Claude H. Wetmore (1863–1944)

Decorative red cloth, near nine, first edition, white, black, and gilt stamped lettering and design. Printing to cover and spine complete and very bright. Slight rubbing and soiling to covers. Endpapers and edges moderately toned, otherwise clean, tight and unmarked. A very neat fine Illustrated fold-out map. Contents include, 1. History of Louisiana Territory, 2. A romance of the world's fair city (fiction), 3. Biographical sketches of persons prominent in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, the symbolic gateway to the West, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. More than 60 countries and 43 of the 45 American states maintained exhibitions at the fair, which was attended by nearly 19.7 million people. The Fair hosted the 1904 Summer Olympic Games, the first Olympics held in the United States.
Historians generally emphasize the prominence of themes of race and empire, and the fair's long-lasting impact on intellectuals in the fields of history, art history, architecture and anthropology
The Fair held "the greatest and most realistic military spectacle known in the history of the world", including a British Army encampment, several South African native villages (including Zulu, San, Swazi, and Ndebele) and a 15-acre (61,000 m2) arena in which soldiers paraded, sporting events and horse races were held and major battles from the Second Boer War re-enacted twice a day. Battle recreations took 2–3 hours and included several Generals and 600 veteran soldiers from both sides of the war. At the conclusion of the show, the Boer General Christiaan de Wet would escape on horseback by leaping from a height of 35 feet (11 m) into a pool of water.… (más)