Key to the Chicago Worlds Fair 1933 - Souvenir Key - Heavy Bronzed Metal 8-1/2"


This wonderful old piece represents nearly 10 ounces and 80 years of History. It measures eight and one-half inches in length by two and one-half inches at its widest part. It is made of a substantial metal, that was apparently bronzed, and has now begun to develop a nice bit of natural oxidized patina. (My knowledge of metals is limited.) The photos show the items depicted on the key: Travel and Transport 1933, Hall of Science Chicago, A Century of Progress 1933, and Key to Chicago Worlds Fair.

The 1933 Worlds Fair celebrated Chicago's Centennial, and was billed as A Century of Progress International Exposition. It opened in Chicago on May 27th of 1933 and closed on November 1st of that same year.

The motto of the Exposition was "Science Finds - Industry Applies - Man Conforms, through Technological Innovation". Somehow I find that motto, although it was coined eighty years ago, to be ironically applicable today. How very many discoveries in recent years have been developed, produced and ultimately become an almost necessary part of our daily lives. Would we have guessed that we would conform to a smartphone being as much an everyday item as the ballpoint pen? We definitely tend to conform to the technology of the day.

I have learned that 48,469,227 visitors attended that 1933 Chicago Worlds Fair, and one of them purchased this wonderful old key as a treasured souvenir. Years ago, I purchased a mystery box of odds and ends at an estate auction, on a whim. This was one of the unique items in that box, likely a keepsake, unlocking someone's memories of their time at the Fair. It is a great historical piece that I hope will find a new home, perhaps with someone who remembers that Chicago event. It is in great condition, with no damage at all that I can find. I have not attempted to clean or polish it, as I personally feel the character is in the natural aging, rubbed edges and slight greenish areas.

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