Spectacle in the White City: The Rerelease of a Classic

"Fifty times he opened the book of photographs of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, fifty times he looked at the picture of the Court of Honour."
Babbitt
Sinclair Lewis

Some books deserve a "do over." Not just another edition or printing; I'm referring to a complete redesign that honors the book's topic and content. Such is the case with Spectacle in the White City: The Chicago 1893 World's Fair, the new Calla Editions release from Dover Publications.


Fair aficionados will immediately recognize that Spectacle in the White City, with its lively and enlightening text by Stanley Applebaum, is a republishing of the 1980 over sized paperback, The Chicago World's Fair of 1893.

One of the most interesting aspects of this new edition comes as a revelation in Peter Bacon Hales' preface. The author of the detailed and highly knowledgeable text, Stanley Applebaum, was actually the Editor-in-Chief of Dover Publications, an old school editor who seemed knowledgeable on a plethora of topics. Applebaum's highly readable text has remained intact with minor exceptions.

At the time when the original edition was released, it was one of a very few to feature the photographs made from the glass plate negatives of architectural photographer, C. D. Arnold, and, to be honest, Fair frenzy had not reached the level it has today. The modest edition was adequate and deserving of a place on the bookshelf of every Chicago history buff, but the reprinting as Spectacle in the White City takes the Fair images and book quality to a whole new level.

The new landscape formatted Calla edition is a beautiful 156 page hardcover with an overprinted vellum dust jacket. There are 128 duotone plates and while the photographs are the same as in the 1980 publication, they look new and crisp. It's the paper stock that really hooked me - heavy, glossy and sturdy. It will stand up to repeated viewing and page-turning.

Because, I'm like Lewis' "Babbitt." I never tire of looking at the amazing pictures from 1893, examining the architectural details of the massive buildings, and sometimes, going so far as to use a magnifying glass to search the faces in the crowds. I want to jump into those pictures, and just for a moment, experience the sounds and sites and smells of those heady long ago days. And now I have a book that will endure my abuse and my fantasy.

Yes, some books deserve a second chance. And, I'm delighted this one got it.