The Book of International Exposition Guidebooks: A Selection of Guidebook images from all major Expos from 1929 to 2020

By Gordon Linden

Guidebooks from major International Expositions held between 1929 and today are interesting records of the entertaining and educational temporary worlds created at these events in various cities throughout the world. Published as ephemeral items to be purchased by fairgoers, copies occasionally turn up at flea markets, antiquarian bookshops, and on internet bookstores. This collection of images from the various events, along with a description of the books, is sure to appeal to memorabilia collectors as well as those seeking to learn more about the history of Expos and World's Fairs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781329965805

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The Book of International Exposition Guidebooks

Published by: The Expo Book

ISBN 978-1-329-96580-5

Design: Teresa Papachristou, IND [Inter National Design]

Revisions and Cover Design: Mara Nuyens

© 2024 Gordon Linden / The Expo Book

All rights reserved. Non part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher, except for reviews.

Every effort has been made to identify owners of copyright. Anyone claiming copyright is requested to contact the Expo Book regarding such matters.

by Gordon L. Linden

INTRODUCTION1

1929 BARCELONA, SPAIN9

1929-1930 SEVILLE, SPAIN15

1930 ANTWERP, BELGIUM21

1930 LIEGE, BELGIUM27

1933-1934 CHICAGO, USA33

1937 PARIS, FRANCE45

1939-1940 NEW YORK, USA51

1939-1940 SAN FRANCISCO, USA57

1958 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM63

1962 SEATTLE, USA69

1964-65 NEW YORK, USA75

1967 MONTREAL, CANADA81

1968 SAN ANTONIO, USA87

1970 OSAKA, JAPAN93

1974 SPOKANE, USA99

1975 OKINAWA, JAPAN105

1982 KNOXVILLE, USA111

1984 NEW ORLEANS, USA117

1985 TSUKUBA, JAPAN123

1986 VANCOUVER, CANADA129

1988 BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA135

1992 GENOA, ITALY141

1992 SEVILLE, SPAIN147

1993 TAEJON, KOREA153

1998 LISBON, PORTUGAL159

2000 HANNOVER, GERMANY165

2005 AICHI, JAPAN171

2008 ZARAGOZA, SPAIN177

2010 SHANGHAI, CHINA183

2012 YEOSU, KOREA189

2015 MILAN, ITALY195

2017 ASTANA, Kazakhstan201

2020 DUBAI, UAE207

BIBLIOGRAPHY215

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS221

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Although international expositions were held prior to London’s 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition, that event is generally considered to be the first of a type of non-sports, cultural visitor event which is today known as an International Exposition or more colloquially as an Expo. Through the years, Expos have been called World’s Fairs, World Expositions and other variations on these terms, but they refer to the same type of event which consists of a place-based exhibition taking place for up to six months, hosted by an official organizer which features exhibits developed and operated primarily by international participants with some level of corporate participation. A successful Expo is both entertaining and educating; visitors can partake of a variety of cuisines, attend shows and live performances, and enjoy an experience unlike that found in other forms of large scale cultural gatherings.

The frequency and quality of the many events which followed the Crystal Palace gave rise in 1928 to the formation of a treaty organization – the Bureau of International Expositions or BIE – composed of several countries that joined forces to oversee international expositions. Over the years since the BIE was established, Expos have been held in various cities throughout the world distributed geographically to Europe, North America, and Asia; future Expos are being planned for Asia (Osaka 2025), Southeastern Europe (Belgrade 2027), and the Middle East (Riyadh 2030).

Visitors to Expos have been spoiled for choice with merchandise items for sale ranging from the very practical (i.e. umbrellas for the occasional rain shower or sunscreen for those waiting in long lines) to the whimsical (i.e. plush toys of Expo mascots) and purely frivolous (i.e. the Invisible Dog Leash sold at Spokane’s Expo ’74). While the range of items for sale to visitors has varied from event to event, one mainstay has been the Official Guidebook. As the images and text on the following pages amply illustrate, guidebooks have been a ubiquitous part of the Expo offering, providing essential information about the event such as access to the site, available ticketing formats, hours of operation, exhibitors, special performances, and visitor services such as food and beverage, first aid, security, etc. Given the timeframe of the selection of materials contained herein which extends from 1929 until 2020, a period which saw the introduction of commercial radio broadcasting (1920’s) and television (1940’s), the guidebook format has demonstrated a remarkably resilient and flexible means of conveying timely information and promoting ephemeral events; in retrospect, guidebooks provide us with time capsules of the attractions and features of Expos which, having survived on the bookshelves and in the boxes of the descendents of the visitors and original owners of the books, give us today both a way to take nostalgic looks back in time as well as records of prior events which enhance our understanding of past Expo experience while we plan for future events.

INTRODUCTION

An Expo Guidebook Primer

A review and analysis of the guidebooks presented herein provide a basis for a discussion of the various features which comprise this vehicle for communicating information about an Expo to the visitor.

Contents

The contents of an Official Expo guidebook typically include the following:

Basic Expo Information: Full Title (of the event), Short Title, Theme, BIE Expo Category, Duration, Statistics (i.e. site area, parking spaces, forecast attendance, etc.)

Organizer information

Expo Logo description

Expo Mascot(s) description

Site map(s)1

List of Confirmed participating countries and international organizations

Corporate participants, sponsors, suppliers

Theme Pavilions descriptions

International Pavilions descriptions

Corporate Pavilions descriptions

Events

Forums

Visitor Services: Ticketing, Transportation, Food Services, Merchandise Shopping, Information, Rentals (e.g. wheelchairs, etc.), Signage, Assistance for the Disabled, Lost and Found, Lost Children, Security, First Aid, Postal Services, Financial Services (ATM’s, banking)

Staffing including Volunteers

Website information

One of the problems which publishers of Expo guidebooks have faced in the past has been the need to publish the books prior to the opening of the Expo so that they will be available for purchase the day the event opens. As is evident in many of the books illustrated herein, one of the consequences of this requirement has been that the book publishers, lacking final drawings or photos of completed buildings and exhibits, have been obliged to utilize drawings and, in some cases, photos of architectural models to illustrate the individual pavilions and exhibits. In this way, they have been able to include material about each pavilion and exhibit within a reasonable timeframe to allow the book to be fully formatted for publication. Unfortunately, in some cases, the illustrations appear to be very conceptual, hastily drawn and lack the detail which would make a more convincing case for the attractiveness of a given exhibit; likewise in books where black and white or limited colors are used for the drawings, the illustrative results are not always compelling.

Another problem which arises from the need to compile and print a guidebook before the event opens is that the descriptive material for the pavilions and exhibits is sometimes boilerplate about a given country which neither addresses the actual contents of the pavilion nor speaks to the country’s interpretation of the theme of the Expo.

Perhaps the most obvious shortcoming in terms of content which is evident in the Official Guidebooks is the universal absence of any type of critical analysis of the Expo content which would provide insights to the visitor as to the merits – or shortcomings – of a particular exhibit or performance or food service operation. This lack of criticality arises, unfortunately but understandably, from the organizer’s need to promote the overall Expo as a high quality, good value for money experience recognizing that a critical word about a particular international pavilion which is funded and operated by a sovereign nation or its appointed concessionaire could set off a diplomatic incident. In spite of this conundrum for organizer-sponsored official guidebooks, some non-official, independent guidebooks have been produced at Expos although these have been mostly one off publications lacking the continuity or experience which an established reviewer or publisher could offer.2 At Seville’s Expo ’92, an independent guide entitled The Best of the Expo appeared shortly after the Expo opened. Featuring firsthand descriptions of the pavilions and attractions which were evidently researched by the book authors during visits to the Expo the reviews, although mostly positive, were accompanied by a star rating of from one to five stars with five being the top rating3 . Upon publication the organizers responded with a broad campaign of news and press releases denouncing the book and criticizing its authors for spoiling the visitor’s experience.

Format/Materials

The guidebooks have typically been published as paperbacks, although a few have been bound with an exterior hardback. A variety of materials have been utilized for the interior pages of the books which range from very inexpensive paper typically used for newspapers with black and white type which were used in the older books, to the more refined, heavier stock used in the full color books of more recent years.

1 Some Guidebooks have foldout maps, although these may also be sold separately.

2 Parsons, Nicholas T.,Worth the Detour, A History of the Guidebook, Sutton Publishing, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, 2007, p 258 regarding the rise and success of the Michelin Guides as a reliable source of critical information about attractions, accommodations and food.

3 Lo Mejor de la EXPO, Ediciones On Site, 1992.

In addition,