September 11, 2009

Souvenir Building Collectors Society

Exhibition Opportunity with the National Building Museum

Designing Tomorrow - America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s

October 2010-July 2011 in Washington, DC

The Souvenir Building Collectors Society (SBCS) has an informal invitation from the National Building Museum (NBM) to help out with a major exhibition to be held October 2010-July 2011 in Washington, DC.  The invitation resulted from an SBCS meeting with the curator for the upcoming Designing Tomorrow-America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s. The show will highlight six world’s fairs held in the US:

•            New York World’s Fair 1939-1940

•            Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland 1936-1937

•            Century of Progress Exposition, Chicago 1933-1934

•            Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco 1939-1940

•            California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego 1935-1936

•            Texas Centennial, Dallas 1936

The NBM was enthusiastic about possible SBCS participation. The NBM would like the SBCS membership to place on loan up to 20 high quality souvenir buildings related to these fairs.  The exhibit can accommodate up to about 20 individual pieces depending on the final exhibit design. The souvenir buildings would be on loan about eleven months (September 2010 to August 2011) and would be fully insured, etc. 

If you’d like to participate by putting one of your souvenir buildings on loan to this exhibit, please respond to Harry Misuriello (contact info below) by Friday, October 9, 2009.   The NBM would like a list of the souvenir buildings we can provide and who can provide them, along with a photo of the piece and its dimensions.  Please include a photo and dimensions of your piece in your response.

Next, invitation “loan letters” from the NBM go out to collectors with the details in the fall of 2009.  The buildings need to arrive at the NBM in September 2010, a month before the exhibition opens.  Full details will be provided to SBCS participants as they become available.

It’s a big show—7,000 square feet in seven halls.  The SBCS buildings would be displayed mostly in a case in the last hall of the exhibit (“Legacies”) with other pieces in kiosks in another hall.  Those putting their collection on loan would be individually acknowledged with labels near the piece (or can remain anonymous.)  The SBCS would be recognized in the display of credits on the way out of the exhibit. 

The NBM has 400,000 visitors annually and more than 2.5 million web visitors who might also be exposed to SBCS.  It is a popular attraction for Washington, DC tourists.  It’s an excellent opportunity for the SBCS.

SBCS members interested in participating in this exciting exhibition opportunity should contact the SBCS liaison for the exhibit no later than October 9:

Harry Misuriello, Arlington, VA

703-477-4781, misuriello@verizon.net