New York World's Fair

The 1939 World's Fair was held in Flushing Meadows, New York and was the largest World's Fair of all time. Madeline must have been quite impressed with the exhibits as she collected many brochures as she made her way around the fair. (I actually attended the Montreal World's Fair in 1967, but collected nothing as I went with my mother.) I just reached into the box and came up with this. Madeline was just a few years older than I was at my World's Fair experience. I'm sure she enjoyed the House of Jewels exhibit. I never pass a jewelry store window display without thinking of her. She always insisted we stop and admire the jewels, even if we would never wear them. She actually donated two diamonds from a family ring for my engagement ring. So in a way it is very fitting that the first memory I posted is about jewelry.

Of the five jewelers listed in the exhibit program, only three are in business today--Tiffany, Cartier, and Black, Starr & Frost-Gorham. However, Black, Starr, & Frost-Gorham only has a store in CA and closed their NY store. Marcus & Co closed in 1962 and Udall & Ballou closed their doors on Dec 24, 1949. A Udall & Ballou gold compact was recently listed on Ebay for $1998.