1939 New York World's Fair souvenir playing cards
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1939
This collection consists of 40 souvenir playing cards commemorating the 1939 New York World's Fair, themed 'The World of Tomorrow.' The cards are presented in a framed display.
Each individual card features a distinct photographic view of various fair buildings and landmarks located throughout New York City. The reverses of the cards are decorated with iconic imagery of the World's Fair symbols, the Trylon and Perisphere, providing a unified thematic back design for the set. Each card measures approximately 3 1/2 inches by 2 3/8 inches. The collection, totaling forty pieces, serves as a memento of the historic international exposition, utilizing photographic reproduction to capture the architecture and atmosphere of the event as it appeared in the late 1930s.
The entire display is contained within a frame measuring 21 inches by 31 inches.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Quantity
- 40 cards
- Dimensions
- framed: 21" x 31", individual cards: 3 1/2" x 2 3/8"
Technical characteristics
- Print method
- photographic
Design
- Obverse
- photographic views of fair buildings and New York City
- Reverse
- Trylon and Perisphere icons
Identification
- Source note
- Described from a single auction-house listing published on Invaluable (reproduced with Invaluable's permission). Details apply to that one example; other examples of the type may differ, and the listing is supplementary evidence, not authentication.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.