Getting to a World’s Fair is definitely one of the items on my bucket list. But until I can attend one in person, I guess the next best thing will have to be to look at some vintage World’s Fair postcards. The selection I present here spans every officially sanctioned and recognized fair and exposition from the first half of the 20th century. Due to the outbreak of World War II, there were no fairs held between 1941 and 1957. The next part of this overview (to be published later) will pick up with Expo 58 and run through Expo ’98.

Exposition Universelle (Paris, 1900)

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Pan-American Exposition (Buffalo, 1901)

Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis, 1904)

(via Brenda)

Liège International (Belgium, 1905)

(via alanp_photo)

Milan International (1906)

Irish International Exhibition (Dublin, 1907)

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Jamestown Exposition (Norfolk, 1907)

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (Seattle, 1909)

 Brussels International 1910

Turin International (1911)

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Exposition Universelle et Internationale (Ghent, 1913)

Panama–Pacific International Exposition (San Francisco, 1915)

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Panama–California Exposition (San Diego, 1915)

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Independence Centenary International Exposition (Rio de Janeiro, 1922-23)

Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 (Seville, Spain)

1929 Barcelona International Exposition

Exposition of 1930 (Liège)

International Colonial Exposition, Maritime and Flemish Art (Antwerp, 1930)

A Century of Progress International Exposition (Chicago, 1933-34)

Brussels International Exposition (1935)

International Exposition Dedicated to Art and Technology in Modern Life (Paris, 1937)

1939 New York World’s Fair

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1939 International Exposition (Liège)

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Golden Gate International Exposition (San Francisco, 1939-40)

(via Shook Photos)