Columbian Novelty Company (October, 1891 - 1909)

The Columbian Novelty Company (October, 1891 - 1909) was a Chicago based organization established in expectation for the 1893 Columbian Exposition or Chicago World's Fair. The company's founders were John D. Brooks of Brooklyn, John W. Baker of South Orange New Jersey, and Fred W. Bingham of New York City. The Columbian Novelty Company, initially based at 315 Dearborn Street, Chicago, issued a number of novelty items related to the Worlds' Fair. Their business model was to acquire interesting patents or clever machines and gizmos and apply to them novelty factors associated with the fair. Some of their products included canes with roll out maps, slot machines, saddles, silvery and gold jewelry, etc. Following the Columbian Exposition the move around a bit with references to it in New York, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska. Little seems to have been manufactured following the turn of the century and the Columbian Novelty Company's Nebraska charter was officially canceled in 1909.