The Century of Progress International Exposition was held along Lake Michigan and Northerly Island Park in Chicago, Illinois, from May 27, 1933, to October 31, 1934. The theme was "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms." This collection consists of two items from the Exposition. One item is a folded card containing five sets of sewing needles and a threader. The second item is a set of eleven souvenir cards from Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium, with the original envelope and booklet.

John Margolies (1940-2016) was an American photographer and architecture critic with a fondness for novelty architecture. This is his personal collection of travel ephemera that he collected from across North America. These materials primarily cover the United States’ most popular tourist spots with an emphasis on the Northeast region of the United States.

John Margolies (1940-2016) was an American photographer and architecture critic with a fondness for novelty architecture. This is his personal collection of postcards and photographs from across North America. These materials primarily cover the United States’ most popular tourist spots along with various businesses. There is heavy coverage of the Northeast region of the United States, where Margolies lived most of his life. Postcards are primarily from the first half of the twentieth century, and photographs primarily span circa 1890-1920s. Postcards cover a wide range of subjects from famous attractions to local businesses, and photographs are almost entirely local businesses, many being interior views of family owned businesses with their owners. Few objects are contained within the collection, including signs from local businesses and a scrapbook from the honeymoon of an unidentified couple. A small amount of transparencies and negatives conclude the collection, which were used for the planning of some of Margolies books. It is important to note that this collection does not contain John Margolies original photography, except for the few postcards that advertise his exhibits.

This reproduction (copied from an original cabinet card) is of Lea Pusey (1820-1896) photographed through a large block of clear ice. Pusey created the plate process, a method to make commercial ice and was the founder of Diamond Ice Company.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition or the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904 as it was popularly called, was put on to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. A novelty souvenir viewbook, with forty-two small halftone views of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition accordion folded into an actual walnut shell, fastened with a ribbon.