Album cover. Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
New York World's Fair 1939
Artifact IDMO 1980.19
Object Type
Album
Artist
Theodore Kautzky
(Hungarian-American watercolorist and teacher, 1896 - 1953)
Artist
C. M. Flynn
(architectural artist)
Date1937
Mediumleather, cardboard, paper, ink, metal, plastic
Dimensionsclosed H 23 3/4 in x W 18 7/8 in (60.3 cm x 47.9 cm )
Physical Descriptiona) A large royal blue leather album with the title in gold tooling on the cover: NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / 1939. Also on the cover is a logo featuring a partial illustration of the Statue of Library and the date "1939" in blue on a gilt background along with © NYWF. Attached within the album is a spiral bound book with a white cardstock title page with blue and orange text that reads: PROPOSED PLANS / FOR PARTICIPATION / BY THE / GOVERNMENT / OF THE / UNITED STATES / OF AMERICA / NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / 1939. The book contains photostatic copies of seven plans and drawings (several of which are by T. Kautzky and C. M. Flynn) of the proposed Federal Buildings and the Avenue of Nations, each page separated by a sheet of handmade paper. Each print is mounted on a silk-screened cardboard page with blue and orange text at the bottom reading, "NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / 1939." Also on each page, the title of the print is handwritten beneath it in charcoal pencil. The titles are:
- "Federal Buildings Dominate Exhibit Section"
- "Enlarged Plan of Federal Buildings"
- "View of Federal Building from the Esplanade" [T. KAUTZKY / DEL.]
- "Facade of Federal Building" [T. KAUTZKY]
- "Grouping of Federal Buildings around Fountain in Lagoon" [T. KAUTZKY • DEL.]
- "Entrance to the Avenue of Nations"
- "Detail of the Avenue of the Nations" [C. M. Flynn '37]
b) Stored in a pocket on the inside of the album's back cover is a map of the fairgrounds and the surrounding metropolitan area entitled: MAP OF NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1939 / AND METROPOLITAN AREA.
c) Also stored in the album's back cover pocket is a typed, six-page copy of the "PROPOSED PLANS FOR PARTICIPATION / OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES / IN THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1939," dated January 18, 1937.
d) A custom-made plain blue cardboard clamshell box in which the album is stored.
Historical NoteThe 1939 New York World's Fair, located in Flushing Meadows, New York, opened on April 30, 1939 and closed on October 27, 1940. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the opening speech in person which was televised throughout the Fair. His address was the first time that a president appeared on television.
Additional Details
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPrints and Paintings (National Archives Identifier 778817)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view