Scope and Contents:
This collection contains a range of publications compiled or distributed by John J. Flinn (1851-1929) for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Included are copies of the Official Guide to the World's Columbian Exposition (Authorized, Hand Book, and Souvenir editions), the Hand-Book of the World's Columbian Exposition, The Best Things to be Seen at the World's Fair, The Buildings of the World's Fair, and the Complete Guide to Chicago and the World's Fair. In all, Flinn's Standard Guide Company advertised nine guides, and also printed pamphlets about the Fair with covers that advertised nearby hotels.
The collection also includes a set of Charles S. Graham's color prints of scenes of the Fair, certificates, and a mock-up of Flinn's Chicago Hand-Book of Biography (1893).
John J. Roche, Flinn's grandson, donated the collection to the Library in 1995.