Of all the Expo 67 books ever published, this one was the
Grand Poo-bah.
Released in 1968 by
Thomas Nelson and Sons (Canada) Limited, the
Expo 67 Memorial Album was the definitive descriptive and pictorial record of Montreal's world's fair.
Designed by Gérard Caron and edited by Jean-Louis de Lorimier, this large, boxed coffee-table book featured a stunning mixture of color and black & white and photography, all interspersed by lengthy articles on and observations of Expo 67.
The 368-page document was divided into 10 sections, including an eloquent preface written by Expo's Commissioner General, Pierre Dupuy, and an extensive index for easy reference. All texts and titles were in Expo's ubiquitous
Optima font and presented in both French and English.
Pigeons taking up residence at Place des Nations.
An introductory chapter by James Gladstone called
"
Magic Island" offered a unique and intimate portrait of Expo. In this picturesque example, the author describes the quiet morning hours before Expo's opening:
"An
Expo-Express train rumbles into the elevated station and three maintenance workers step aboard, their night's work done. The sound of the train disappears across
Concordia Bridge. A pigeon flutters down from the huge concrete Expo symbol at the end of the square and flops heavily onto the deserted podium, the sound clear above the hushed rush of the river."
Expo's Deputy Commissioner General Robert F. Shaw penned the chapter "
How Expo Was Built". Shaw credited the
Critical Path method for keeping Expo's extensive
construction on schedule:
"Probably the most important technique introduced by the Installations and other departments was the critical path method and schedule. [...] The critical path method of scheduling is based on breaking down any given project into specific elements and assigning deadlines for the progress and completion of each element. The method is, of course, only as good as its programming, and all personnel involved were therefore trained to feed their collective skills into this important part of the project, and to receive from it reports on the results of individual performances on a day-to-day basis."
An aerial view of Expo's man-made islands under construction.
A stunning photo of the groovy Pulp and Paper pavilion.
The album's largest section was the chapter dedicated to "
The Participants". Divided into 3 parts -
National Participants,
Private Participants,
Sponsors - this was
the pavilion-by-pavilion overview of Expo 67. Listed in alphabetical order, an in-depth description and lavish photographs accompanied each and every pavilion and exhibit. The section was over 200 pages long.
The Memorial Album covered each and every Expo exhibit. Here, Monaco.
An aerial shot of the impressive U.S. pavilion.
Over the years, this book has remained my number one research tool for pavilion posts on Expo Lounge. Highly sought after, it is one of my most prized Expo 67 treasures... as much for its beauty as for its usefulness.
Photographs by Michael Francis McCarthy, used with permission.
Check out his ultra-fab blog: designKULTUR
Labels: expo life, sock-it-to-me souvenirs
