The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-01-06
WORLDS FAIR FADS.
Tho Rage for Collecting Souvenirs
OF the Great ExpOeitdon.
ono Woman Who Even Economlssd o.
Her Meals In Order to Crafty
Her Oeolre for C0lum-
bian CuTaoo.

An epidemic of fads has set in IS .
direct result Of the worlds fair. Peo-
pie who had held out long and stoutly
against the temptation to collect
things came under the spell at the
White City, says the New York Sun.
A critical analysis of the 'sfad fever
has yet to be written. It is contracted
in various ways It is with fads as It
is with greatness. Some people are
born with fads, some acquire them,
and others have fads thrown upon
them. OF this last variety are the peo-
pie who have, by chance perhaps, re-
ceived present or presents, which
have subtly inspired them with the
mania for acquiring other things OF the
same nature. In this way, for exam
pie, many a fine and otherwise admir-
able young woman has, by the gift of
perhaps single silver spoon, been
transformed into one OF the spoon
fiends who have been at once such try
ing, and yet such pathetic, figures dur
ing the past few- years. 49,
Other people acquire fads. They
stake them up" These are the people
who have more money than they have
tastes They crafty their small lik-
ings without exhausting their ssspend-
ing money" so to speak, and they
stake up" fad for teapots, or fans, or,
in general, anything that they have
heard some one else is collecting.
And there are the born faddists.
They are the people who have single
strong fancy or love for something.
The man who collects musical instru-
ments because he cannot help it prob
ably loved them when he was baby,
and the real bibliomaniac doubtless
never had to be reproved when he was
an infant for tearing the leaves OF his
| picture books. -
But the exposition faddists were Gre
ated in still another way. They are
| the creatures of circumstances. Never
were such opportunities for collecting
curiosities presented to the American
public before. 1t is not strange that
the victims have been many. Some
times the merest trifles laid down the
law of the coming fad. For instance,
two New York girls, were passing
along the Court of Honor, in front OF
the Agricultural building. All the
white facades cleaned in the sunlight,
| and troop of Navajo lldians crossing
| the court looked SO picturesque that
1 they soon had crowd around them.
The two girls pressed through the peo-
gle till they reached the center OF the
group, where they suddenly became
lost in admiration of a leather culver
| e,.11 ~ ho In.
dians. They priced it at once. The
sum named was SO fabulously large
that they relinquished the quiver with
sigh. But each girl purchased an az
row. And. of course, those arrows
were exhibited at the boarding-house
that night with the remark that they
were purchased from "a real Indian
The next day the same young women
were at the Javanese village, when
their eyes fell upon some more arrows.
In a weak moment they yielded, and q
! Javanese arrow, bought from q real
Javanese," was placed with the Navajo
weapon. That settled it. Dahomey-
ans, South Sea islanders, Japanese.
Chinese. every nation which boasted
an arrow, contributed specimen, and
now those two girls are rabid collect
OrS. 49, s.ss-s..
A list of the fads which sprung into
life and were nourished into vigor al
the fair would be amusing enough. One
woman who began as a mere joke, te
purchase two or three of the ''souven
irs" which were for sale in almost
infinite variety, finally became such
full-fedged collector, that she econo
mized on meals, walked instead Of
rode, and finally took cheaper room
IN order to make her souvenir collec
ti6n as complete as possible. She had
nothing which did not bear the words
Columbian Exposition" or: Worlds
Fair" or some other reference to the
fair. Everything, from little RED
! glasse with the name engraved "whilt
you watt" silk handkerchiefs with 9
! picture of Columbus woven in. then
4 also while you wait" to canes con
tanning maps of the grounds, souvenir
coins and models of the buildings
were put into = collection which i
really . most interesting one, although
Of scarcely any intrinsic value.
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