History of the Brooklyn and Long Island Fair, February 22, 1864 (Sanitary Fair)
Brooklyn, New York: The Executive Committee (of the Brooklyn and Long Island Fair), 1864. Original. Hardcover. Red embossed cloth; gilt lettering. 189 pp. with 2 folding plans and no other illustrations. VG- clean, tight contents (single word added to title, in pencil, on title page); some age toning to end papers; book store label inside front cover (Shepard Book Company in Salt Lake City); fountain pen ink stains to covers in spots; fading to spine. Item #154942
"The Brooklyn and Long Island (Sanitary) Fair of 1864 is especially important in the history of the mid-19th-century Sanitary Movement and the contributions of women to the movement. A doll, made by a woman named Eliza Lefferts and featuring an elaborate trousseau, was sold at the Brooklyn Sanitary Fair of 1864. (This rare doll is now in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art.) During the Civil War, sanitary fairs were held to raise money for the war effort in major cities in the Northeast. These large-scale fairs were social events that combined entertainment, education, and philanthropy. Although the U.S. Sanitary Commission was headed by men, most of its work was accomplished by thousands of women volunteers. In Brooklyn, civic-minded women’s organizations orchestrated the hugely successful Brooklyn Sanitary Fair, a separate event from the New York Sanitary Fair. It raised $400,000, well over the projected $100,000 and equal to more than four million dollars by today’s standards. The money was used for clothing, food, medical supplies, and other provisions for the Union Army." / This particular volume covers the background of the fair, particulars of the opening day (parade, decorations, bazaar, art gallery, Knickerbocker Hall, etc.), the opening night program, The Calico Ball, the museum, towns of Long Island, Acknowledgment to the Press, and much more. Nearly half of this volume consists of appendices: committees, churches, fair officers, contributions and donations, catalogue of items in the museum, list of "auxiliary entertainments on behalf of the fair," correspondence, and a treasurer's report. An amazing bit of history, well-preserved, about an important aspect of Brooklyn and Long Island life. Extremely rare.
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