76 



THE OOLOGISl 



There are 5,000.000 or more persons 

 in the United States who devote more 

 or less of their time to the collection of 

 stamps, coins, picturps, curios, etc., 

 and the majority of them are members 

 of the societies of collectors. Amonp: 

 these are.- The American Society of 

 Curio Collectors, the Philatelic Sons of 

 America, the American Philatelic As- 

 sociation, the American Numismatist 

 Association, the American Camera 

 Club Exchange and the Illustrated or 

 Souvenir Card Exchange. These and 

 many other associations of collectors 

 will hold their annual meetings in Buf- 

 falo during the week beginning August 

 19th, while the Pan-American is in 

 progress. 



On account of the many attractions 

 offered by the Exposition and Niagara 

 Falls, and the extraordinary opportun- 

 ities which the collectors will have for 

 adding to their specimens, it is expect- 

 ed that this will be the most largely at- 

 tended meeting of the different associa- 

 tions ever held. 



When the Pan-American Exposition 

 opens its gates at Buffalo, May 1, 1901, 

 twenty-five years will have elapsed 

 since the Centennial at Philadelphia. 

 During all this time there has been 

 nothing noteworthy of the kind in the 

 east, and the new century may never 

 see anything to rival or surpass the 

 Pan-American in magnitude, richness, 

 beauty and universal benefit. Its loca- 

 tion, too, is one to assure a record- 

 breaking attendance, for tahing it as a 

 center and drawing a circle with a rad- 

 ius of 500 miles, over 40.000,000 people 

 — more than half the population of the 

 United States — would be included in 

 the area thus circumscribed, which 

 would, moreover, include at least sev- 

 enty-five per cent, of the nation's indus- 

 trial and commercial wealth. As a 

 center of railroads and waterways Buf- 

 falo is also at the front with the tonnage 

 of the Greas Lakes pouring into its 

 harbor, and twenty-six steel highways 

 reaching out in every direction. In 

 1876, the year of the Centennial Expo- 

 sition, the entire population of the 

 United States scarcely equalled that 

 now within the area indicated, and the 

 same circle in diameter, with Chicago 

 as its center, would not include over 

 half that number. The resultant ad- 

 vantages, both to the Pan-American 

 Exposition and its exhibitors and pat- 

 rons, are self-evident. 



A new booklet, just issued for the 

 Exposition, tells a very charming story 

 of its history and creation and de- 

 scribes the beautiful city in which the 

 festival has been developed and brought 

 to completion. The booklet is embel- 

 lished with many illustrations, includ- 

 ing twelve coJoi ed plates of Exposition 

 buildings and views. These will be 

 sent free to applicants by the Bureau 

 of Publicity so long as the edition lasts. 

 All the principal buildings of the Ex- 

 position have been completed for some 

 time. The installation of exhibits be- 

 gan many weeks ago, and there is 

 every reason to expect that the Exposi- 

 tion will have a sand-paper finish on 

 the first of May— a remarkable achieve- 

 ment, indeed, considering the unfavor- 

 able weather and the history of other 

 expositions in this regard. Some of 

 the afterthoughts, such as State build- 

 ings, will not ba done till about May 

 20th, which is to be Dedication Day. 



Everyone who has visited the grounds 

 of the Pan-Amoiican Exposition during 

 the last few months has been astonished 

 beyond expression upon beholding the 

 magnitude and the exceptional beauty 

 and novelty of the enterprise. It is 

 very much larger than people generally 

 have supposed, and it is apparent that 

 the $10,000,000 which is the approxi- 

 mate cost of the Exposition as a whole, 

 has been expended most wisely and 

 with the happiest results. The partic- 

 ular novelty that is to be noted in this 

 Exposition is discovered in the fact 

 that in its exterior aspect it is a radical 

 departure from former expositions. 

 The buildings are arranged upon a har- 

 monious and well developed plan, 

 producing court settings and vistas of 

 very charming character. The use of 

 molded staff work and decorative 

 sculpture upon the buildings and at all 

 salient points within the courts, the 

 liberal employment of hydraulic and 

 fountain features, the floral and garden 

 effects, the exquisite colorings of build- 

 ings and architectural ornaments, and 

 the illumination of the whole with 

 more than 300,000 electric lamps, com- 

 bine to make a picture of unsurpassed 

 loveliness. The musical features are 

 also of great importance and interest. 

 The exhibit divisions are very complete 

 and embrace the gamut of industrial, 

 scientific and artistic activities of the 

 people of the Western Hemisphere. 

 The Midway, claimed to be the great- 

 est in the world, has more than a mile 

 of frontage. The restaurant features 



