Visitor’s Guide to the Centennial Exhibition and Philadelphia

Deluxe version of the Authorized Visitor’s Guide to the Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia in 1876.

This is an excellent example of (allegedly) the only guide book that was sold on the grounds of the Centennial Exposition, held in Fairmont Park to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Nearly 10 million people attended the exhibition, and thirty seven countries participated between May and November. Exhibits newly introduced to the public included Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, the typewriter, Heinz Ketchup, and root beer. The guidebook is 48 pages long and contains information on the program of events, hotels and places of amusement, exhibition buildings and travel suggestions.

Two maps are also included – the first is a reference map of Philadelphia showing the city’s streetcar and rail lines, plus a small scale map of the grounds. The second map is a gorgeous large scale color plan of the grounds, showing individual building and entrance locations, rail depots, ferry docks and the flags of each participating nation. This is the “deluxe” version that includes cloth boards, a separately issued map of the grounds and blank memorandum pages that would have been omitted from the “basic” version.