Snapshots of the Past

Captive balloon and Ferris wheel, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago – Antique Print

Captive balloon and Ferris wheel, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, c1893. — historic photograph
Captive balloon and Ferris wheel, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, c1893.. Historic photograph from the Ballooning collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This historic photograph of Captive balloon and Ferris wheel, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago brings a moment of history to your wall. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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Captive balloon and Ferris wheel, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago

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Two forms of mechanized spectacle share this view of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago: a tethered captive balloon rising above the fairgrounds and the Ferris wheel, the enormous steel wheel that was the fair's answer to the Eiffel Tower. Fairgoers could ride the balloon on a cable and look down over the White City's white plaster palaces and lagoons. The photograph is credited to C.D. Arnold, a Chicago photographer who documented the exposition's buildings and attractions, and it captures the fair's mix of engineering novelty and popular amusement at the height of its fame.

Created / publishedc1893.
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1890-1900.
NotesCopyright by C.D. Arnold.
SubjectsWorld's Columbian Exposition--(1893 :--Chicago, Ill.)--Buildings. Captive balloons--Illinois--Chicago--1890-1900. Ferris wheels--Illinois--Chicago--1890-1900.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,210 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-160909

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