Exposition Logo
The logo of two women in the shape of North and South America, holding hands through Central America came to be the most recognizable symbol of the Pan-American Exposition. Beck's design was chosen as the official logo by the Pan-American Exposition Company from over 400 entries. It was copyrighted in 1899 and Beck was awarded $100 for his work.
His design appeared on a variety of souvenirs ranging from paperweights, pins, and postcards to decks of cards, toothpick holders, and clocks, although the Exposition's executive committee had originally planned to use the Beck design "only for dignified purposes". Realizing its popularity, however, the committee decided to profit from the design as much as possible by selling it to manufacturers. As a result, the use of the logo was so prevalent that it was on "everything that didn't move and some things that did." Some unofficial variations of the logo also appeared on souvenirs, produced by vendors who wanted to cash in on the familiarity of the Beck logo.
Read more about this topic: Raphael Beck
Famous quotes containing the word exposition:
“Hard times accounted in large part for the fact that the exposition was a financial disappointment in its first year, but Sally Rand and her fan dancers accomplished what applied science had failed to do, and the exposition closed in 1934 with a net profit, which was donated to participating cultural institutions, excluding Sally Rand.”
—For the State of Illinois, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)