Fairest of Them All

World Fairs are still around, who knew? In the days before Globe Trekker these pavilions from exotic lands, I imagine, were a window into the world. Oh, and World Fairs gave us both Eiffel Tower and Seattle’s Space Needle (thankfully for France’s tourism industry Parisians decided not to tear down the Eiffel Tower, which was only intended as a temporary structure).

Though the Fairs (or Expos) might be past their glory days, blame the Internets and Expedia, the posters from the World Fairs early days are still very much awesome.

Here are a few I wouldn’t kick off my living room wall:

Paris 1889: this one gave us the very famous Tower. The Expo ran from May thru October and some reports say that 30,000,000 people visited the exhibition.

Brussells 1910

Turin 1911 - official logo. Love that Art Noveau lettering!

...and the poster (a little saucy for 1911, no?)

Chicago 1933: A Century of Progress. The Expo celebrated city's cenntenial.