Vintage 1939 New York World’s Fair postcard. From the collection of sjsu.edu.
Happy Birthday to me. And for my birthday this past December, Chris surprised me with a few souvenirs from the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Due to personal circumstances I have not be able to do much driving for deco this year. But to my surprise Chris was quietly picking up 1939 New York World’s Fair goodies for me throughout the year.
An Admission Ticket
Its not quite the “Golden Ticket” from Willie Wonka and Chocolate Factory, but I would be more than willing to use it to get into the fair. Well, that is, if someone would loan me a time machine.
A 1939 New York World’s Fair admission ticket. From the collection of the author.
Glass Bank
This piece was new to me. While I had seen and own the Esso glass block bank, this one was surprise. It is in great condition, and it even came with two pennies (one from 1937 and one from 1939) inside of it. Three bands of ribbing around its center gives it extra strength. And it has a small flat bottom to keep it from rolling away. Embossed on one side with the Trylon and Perisphere, the other side has the year and a banner reading “the New York World’s Fair”.
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- Souvenir World’s Fair spherical bank. From the collection of the author.
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- Other side of the spherical glass bank. From the collection of the author.
Syroco Wood Ashtray
Syroco Wood was a synthetic product of the Syracuse Ornamental Company (Syroco). The upstate New York company producing pieces molded from wood pulp with flour and other materials for binders, the finished products looked and felt like carved wood. Many 1939 New York World’s Fair souvenirs were made in Syroco Wood, and I have several, including bookends and a necktie rack. Even though I’m not a smoker Chris picked up this small Syroco Wood ashtray. The glass bowl is removable for easy cleaning. And like most World’s Fair souvenirs it has the Trylon and Perisphere on it.
Small Syroco Wood ashtray with removable glass bowl. From the collection of the author.
Textolite Letter Opener
This was another piece that was new to me. And the one that I found the most interesting. This letter opener is in the shape of the Trylon and Perisphere (of course) and has GE stamped on one side and TEXTOLITE on the other.
Textolite letter opener souvenir from the General Electric Pavilion. From the collection of the author.
Exterior view of the General Electric Exhibit at the World’s Fair. (Photo by ? Bettmann/CORBIS/Bettmann Archive)
Textolite is a phenolic material similar to Bakelite that General Electric first developed for electro-insulation. Eventually it came to be used for other purposes, such as counter tops. At the General Electric pavilion these letter openers freebie souvenir made right there on the spot.
Textolite letter opener machine in the General Electric pavilion. Image from the NYPL Digital Collections.
Copy for the Textolite letter opener machine photograph. Image from the NYPL Digital Collections.
Reverse side of the Textolite souvenir letter opener. From the collection of the author.
So, thanks to Chris, this ended up being a good birthday.
Anthony
Sources:
Antique Trader; New York Public Library; San Jose State University