World's Columbian Exposition Seal - Historical Ephemera Example - February 2026

Recently, I have been thinking one of the signature moments in Chicago's history:  The World's Columbian Exposition. The Chicago's World's Fair in 1893.  Plenty has been written about it, but it continues to be a source of fascination for plenty of people - including myself.  

There are tons of posts/videos/thoughts about the architecture and the permanent/not-permanent nature of the structures.  The structures were built to be temporary.  That's why they're not around any longer.  (Aside from MSI).  That's interesting of itself.  But, If you look around online, you can also go deep on various kinds of something else 'temporary' related to the fair:  ephemera.  Brochures, photos, badges, coins and more.  I've written about Disney Parks ephemera before, as it continues to fascinate me, too. 

In hunting around, I also came across this page on Wikipedia that features the "Official Seal of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893" and it stopped me in my tracks.   I've pasted it below.  It is CLEARLY hand-drawn.  The roping around the edges.  The globe.  The little bow-ties.  Love all of it.  And, the fact that it is put on a SEAL (with the spiked edges).  Love all of it.   

That image above is not mine - it is via Wikipedia.  

Here's a link to a high-res version of the original that is hosted by Wikipedia.  

Why do I bring it up?  

I'm thinking that this is going to serve as the basis for the inspiration for how we can bring our project to life.  More on that at some point.