This is a fun piece of history. I hope when you purchase this you will enjoy exploring more. Museums have this item in their collection and now you can too.

The 1939 New York World's Fair was promoted as the “World of Tomorrow.” The fair opened on April 30, 1939, in Flushing Meadow, Queens. It hosted exhibits by 60 countries, the League of Nations, 33 states, several federal agencies and the City of New York. In keeping with the futuristic theme, new consumer and industrial products such as television, air-conditioning, nylon stockings and color film were introduced to the public at the fair.

Front:

1939
(depiction of Theme Center with Trylon and Perisphere)
THEME BUILDING
NEW YORK
WORLD'S FAIR
GEORGIAN SECTION IN COURT OF THE STATES BUILDINGS
(depiction of above)

Back:

PAT. PEND. WM ROGERS MFG CO 1S



Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (mayor from 1934-1946) appointed Robert Moses as Commissioner of the Department of Parks in 1934. Moses was noted for his ability to leverage funding for one purpose to serve other goals. He acquired and created Flushing Meadow Park for the fair in an area long considered a desolate wasteland. F. Scott Fitzgerald provided a memorable description of the land in his 1922 novel, The Great Gatsby: “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.”

The Theme Center consisting of the Trylon and Perisphere became the central symbol of the 1939 World's Fair, its image reproduced by the millions on a wide range of promotional materials and serving as the fairground's focal point. In 1939, all three of New York City's major league baseball teams wore a patch on their uniform sleeve depicting the Trylon and Perisphere; and the United States issued a postage stamp. (Neither structure survives).


The Court of the States buildings were designed with architecture and surroundings authentically patterned after that of the colonial period on the North American continent, and contained the exhibits of the states and territories of the union.

A series of 12 silverplated spoons were made for the 1939 World's Fair.


Designer: Lillian V. M. Helander
Manufacturer: William Rogers Mfg. Co. (Hartford, Conn., founded 1865)


P.S. I have no idea how the photo of the bowl of the spoon came out looking like a scene at sunset but I think it is a result of the colors of my phone case. In reality it is just silver.