Cyclone Novelty Company (World's Columbian Exposition) - Chicago, Illinois 1887

Beautiful certificate from the Cyclone Novelty Company issued in 1887. This historic document has an ornate border around it with a an overprint of 100 in gold gild. This item has the signatures of the Company’s President, Theo. Harlow and Secretary and is over 123 years old.

This certificate came out of a group of documents from The World's Columbian Exposition (The Chicago World's Fair). This was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St. Louis, Missouri, for the honor of hosting the fair. The fair had a profound effect on architecture, the arts, Chicago's self-image, and American industrial optimism. The Chicago Columbian Exposition was, in large part, designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted. It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow Beaux Arts principles of design, namely French Classical Architecture principles based on symmetry, balance and splendour.