They kept everything.

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My Grandparents kept everything, and it all ended up in my lap. This collection of stuff ranged from the cool (WWII V-Mail from my Uncle Frank) to the "you've got to be kidding me" (receipts from a trip taken in the 50s). I've weeded out a lot of the nonsense and kept the more interesting (at least what was interesting to me). In turn I decided to create this site to not only post some items, but also as a research exercise. Most items are from Chicago and Detroit, but of course family trips expanded their reach of hoarding. I hope you enjoy this very random collection. Frank Kownacki

theme by Robin Wragg

 
This is the program from the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago.  What strikes me as odd about this guide book (besides the fact that my family kept it) is that the font and style doesn’t match anything else I’ve seen from the fair.  Other printed materials use a font that resembles the Bauhaus font and has a very stylish art deco look.  This font, while still being a strong and now iconic 1930s style, is much more festive than the other official materials.  I guess the corporate idea of branding hadn’t yet been fully realized.  And speaking of corporations, it’s very nice to see the absence of advertising on the cover.  Today we’d see some major company’s name and logo splashed across the top.  How did fair goers know what to buy without advertising on everything they saw?!?   Oh how the times have changed. 

This is the program from the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago.  What strikes me as odd about this guide book (besides the fact that my family kept it) is that the font and style doesn’t match anything else I’ve seen from the fair.  Other printed materials use a font that resembles the Bauhaus font and has a very stylish art deco look.  This font, while still being a strong and now iconic 1930s style, is much more festive than the other official materials.  I guess the corporate idea of branding hadn’t yet been fully realized.  And speaking of corporations, it’s very nice to see the absence of advertising on the cover.  Today we’d see some major company’s name and logo splashed across the top.  How did fair goers know what to buy without advertising on everything they saw?!?  

Oh how the times have changed. 

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