We had a lot of fun researching the history of the fair and incorporating that into the game. We’ve been glad to hear that many people want to learn even more about the fair! There are many great resources available. Here are links to some of our recommendations:
The Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson
This book tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair’s construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. These two stories are combined, primarily through alternating chapters. The whole book is fascinating, but the material on Holmes is not for the faint of heart!
The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893: A Photographic Record
By Stanley Appelbaum
The book offers a building-by-building walking tour of the fair, reconstructed with the help of 128 photographs. The book describes the memorable aspects of the fair, the era, and its cultural and social significance.
World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
Digital History Collection at I.I.T.
This website contains thousands of illustrations and full-text images of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 for purposes of teaching and research. It includes four books published in 1893 and 1894, including one of our main resources for exhibits: The Book Of The Fair.
Link: columbus.iit.edu
The Great American Fair
By R. Reid Badger
This academic book explores the designing, financing, and construction of the 1893 World’s Fair. It looks at the fair in its historical and cultural context, seeing it as a representative cultural event of nineteenth-century American civilization.