POSTCARD HISTORY LESSON - Expo67

Today we have two postcards from "Expo67" -
the World's Fair held in Montreal, Canada in 1967.

Expo67 is regarded by many as the most successful World's Fair of the Twentieth Century.
The expo brought in over fifty million visitors, and holds the one-day attendance record among all World's Fairs.

Like so many other World's Fairs, Expo67 had gondolas, but very little is recorded about them.
In fact, thus far, I've only got these two images to go on.

The first postcard shows a gondola cruising in front of some eye-catching buildings, which I am sure were meant to look futuristic by 1967 standards.


Because this expo took place in Montreal, everything is in both French and English.
The text on the back of our first postcard, in English, reads:
"GONDOLA RIDE ON ILE NOTRE-DAME
Passing along the way the beautiful pavilions of Monaco, Haiti and France."

The gondola appears to be a few feet shy of the traditional length, has lines similar to a Venetian gondola, and most notably - is motorized.
Taking a closer look, we see a gondolier who is either seated or kneeling. He seems to have his left hand on a drive handle, steering the gondola with an outboard motor.

The gondolas' overall shape is somewhat faithful to the original craft she was inspired by.
The stern deck is different: it follows the same cathedral-shape as the bow, and was obviously not meant to be stood on.

Seating is laid out in more of a tour-boat fashion.
I've seen some American gondolas fitted out similarly.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference
(aside from the presence of a motor, of course)
is the stem area. The tip of the prow rises to an exaggerated point, accentuated by a ferro blade similar to some I've seen in cartoons.

Looking at the second postcard, we see more "futuristic" buildings, we see a larger tour-boat, and in the lower right hand corner we see three of the same gondolas.
The English text on the back of the second postcard reads:
"GENERAL VIEW ON ILE NOTRE-DAME - showing colorful gondolas in the foreground and looking towards Theme Pavillion, "Man the Producer" and the Expo-Express Station with its brightly striped roofs."

All three boats have the same red bench seats, and on two of them, you can see the white shrouds of their outboard motors.


Sixty-two nations participated in Expo67.
Instead of tickets, fair goers were issued passports, which granted them admission to all pavillions and mass transit systems, and they could have their "passports" stamped in many of the Nation pavillions.

Expo67 only ran for six months as a World's Fair.
It was viewed by many Canadians as the greatest cultural achievement in the history of Canada.
After 1967, much of the grounds remained open during the summer months until 1981. During that period the attraction was renamed "Man and His World"

I was curious about the gondolas, so I did an image search and came upon one more image:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtophotos/3316750376/

Looking at the flickr image, it appears that the boat may have actually been fiberglass.
If that's the case, one or more of these gondolas might still exist, buried under debris,
in some barn or shed in Canada,
like a red Barchetta.

POSTCARD HISTORY LESSON - Omaha in 1898

Most of the expos I've mentioned here have left evidence (through photos or writing) that their gondolas were a big deal. But it seems that the gondolas at the 1898 expo in Omaha, Nebraska were not so much "in the spotlight" as they were "business as usual".

It's my suspicion that these were gondolas that had been featured in Chicago five years earlier at the World's Columbia Exposition.

Omaha's expo was known as the "Trans Mississippi International Exposition". Running from June through November, this was an expo with something to prove. The U.S. had seen some financial hard times in 1893, and the organizers of this event hoped to show the world that things were looking up, and in so doing, improve the local economy. I'm not sure if the world got the message, but by bringing in more than two and a half million visitors, they probably succeeded at boosting the area economy.

Some of the gondolas in Omaha were painted other colors, while the rest remained their original black.
Most of the images I've seen of the gondolas there had prominent American flags posted on their bows.
Half the gondolas were open, the others had cloth canopy covers - the felze di tela type.
Many of the felzes were done in the striped cloth you see in the above image.

Thus far, I haven't been able to determine how many gondolas were there, but my research continues...

STEREOVIEW - St. louis 1904 Colorized

here's another stereoview of a gondola in the Grand Basin on the grounds of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was also known as the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.

If you saw yesterday's post, then you recognize the dramatic dome-topped building in the background as Festival Hall. In this image, the details of that impressive structure can be better appreciated. The architect was Cass Gilbert, a noteworthy individual in his field, who's portfolio included churches, museums, downtown Manhattan structures and even a state capitol building.

The photo was obviously colorized, and while there's no doubt that the color is artificial, I still think it enhances the image.

As our last stereoview showed, there were several gondolas at the 1904 expo, but this one has me curious - I'm not certain that it's Venice-built.
The dimensions appear correct, but the tail almost resembles some of the US-built gondolas I've seen over the years.
I am inclined to believe that she's either non-Venetian, or was built by someone in Venice who's gondolas had a more slender poppa. Also, she seems to hug the water more; my guess is that she was old even for her time - which might explain why she also appears to be less crescent-shaped than the ones we see today.

I can't help but wonder where the boat ended up after the Fair.

STEREOVIEW - St. louis 1904

It's been a while now since I posted a stereoview.

This one comes from the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Misourri.
The 1904 World's Fair celebrated 100 years since the Louisiana Purchase.
This was the second World's Fair hosted by St. Louis, the first one took place in 1884.

As with several other American expos, the folks in St. Louis brought in gondolas.
I haven't been able to determine exactly how many there were, but here in the stereoview image, we see seven or eight of them - some with two rowers. I don't see any seated passengers, and with the grouping, and the way the guys are standing, I'm guessing this was staged or posed.
Of course back then, photography wasn't what it is today, and they probably had to hold very still for the shot.

The impressive dome-structure on the left is the two hundred foot tall Festival Hall.
On the right you can see the restaurant Pavillion.
Festival Hall and the Restaurant Pavillion are connected by the Colonnade of States, and the gondolas are afloat in the grand Basin.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, just about every architectural thing you see in this stereoview image was built out of a "temporary material" that consisted mostly of plaster of Paris with hemp fibers mixed in.
None of the buildings in the photo still exist.

Glass Slide from 1898

I bought this piece about ten years ago.
I didn't really know what it was, other than that there ws a gondola in the picture - that was all I needed to know.

After further inspection, I realized that this was similar to a celluloid slide (like the ones my dad used to show for hours afer each vacation, and whenever guests asked a question that might lead to "oh, I've got some great slides of that" as a response).

This type of slide appears to be the predecessor of the slides my dad spent so much time with.

The image was taken in 1893 at the same World's Columbian Exposition as I posted about on November 30th.

In the background you can see the Illinois Building, one of the many huge exhibit halls can be seen to the right, and a motorized launch is just entering the frame on the far right side.
The gondola is rowed by two gondoliers, and the boat does not have a canopy.


I mentioned in my last post which included an image from the expo in Chicago in 1893, that postcards were first introduced there.
Other firsts for the World's Columbian Exposition included:
Cracker Jack, Cream of Wheat, Aunt Jemima pancakes and the Ferris Wheel.

World's Columbian Exposition - Large Gondola Photo

As you might imagine, I have a decent collection of gondola photos and other media.
While postcards make up most of my collection, I've got a few bigger images, and this is one of my favorites:
it was taken at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, also known as the "World's Columbian Exposition" - the first expo of it's kind to feature Venetian gondolas on American soil.

Back then, an expo or world's fair was just about the biggest thing that could come to your town.
Think about an Olympic-sized exposition, which has a small city built to accommodate it's many attractions, and is open for six months to a year.
And all this during a time when folks didn't have TV, internet, or a reasonable ability to travel.

For many, visiting an expo like this was the closest thing they'd get to "seeing the world".

Let's take a look at some close-ups:

Check out how the two gondoliers appear to be synchronized. I know that photography back then practically required posing, but I still think it looks great.
Also, I believe they're wearing suits!

Check out the deck detail; a classic format of the time.
Again, the guy appears to be in a suit.
The stance is consistent with posing for a shot.

The gondolas both have the lightweight "felze di tela" canopies which consist of a metal frame frame topped with a lightweight cloth cover.

As I've written in previous posts, the "small city" which was built to accommodate the 1893 World's Fair, was built quickly and with temporary use in mind, so most of the buildings in the image no longer exist.

It's no secret that I love postcards.
Looking back through history, we see that many things were first introduced at expos and world's fairs.

Many things we know and use today were introduced for the first time in 1893 at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Among them - postcards.

POSTCARD HISTORY LESSON - St. Louis in 1904

In 1904, St. Louis, Missouri hosted it's second world's fair.
The first one, known as the St. Louis Exposition, took place in 1884.

This expo was often called the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, but it's official name was the Louisiana Purchase Exposition - in honor of the 100 year anniversary of the famous American land acquisition.

The actual centennial anniversary took place in 1903, but hey, who's counting!

While researching expos and world's fairs, I've come to realize that these things were a much bigger deal back then.
One reason might be that if you wanted to see the world, you'd have to spend years on a steamship, various trains, and possibly even riding on the back of a yak! But if you wanted to see it all in a short time - you could - at the World's Fair.
Chances were good that eventually there would be one that was close enough to visit without having to shell out too much to get there.

Of course, some of these were huge.
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was the largest to date, was so big and complex that folks would spend weeks exploring it.

In the case of many expos, dozens of buildings were erected on the grounds using "temporary building materials". Often, these types of structures would begin to decompose before an event was finished.

Several of the buildings and edifices of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition were made from something called "staff" - a mixture of plaster of Paris and hemp fibers. (yes, yes, insert your favorite Cheech and Chong joke here).
In fact, I touched on the same issue in my post from Feb. 2nd of 2008 about the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, when I said that: "just about everything in the frame...no longer exists."
The same holds true for this image.
I have to wonder if they built some of the bridges out of plaster and hemp!

Our postcard today is, in my opinion, a good example of an artist rendering.
I would be willing to bet that the person who created this image, was standing on a bluff with an easel and a paintbrush.

The lagoon of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was surrounded by many buildings. The one in the background of this view was the "Palace of Education".

The lagoon had many different types of boats, and of course, they had gondolas. It seems that almost all expos and similar events had gondolas. I would imagine they were brought in because of their international flair, but became a staple because so many folks wanted to ride in them.

Looking more closely at these gondolas, you can't help but wonder a few things:

- First, you notice the bright colors.
I don't know if they were really painted such bright colors or if the artist thought adding a little color would brighten things up a bit. There's also a slight possibility that someone bought a group of racing gondolas in Venice - they do come in a rainbow of colors. I'd need to find out when they started painting racing gondolas nine different colors.

- The second thing I noticed was the design - they look a bit short to be Venetian and the ferro on each boat lacks the "fingers' so commonly associated with gondola ferros.
It's possible that the artist decided not to include that detail, but they also may have been U.S.-built gondolas that had much simpler ferros.

- For me, the biggest question that comes to mind with these gondolas, is what kind of propulsion was used?


take a closer look at the following image, and you may notice two things:

1. the gondolier doesn't appear to be rowing, in fact he looks like he's standing right behind the canopy.

2. I could be mistaken here, but that gondola sure looks like she's leaving a big wake behind her!
It makes me wonder if these gondolas had engines.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 was the sight of many introductions.

It is said that the ice cream cone, peanut butter, cotton candy and iced tea were popularized there.
Bold claims have also been made, crediting this expo of first introducing hot dogs and hamburgers.
I'm not sure I believe them.

But I have it on good authority that one of my favorite products, Dr. Pepper, was first introduced in St. Louis in 1904 at the expo.

Watch for a stereoview from this expo in a future post.

STEREOVIEW - Chicago 1893 "knickers"

Some believe that the first gondolas in America arrived in 1893 for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago . These were canopied and well dressed gondolas, often with two gondoliers per boat. According to photographs, the gondoliers would row in suits or more traditional attire, which at the time meant knickers and garments you might see in the Regata Storica on some of the parade boats. The 1893 Expo in Chicago was the first in a series of expos and world’s fairs to feature gondolas and their gondoliers from Venice, Italy. Many of the later expos hired gondoliers who were already stateside, but some of the folks who ran the earlier expos, brought the gondoliers and their boats over from Venice. It's pretty safe to assume that the gondolas in these images were shipped out specifically for the function.
Take a good look at the costumes on the guys rowing this gondola. The knickers, the hats, and the coats are right out of a Shakespeare play. Perhaps the Merchant of Venice.

In the upper left-hand corner of the image, you can see the famous Illinois Building - one of the multitude of world's fair buildings that no longer exist, but were captured forever in some of the earliest photographs we have.

POSTCARD HISTORY LESSON - Philadelphia

Here's an interesting combination of approaches to the production of a postcard image. Like many other postcards we've analyzed here on the gondolablog, the creators of this one took a monochrome photo and then added some colors. I think they did a pretty good job of capturing the water and sky. But then, as if four beautiful gondolas weren't enough, someone thought it wise to fill the air with four airplanes and two blimps! I could be wrong, but it sure looks like the aircraft were all drawn or "stamped" in after the fact.

This postcard commemorates the Sesqui-Centennial which took place in 1926 in Philadelphia, PA. This was a world's fair type of exposition which ran for six months, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was much smaller in comparison to some of the more well-known expos in Chicago, St. Louis and other American cities. The Sesqui-Centennial was expected to attract 50 million visitors, but ended up with an overall attendance of only 10 million. Much of the blame was placed on rain, which fell on more than half of the days the grounds were open.

Very little is known about the gondolas at the Sesqui-Centennial. By looking at the postcard, one might assume that they were Venice-built. They certainly seemed to have the lines. There are four in the picture - one is obscured a bit by another on the right hand side. Gondolas have been featured in expos and world's fairs consistently, but they did something rare in this shot - they loaded the boats with passengers. four or six passengers weren't enough, the trastolini and trasto de meso appear to have been removed to accommodate additional passengers, and at least one gondola appears to be carrying a dozen passengers. I haven't seen this practice many times, the most memorable images coming from Venice, California in the very early 1900's.

have no idea where the gondolas were prior to the expo in Philadelphia, but my guess is that they came from another expo. The folks in charge of the Sesqui-Centennial made newspaper headlines on several occasions for being cheap and having a budget that was cut, cut, and then cut again.

Maybe I sound like a broken record, but I'm probably just writing what you're already thinking: I wonder what became of those gondolas. We have a few gondolas in this country that are said to be over one-hundred years old.
Hmmm.

POSTCARD HISTORY LESSON - Chicago's second World's Fair

A curious gondola is depicted on this postcard from the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933. I've posted images from the first Chicago World's Fair in the past, and in the future will put up some more images from that, most photographed of fairs and expos. Today, however, I have an image from the second World's Fair, an event that was themed "A Century of Progress", and ran from 1933 to 34.

It was an interesting fair that happened during a fast-moving and somewhat uneasy time. Fast moving because the first introduction of streamlined trains took place there - a very appropriate example of the way things were beginning to speed up. Uneasy because we had just recovered from the First World War and things were once again developing in Germany, government and military things. In fact theGraf Zeppelin, a symbol of Nazi power and prowess, made it's big North American debut at the "Century of Progress" Fair.

This gondola is intriguing because it appears to be about three or four feet shorter than the norm and because the gondoliers seem to be propelling it with very thick poles. Because there are no forcolas visible it is possible that the gondoliers were using a punting method – pushing off the bottom like they do on some boats in England.

Some parts of the boat bear a convincing resemblance to a Venice-built gondola, while the overall length is a definite giveaway. Whoever built this gondola made the same decision that so many other non-venetian builders have made over the years: in order to shorten the boat - the area between the rear seat and the gondolier's deck has been removed from the design. As for the ferro, it is very convincing in the picture, it looks just like the real thing, and may very well be a genuine ferro from a Venetian foundry.

I think the most curious thing about this postcard image is that the gondoliers appear to be holding something other than Venetian remi (oars). Instead, it almost looks like these two guys are using 2x4's! Maybe they decided to push off the bottom and it was really deep, thereby requiring the use of something longer than a remo. Looking at the postcard, there's really no way to discern how deep they are reaching with those pieces of lumber. No forcolas can be seen on the boat.

Around ten years ago I heard a story about how there were a bunch of gondolas at the Chicago World's Fair that nobody wanted when the fair was over. According to the story (or should I call it an "urban legend"), since nobody wanted these gondolas, whoever was left to decide their fate...get ready for this...drilled holes in the bottom of each gondola and sunk them "somewhere near the end of Navy Pier".

I have no idea if the story is true, but every time I see an image of gondolas in Chicago, whether it was the first or the second World's Fair, I wonder if the boat in the picture is now sitting on the bottom of Lake Michigan "somewhere near the end of Navy Pier".

STEREOVIEW - St. Louis 1903

This stereoview comes from the Louisiana Purchase exposition that took place in St. Louis in 1903.
There are many aspects of this stereoview that intrigue me:
- The buildings, like those in many other expos, are probably not still standing.
- These twin images are over 105 years old.
- The gondolier is wearing a rather tall hat - at least by gondolier standards.
- I am, of course, drawn to examine the details of the boat. But what really surprises me about this stereoview, is the couple.
Sure, they don't look like they're doing anything wrong by today's standards, but back then you just didn't take pictures like this one.
Heck! by 1903 standards, this photo was rated R. Back then they needed to "get a room"...but of course it wasn't polite to say such a thing back then.
And of course, I wonder about the gondola: how did it get there? where did it go after that expo, and what finally became of it?
We may never know.
I could ask similar questions about the couple, but I'm sure their children and grandchildren know. By the photo, I think it's safe to assume that they had children. Good gravy, just look at them!

POSTCARD HISTORY LESSON - Seattle 1909

Let me begin by saying that I don't believe the boat on this postcard was a gondola, and for that matter, I'm not so sure it was marketed as one either.

I discovered it on e-bay about ten years ago because the seller had listed it as a postcard with a gondola.

There are some things about the boat that echo back to the gondola, such as the size and shape of the hull, and the straw hat worn by the "gondolier" on board, but then lots of men wore such hats back then.

The fact that the boat is red carries little meaning because many gondolas brought over between the 1890's and the 1930's ended up being repainted - often red, white, green, or tan. What really convinces me that we are not looking at a gondola, is the absence of any decks. A child is sitting where there should be a bow deck, and the positioning of the gentleman at the stern serves as a clear indication that no "poppa" deck exists.

The postcard is postmarked with the words "WORLD'S FAIR SEATTLE 1909", and the text on the front of the card tells us that the image came from Lake Washington in Seattle.

My theory on the boat is that it was either a very "creative" take on the gondola, or that it was actually a boat from one of the native tribes in the Pacific Northwest.

This is a fun one in that it's such a mystery.

Got any theories of your own?

STEREOVIEW - Chicago 1893

I love stereoviews

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking "what the heck is a stereoview?"

Well, if you're as old as I am (yes, I'm just getting to the point where I can say that), then you remember the Viewmaster.

If you weren't lucky enough to grow up with the Viewmaster, you really missed out; it was a type of stereoview. There were a series of images on a disk, and the disk slipped into a binocular-style viewer. Each eye saw a slightly different view of the same photo, giving the illusion of 3D.

Long before Viewmasters, there were stereoviews.

Stereoviews were bigger, usually black-and-white, and each view was on a separate card.

In many ways, stereoviews are like postcards: they give us a view into the past, and the really cool ones give us a glimpse into events that took place near the dawn of photography.

The stereoview I have for you today shows a gondola at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Also known as the World's Columbia Exposition as it took place on the 400th anniversary of the famous first voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Americas.

Like so many other expositions in the US, gondolas were brought in to give the event and international and exotic feel.

One of the unique things about this particular image is that just about everything in the frame...no longer exists.

It seems that the folks who built everything for the World's Fair used temporary building materials. According to chicagology.com, "only two of the Fair's 200 buildings survived", and the impressive Illinois Building in the background is not one of them. It's a safe assumption that both boats in the frame aren't around anymore either.

The bridge might be around but I'd be surprised if it is.

So what we are looking at here is something that no longer exists, but when it did, it was incredibly popular and affected millions. According to chicagology.com, over 27 million people visited the Chicago World's Fair during the six months that it was there.

Now let's take a look at that gondola.

She was brought over from Venice along with other gondolas and gondoliers.

Taking a closer look, you can see that the deck is not the smooth deck of a standard gondola, but more likely that of a wedding gondola as it appears to be carved.

There appears to be a forward forcola and I think I can see light spots on the portela, which leads me to believe that gold leaf was used to adorn this and many other parts of the vessel. If my assumptions are correct, this was an exceptional gondola.

The gondolier is wearing dark clothing. These days, you are more likely to see dark clothes during winter, but in the 1890's it would be typical for men to wear dark colors even in summer.

I have another image from the 1893 Fair which offers a rare view of the gondoliers there.

I hope to post it in the days to come.

In the mean time, enjoy the stereoview, and let me know if you have any additional thoughts or theories on it.