1889 Judge Magazine | Satire of US Cities Competing for the Worlds Fair

$54.00

This 1889 Judge cover by Grant E. Hamilton turns the fight to host the 1893 World’s Fair into a piece of political theater. Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and Washington appear like anxious suitors peeking through a curtain, each hoping to be chosen while a family watches the drama unfold. It’s a gentle but sharp jab at how civic pride, national ambition, and political lobbying often slide into spectacle.

Printed at a moment when cities were pouring money, favors, and political capital into winning the Fair, the illustration captures the competition with humor and a surprisingly modern eye.

Over a century later, it still reads as a reminder that the scramble for power and prestige has never been rational—just louder, more frantic, and always a bit ridiculous.

Natural wood, black, or white frames with matching hands | Silent quartz mechanism

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Printed at a moment when cities were pouring money, favors, and political capital into winning the Fair, the illustration captures the competition with humor and a surprisingly modern eye.

Over a century later, it still reads as a reminder that the scramble for power and prestige has never been rational—just louder, more frantic, and always a bit ridiculous.

Natural wood, black, or white frames with matching hands | Silent quartz mechanism