Greetings,
For an article I am writing for LIBRARIES AND CULTURE, I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has come across collections of books originally assembled for the Woman's exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Several thousand volumes of the collection were sent to the state library of New York, in Albany, but these volumes were later destroyed by fire. Another large chunk went to the Chicago Public Library and was later acquired by Northwestern University. Still, it appears that many sections of the library, which was organized by state and country of origin, were returned to their donors, who may have donated them, in turn, to other libraries in their own regions. These books may be identified by a "Woman's Building Library" bookplate and may, possibly, be housed in collections relating to the World's Columbian Exposition or to regional woman's clubs.
I would appreciate any and all leads!
Sincerely,
Sarah A. Wadsworth
Marquette University
Department of English
Coughlin Hall
P. O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881