History of the Work of Connecticut Women at the World's Columbian Exhibition Chicago 1893.
[Stowe, Harriet Beecher]. Knight, Kate Brannon. History of the Work of Connecticut Women at the World’s Columbian Exhibition Chicago 1893. Illustrated. Hartford, CT: [Privately Published], 1898.
Large 8vo.; frontispiece photograph; other photographs throughout; flowered endpapers; olive cloth boards, elaborately stamped in gilt and blind; fine.
First and only edition of this 171-page history of Connecticut women’s participation in the famous 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Connecticut’s exhibit of literature was its largest and most unique offering. The highlights included the stunning collection of rare volumes loaned by Harriet Beecher Stowe, which is described and visually documented here in great detail:
...Contents of the cabinet devoted to the rare and valuable loan collection from Harriet Beecher Stowe [include] a copy of the first edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in two volumes as originally bound and printed, very rare; a copy of the key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, also rare; the latest reprint of Uncle Tom by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.; and a complete set of Mrs. Stowe’s works, in twenty volumes, a special edition bound in calf for exhibition in the library of the Woman’s Building. Also forty-two translations of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, nearly all of which were presentation copies to Mrs. Stowe...[including] one in Armenian, one in Welsh...one in Dutch, one in Italian, printed by the Armenian priests on the Island of St. Lazarus, and a penny edition brought out in English... (p. 93)
This book includes a chapter devoted to the Stowe collection, quotations from letters to and about Stowe by Charles Kingsley, Frederika Bremer, Florence Nightingale, and others, and a detailed bibliography of the various Uncle Tom editions. Kate Brannon Knight, compiler of this volume, was the President of the Board of Lady Managers of Connecticut.
The World’s Fair of 1893 (titled the World’s Columbian Exposition in honor of Christopher Columbus) was a seminal event for women. Three buildings, the Woman’s Building, the Children’s Building and the Woman’s Dormitory, were designed, built and managed by a ladies board made up of women from all classes. In addition to book exhibits, the Woman’s Building included art and handiwork by women from around the world; the support provided to female artists such as Mary Cassat provided them a unique opportunity to engage in large-scale projects. Another notable landmark of the Fair was the pointed effort to include black women. The successful administration of these extensive undertakings by women paved the way for future projects.
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