Official Catalogue of Exhibits on the Midway Plaisance World’s Columbian Exposition

Printed descriptions of over forty ‘Ethnographic’ exhibits along the Midway Plaisance.

This fascinating pamphlet was published in 1893 by the W.B. Conkey Company, the official publisher of the World’s Columbian Exposition. The catalog outlines over 40 different ethnographic exhibits on display at the Midway Plaisance, the long boardwalk-style strip of amusements situated adjacent to the (more stately) White City in Jackson Park. A keyed folding map of the grounds is included to help the reader acclimate themselves.

While some of the commercial areas (Vienna Cafe, East India Bazaar) have free admission, most exhibits cost between 25 (Irish Industries) and 50 cents (the Ferris Wheel). The most expensive diversion is a $2 trip aboard a captive (i.e. tethered) hot air balloon (filled with flammable hydrogen) operated by the renowned French aeronaut M.E. Allier. Another pricey attraction is Hagenbeck’s Zoological Arena, where seats in the amphitheater (featuring over a dozen trained animals like lions, bears, and tigers) can cost as much as one dollar. To experience everything in the Turkish Village (theater, Persian tent, panorama, Bedouin tribe), an attendee would also need to shell out a full buck.

While certainly amusing to the predominantly white crowds of onlookers, the various ethnic villages (Javanese, Dahomey, Lapland, etc.) also reflect contemporary ideas about scientific racism and ‘exoticism.’ The public displays of implied backwardness and savagery, visited by millions, reinforced popular perceptions of Western cultural and technological superiority.

Sources: Vassar University; U.S.S.O