wide Helicline had a mirrored underside.  Since it was one of the highest locations at the fair, the Helicline became a popular spot to take in views of the fairgrounds.

It took 2,000 cubic yards of concrete and reinforced steel, more than 7,000 individual pieces, to create the Trylon and Perisphere. Their combined weight came to approximately 10,000 tons. In order to test the durability of the design, models were subjected to 70-mile an hour winds in a test tunnel.

Originally, the designers planned for the Perisphere to be covered in a smooth and seamless layer of concrete. However, due to the high cost of that material, they decided to use gypsum instead. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts to smooth it out, the gypsum created an uneven texture and had visible seams. Also, surrounding fountains damaged the fragile coating and their arches of water had to be lowered.

The design for the Perisphere called for eight relatively small hidden support pylons,  giving the illusion that the sphere was floating. Strategically placed fountains and mirrors covering the supports enhanced the effect. At first, the fountains didn’t provide enough coverage, but the Fair engineers increased their pressure and added additional ones to create the desired effect.

At night, projectors with custom designed batteries and the largest long-focus lenses ever commercially made projected moving images of clouds and other things onto the Perisphere from nearby buildings using specially designed glass-mounted slides. Since the amount of light needed to project the images would have burned through regular film, the exhibit designers enclosed the slides in glass.

The Fair Committee licensed the image of the Trylon and Perisphere for use on an estimated 25,000 different products, including this snowglobe. In 1939, licensing was a  new concept, but it still earned the Fair $1 million in the first season alone.

Every visitor took home some sort of souvenir, from small toys to three-legged folding cane/seats to wallets, bracelets, woman’s compacts, and thousands of pins—all with the image of the Trylon and Perisphere on them.

Learn more about 1939 New York World's Fair souvenirs by reading "Souvenirs from the 1939 New York World's Fair Highly Collectible" in #TheAntiquesAlmanac.

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Mementos From the World of Tomorrow

QUESTION:  My grandmother gave me this item from the 1939 New York World’s Fair,  which I am guessing is a jewelry box. It had been in her possession since she visited the Fair. If you would have any information it would be greatly appreciated.

ANSWER: Corporations, makers of fine china, novelties, and toys made over 25,000 different souvenir items for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Each represented an exhibit or the general theme of the Fair and gave fairgoers something to take back home. There were plates and puzzles, pencil sharpeners and typewriters, and even birthday candles in the shape of the Fair’s symbols—the Trylon and Perisphere.

As the Great Depression came to a close, the optimism expressed by the 1939 New York World’s Fair gave our nation hope. It was not only a look into the future, but a way to let people know about the accomplishments that had been made, even as many fought poverty and starvation.

The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered 1,216 acres of Flushing Meadows, was the second most expansive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Sixty foreign countries participated in it, and over 44 million people attended its exhibits during its two-season run. This Fair was the first exposition to be based on the future, with an opening slogan of "Dawn of a New Day", and it allowed all visitors to take a look at "the world of tomorrow."

World’s fairs have introduced new ideas to the world ever since the first one held in London in 1851. They were momentous events and visitors to them wanted things that would make their experience at a fair memorable and lasting. Souvenirs of these fairs not only offer a look at how people lived at the time but also give us a snapshot of history.

Modern marketing techniques had been in practice since before the turn of the century. Everyone knows Coca Cola’s bold ads featuring everything from pin-up girls to Santa Claus. Marketing the New York World’s Fair wasn’t to be any different. While radio was common, television was not, so one of the ways companies advertised was through samples and giveaways. The souvenirs of the 1939 Fair provided ample opportunities for them to tout their wares to a public recently freed from the bonds of the Great Depression.

Fiesta made plates depicting a potter at his wheel, there were numerous types of hand-painted Nippon ware to choose from, and there were even knockoffs of Wedgwood and Lalique. RCA made a commemorative radio, Remington offered a portable typewriter, and Macy’s sold Dutch Girl dolls. Lighters, compacts, and ashtrays were also popular, as were coins, pins, buttons, badges, and pocket knives.

The variety of souvenirs and items from World's Fair events is seemingly endless—everything from dainty handkerchiefs to trivets. Even the most avid collector is sure to find a never-before-seen piece from time to time.

The fair opened on April 30, 1939, with 260,000 people in attending. This date coincided with the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration in Lower Manhattan as the first president of the United States.


To show off the exhibits in the best possible way, the New York World’s Fair planners  divided it into themed zones, such as the Transportation Zone. the Communications and Business Systems Zone, the Food Zone, and the Government Zone. While there were general souvenirs of the entire Fair, each zone and pavilions within it had their own special ones.

Planners chose blue and orange, the colors of New York City, as the official colors of the Fair, so many souvenirs bear these colors. Only the Trylon and Perisphere were  white. Avenues stretching out into the zones from the Theme Center featured rich colors that changed the further out they went from the center.

Each day at the fair was a special theme day, for which the Fair Corporation issued special souvenirs, including buttons, postage stamps, and first day covers, cancelled at the event honoring that special day. The fair opened on April 30, 1939, with 260,000 people in attending. This date coincided with the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration in Lower Manhattan as the first president of the United States. So this day had its share of appropriate souvenirs.

Some of the more popular pavilions included that of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The railroads were another prominent exhibitor at the Fair, as well as A T&T and IBM. And each participating country, including France, had a pavilion. Most likely this jewelry box came from the French pavilion since Art Nouveau, the style of the box, was a decidedly French creation.

For more information on souvenirs of the 1939 New York World’s Fair, please read
“Souvenirs from the 1939 New York World's Fair Highly Collectible” and “1939 New York World’s Fair Lives On Through Collectibles.”