"Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,
Meet me at the Fair
Don't tell me the lights are shining
Anyplace but there
We will dance the "Hoochie-Koochie"
I will be your "Tootsie-Wootsie"
If you will meet me in St. Louis, Louis,
Meet me at the Fair."
lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling, 1904
About the Fair
"The Fair's 1,200 acre (4.9 km²) site, designed by George Kessler [1], was located at the present-day grounds of Forest Park and on the campus of Washington University, and was the largest fair to date. There were over 1,500 buildings, connected by some 75 miles (120 km) of roads and walkways. It was said to be impossible to give even a hurried glance at everything in less than a week. The Palace of Agriculture alone covered some 20 acres (324,000 m²).Exhibits were staged by 62 foreign nations, the United States government, and 43 of the then-45 U.S. states. These featured industries, cities, private organizations and corporations, theater troupes, and music schools. There were also over 50 concession-type amusements found on "The Pike"; they provided educational and scientific displays, exhibits and imaginary 'travel' to distant lands, history and local boosterism (including Louis Wollbrinck's "Old St. Louis") and pure entertainment." Wikipedia
"The fair was the birthplace of several American culinary institutions: hot dogs, ice cream cones, and iced tea. It also saw the popularization of a "health drink" known as Dr. Pepper and a "health food" called peanut butter. Fairgoers were also introduced to a new confection called "fairy floss", now known as cotton candy.
"But from Opening Day - April 30, 1904 - to the closing ceremonies on December 1st of that same year, the St. Louis World's Fair played host to nearly 20 million visitors, who witnessed the public debut of air conditioning, were able to ice skate throughout the entire summer, and spoke by wireless telegraph to cities 1500 mile{s} away. In addition, they could "see the world": from the Tyrolean Alps to the jungles of the Philippines; from the gardens of Japan to the holy sites of Jerusalem; from Southwestern pueblos to Eskimo villages. And all within the 1240 acres of the fair."Bill Gamber & Ken Withers
About the Spoons
This is the authorized and most common spoon from the fair and is found in different sizes with different buildings in the bowl.
The sterling spoons were among the more expensive souvenirs found at the fair.
The stem shows the sequence of events from shooting buffalo, the Louis and Clark Expedition, covered wagons and the train
Most people assume that there is only one stem - -but there are actually two variations
As you can see, the train and the covered wagon are slightly different. I suspect that there was a 'die' problem and part of the die had to be re-created.
The "official souvenir spoon"
Different variations of spoon souvenirs that were quite popular.
Spoons show portraits of Napoleon and Jefferson who signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty
Examples of building pictures found on the embossed spoons.
An engraved spoon featuring the Palace of Textiles
An engraved spoon depicting the St. Louis Flag and an embossed spoon showing the U.S. Government building
Top spoon is a silver plated common easter handled angel which has been embossed with a picture of the U.S. Gov't building. It contains some phony hallmarks to make the purchased think that it was made in England.
The bottom spoon may or may not have been part of the fair, but spoons of this type were hand made at various fairs and sold to couples as souvenirs.
This one is engraved "D and G" with a lot of flourishes. The handle has excellent cut out workmanship.
Neither of these two spoons are sterling. They were made for a downscale market and were sold to people who didn't understand the difference between sterling silver and silver plate.
The top spoon is a picture of the Liberal Arts building on copper alloy and the bottom spoon is a silver plated spoon with a picture of the U.S. Gov't building.
Silver plated spoons from the St. Louis World fair
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