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Crowds were as big as 98,000 people in one day. The Exposition was created by the Knights of AK-SAR-BEN (formed in 1895) in order to boost the local economy during an economic depression. This was the first "Mid-American World's Fair." The fair was held on 60 acres of property owned by Herman Kountze in North Omaha. In addition to amusements, pavilions were created to showcase industry and development in Middle America. Certain states had an entire building to outfit with its best exports and inventions. Hawaii even had a display.

A Christian religious group organized and attempted to stop people from attending because it "legalized evil." A few neo-classical statues were vandalized the night before the Exposition opened. However, the Exposition was a major hit! It produced $801,515 in profit ($30.4 million today), with a 90% return for its investors, and $276,112 from concessions ($10.5 million today).

Notes on Entry Prices and Taxation

Admission was 50 cents ($18.99 today) for adults and 25 cents ($9.50 today) for children. One could find room and board for 50 cents downtown ($18.99) and 75 cents to $1 ($28.49 to $37.99) for one room on the fairgrounds. Meals at the Fair were 15 cents ($5.40 today) and 25 cents ($9.50 today). Patrons found the prices reasonable, but vendors complained about the taxing they faced. Only vendors on the fairgrounds were subject to taxes, and given protection by fair authorities.

• $2.50 a day AND $12 a month for variety & ventriloquy shows ($94.97 a day AND $455.86 today)
• $3 a day, $15 a week or $50 a month for mirror mazes, illusions and similar attractions ($113.96 a day, $569.82 a week or $1,899.40 a month today)
• $5 a day, $20 a week or $60 a month for living pictures (living models), kinescopes, cycloramas and other features ($189.94 a day, $759.76 a week or $2,279 a month today)
• $10 a day for "shooting the chutes", scenic railways and other similar attractions ($379.88 a day today)
• $30 a month for trance mediums, clairvoyants, fortune tellers, and "frauds and fakers" ($1,139.64 a month today)

Concessionaires, proprietors who were given the rights to produce amusements, were abundant along the Midway--the central street where most amusements were placed along. Oriental dancers or muscle dancers were favorite attractions on the Midway.

The East Midway

Attractions along the East Midway truly reflect on the wide variety of entertainment one could find, including but not limited to the German Village, Moorish Palace & Village, Streets of Cairo, and the Japanese Tea Garden.

One could also find a Casino, featuring vaudeville and oriental dancers. An acrobatic dancer named Tyrone caused a sensation with her high kicking and "buck and wing dancing." A famous "oriental necromancer" named Ali Zada appeared at the Casino.

The Moorish Village and Palace

"The large central building, surmounted by a magnificent dome, will be the Moorish palace, and in it will be displayed an interesting series of tableaux and figures in wax, together with a Chamber of Horrors and a Devil's Cave. The costumes and swords alone for one of the large groups will cost $15,000, and more than $75,000 will be expended on the interior of the palace." - 1898 Official Guide Book of the Trans-Mississippi & International Exposition

In today's money, the costumes and swords cost $569,821.08 and the interior design of the palace cost almost $2.8 million!

The Mystic Mirror Maze

There was also a Moorish Mystic Maze where visitors were encouraged to find the woman inside and win $100 ($3,798.81 today). Hundreds of mirrors caused a tricky exit.

"[It] consists of a labyrinth or maze of mirrors, unspeakably bewildering to the visitor. From the polished surface of the plate glass mirrors, placed at different angles, dozens of reflections transform yourself into a marching regiment and the slightest gesture is taken up and produces effects indescribably ridiculous. From the moment of entrance all traces of entrance and exit disappear, and you have the novel experience of being lost, in company with a hundred reproductions of yourself. The effect of this scene is heightened by being brilliantly illuminated by electricity." - 1898 Official Guide Book of the Trans-Mississippi & International Exposition

"The Mirror Maze continues to attract and puzzle hundreds of people, the lost young lady is sought after every day by many who want to secure the reward of $100 that is offered to anyone who will find her." - Omaha World Herald. July 1, 1898

 La Belle Selika from "The Dancing Girl Illusion"

Selika was another oriental dancer patrons could see inside the Moorish Palace. She was a primary illusion spoken about on the Midway.

Beth continued her letter to the Omaha Excelsior by describing the “Illusion of the Dancing Girl” show,

“First, the ‘Yellow Room in the Sultan’s Palace,’ appeared upon the wall…This slowly faded, and in its place appeared the ‘Red Room’ with the Sultan himself, in all his majesty, who arose in stately fashion and apparently commanded the Dancing Girl to appear. And appear she did! A buxom brunette, clad in a painfully abbreviated costume, beads galore, an exceedingly snaky movement, and an insinuating smile! After writhing about the room—gracefully, I’ll allow—she had the good grace to fade away again…”

"Beautiful rooms and scenes dissolve and changed before the eyes of the visitor, and then comes the fascinating oriental dances; this exhibition holds a high place in the esteem of the amusement-loving public." - Omaha World Herald. July 1, 1898

The illusion was quite a simple set up. The red room appeared on one side of the stage wile the gold room was at the rear of the stage, opposite the audience. Lights were placed in specific places of the rooms and controlled by levers, controlled by an operator. The lights were turned off in the red room when the curtain was raised. The reflection of the gold room is all the audience could see until the lights were turned off and the red room lights slowly turn up. The audience believed La Belle Selika appeared spontaneously and faded away from existence.

"The Flying Lady"

("The Flying Lady" next to "Psycho" on the Midway. 1898)

"The Flying Lady" was an attraction that caused many visitors to return for a second viewing. A beautiful woman stood on the stage, dressed and painted as a marble statue. All of a sudden she 'turned' to life and began floating and flying through the room. Reporters stated she was overcoming the law of gravity. No one could figure out how the illusion was contrived, though many bets were placed on how the illusion was achieved--all bets were lost.

(Omaha Daily Bee. Advertisement. October 21, 1898)

"Constantly increasing crowds go to the Ariel or Flying Lady illusion on the East Midway. To see a pretty woman floating and moving in space causes one to almost lose faith in the old adage that 'seeing is believing.' This, with the transformation of America, makes one of the most attractive and interesting of the special features of the exposition." - Omaha World Herald. July 1, 1898

(East Midway. 1898. Rinehart, Frank. Omaha Public Library Digital Collection)

The Bluffs Tract

Zarifa in Haggard's "She"

One could witness many performances within the Palace of Mysteries. Zarifa performed in Haggard's "She" at the Palace. She was a muscle dancer, also advertised as a "harem dancer." During "She", Zarifa emerges from an urn of coals of fire on stage, making the audience believe she was being consumed by the flames as she danced. In actuality, the urn was a reflection on glass by a mirror, the 'urn' was actually a barrel without a top or bottom. A plate of glass was placed on an incline, with a row of incandescent lights at the base. Suspended in front of the glass was a wooden disk, painted on one side to represent the bottom of the urn. The reflection of the disk on the glass aligned perfectly withe the urn behind it. Zarifa would kneel on a box below the stage and immediately under the lower end of the barrel and would raise or lower herself at will--the audience believing she was rising from inside the barrel over the hot coals. The coals were ignited with a little alcohol on a pewter platter and a few shreds of asbestos.

The Streets of Cairo

The Streets of Cairo was created by the Oriental Exposition company at a cost of $18,000 ($683,785.30 today). The Streets was 400 feet long and employed 100 people. It advertised 7 camels and 8 donkeys, the 'danse du ventre', snake charmers, and fortune tellers. On the first day, within the first two hours, 5,000 people walked through the Street. Patrons could visit "Egyptian" smoking parlors, restaurants, and stores. They could ride camels, and view the infamous oriental dances. Within the opening week, more than 10,000 people visit the Streets of Cairo.

The Big Rock Theater "Devil's Dance"

(Midway Devil's Dance. Rinehart, Frank. 1898. OPL)

This amusement was rather strange as not much was written about the entertainment it provided. The Omaha World Herald provides the reader some insight,

"The entertainment contained within its depths is called the Devil's Dance. The interior is gorgeously decorated and an entertainment lasting from twenty-five to thirty minutes, of which dances by artistes under kaleidoscopic lights and in costume form the principal features. The spectacle is made interesting during its continuance by the introduction of appropriate songs and music. There is also realistic thunder, lightning and rain storm, and a cascade of real water falling into a lake. The devil and his imps participate in the spectacular performance, and the whole concludes with a rain of fire, fifty feet wide and seventy feet high. From this brief description the visitor can form a conception of what the managers of this feature of the Midway have in store for their patrons." - Omaha World Herald. August 28, 1898

The North Midway

The North Tract of the Exposition was occupied by the Wild West Show, the Giant See-Saw, the Cyclorama, a dog show, a mining tunnel, the Chinese Village, Shooting the Chutes, Scenic Railway, and Pabst Auditorium.

The Chinese Village

Along the North Midway was "The Chinese Village". It was staffed with 328 Chinese immigrants. Patrons of the Exposition could watch a Chinese magician named Ching Ling Foo, a slack wire performer, Gee Fook Qual, a 2 1/2 year old singer and dancer, Sui Gee Ti, a juggler, Hoin Foo Quai, a 'horizontal bar performer' and acrobat, Duck Fook. The Village also featured a troupe of Chinese actresses with traditionally bound "small feet."

The Streets of All Nations

Like the "Streets of Cairo", the "Streets of All Nations" was a street with stores, cafes, and a theater. The Streets of All Nations was produced and run by Gaston Akoun and Mardoche Zion.

La Belle Rosa & La Belle Fatima | Oriental Dancers

Visitors to the Streets of All Nations could witness the shimmies and shakes of La Belle Rosa and La Belle Fatima. Both women were performers at the theater. La Belle Rosa was particularly skilled in swinging a wooden chair between her teeth in circles.

La Belle Fatima was also mentioned in the Omaha Daily Bee for her act of balancing a bottle on her head while dancing and "rolling."

The Streets of Cairo VS The Streets of All Nations

On the evening of June 11, 1898, Exposition guards ordered the Streets of All Nations to halt their productions. Apparently, the proprietors of the Exposition had sold the rights to "orientalism" to two concessionaires--The Streets of Cairo and the Streets of All Nations.

“The contract under which the purchase was made guaranteed to the purchasers the exclusive right to operate a concession depicting the peculiarities of oriental life, including the dance known as the dance du ventre, the showing and riding of camels, and many similar features of the Streets of Cairo show.”

Judge Scott granted an injunction against the Streets of All Nations, on behalf of the Streets of Cairo. The injunction forbade All Nations from:

• Using camels or donkeys
• Giving oriental dances or having performers with oriental costumes
• From advertising their performances as representative of Egypt, Arabia, Persia Turkey in Europe or Turkey in Asia, Syria, Asia Minor, Tripoli, India, Tunis or Algiers
• From giving the 'danse du ventre' or any part thereof under that or any other name

Muscle Dances Barred from the Exposition

Judge Scott took the opportunity of this injunction to get rid of any muscle dances at the Exposition. Both Streets were ordered, unofficially, to not produce any dance of "immoral character or anything subversive of good morals."

“This restraining order will apply to all of the features but one, and that is the dance du ventre. He finds that the Streets of Cairo need purification badly, and he will therefore not enter up an order in favor of the concessionaires therefore until Little Egypt and her class are eliminated from the entertainment.” “Scott Makes an Order in the Midway Case.” Lincoln Journal Star. June 10, 1898

Judge Scott stated, "This court will not recognize the existence of such a dance by issuing an injunction to restrain its production by other concessionaires than the one to whom the right to produce appears to have first been sold. This dance must be stricken out of the order. That dance in Omaha must stop if I have to tear down the walls of the Streets of Cairo to stop it.” - Nebraska State Journal. “Down on Muscle Dance; Judge Scott Takes Occasion to Denounce It.” Page 5. June 9, 1898

However, the public still continued to attend performances of the hootchy-coochy on both Streets. Here are a few clips of glimpses on the Midway in the newspapers:

“Be that as it may the muscle dance only is danced at the Streets of All Nations, where the naughty houchee coochees is the product of a horrid rival of that concession which is not barred from this indulgence by an order of Judge Scott. But whether it may be called the muscle dance or the houtchee-coutchee, there is certainly nothing in this acrobatic spectacle that seems capable of commending it to the Omaha society woman, but they have found something apparently to which the public is blind.”

“This resort is filled with greasy and ill-smelling denizens of the orient man of them of doubtful morality, and yet they are courted by many of the society people of Omaha, doubles in puerile imitation of the Seely dinner and Little Egypt episode in the New York ‘four hundred.’ This resort is the ‘Streets of All Nations.’

“It is even asserted with a degree of apparent authenticity that a well known and thoroughly respectable Omaha lady recently gave a dinner to one of the most expand and unabashed members of the houtchee-coutchee dancing fraternity whose name is a common on the midway as was that of Little Egypt of the world’s fair."

“A glance at the muscle dance is not by any means calculated to inspire one with thoughts of piety and chastity, and can hardly be accepted as a part of the outward bearing of respectability. The charm that I may present to the respectable woman of society is something that the seer in sociology has not exploited to the world.”

In the end, neither Streets gave up oriental dancers. Nor did the Streets of All Nations change their advertising. At the end of the fair, both proprietors sued each other for damages. Oriental dancers were extremely popular and many attractions featured them.

The West Midway

One could visit the Libby Glass Blowers and their exhibition of a "glass dress." Patrons could see reproduction of the grand painting, "The Fall of Babylon" inside its own pavilion, or the reproduction of the destruction of the ship Maine. Patrons could also watch a 'rich and racy show' (moving picture) called "In Gay Paris" or "Paris by Night." One pavilion even showcased baby incubators (with living babies inside!). The Schiltz Pavilion and the amusement "Dawn and Darkness" were also on the West Midway.

Pabst Auditorium

Vaudeville was the featured entertainment at Pabst Auditorium. Pepita, the Queen of the Midway, performed a Mexican song and dance. They hosted a watermelon eating contest. La Petite Eleene, a black singer, performed along with 12 professional cake walkers. "Purita", a male impersonator, also performed at Pabst.

A "change artist" named Annie Leslie Williams performed at Pabst on the Midway. The Omaha World Herald stated, "Annie Leslie Williams is an artist of no small merit. Her change act from full dress to tights every evening brings down the house every time." Perhaps her act was a precursor to classic burlesque acts.

Stag Party at Pabst

Hagenback's Wild Animal Show

The West half of the Midway featured "exotic" attractions like an Ostrich farm from South Africa and Hagenback's Wild Animal Show. The Wild Animal Show boasted over 500 'rare' species and 100 performers. A grizzly bear caused quite a stir with patrons. People refused to believe the bear was real. A wager of $25 was bet against the trainer by a banker, in which the banker lost and had to fork over nearly $950 in today's money. A female performer named Sahara performed an oriental dance inside a den of lions, according to the Omaha World Herald.

The Mammoth Whale

"Heaven & Hell" or "Darkness & Dawn"

The attraction "Heaven and Hell" (later renamed "Darkness and Dawn") presented a macabre restaurant and stage show. The waiting room was called "Cabaret de la Mort." Patrons were seated on coffins and given menu cards bearing a skull and crossbones. The menu consisted of sandwiches a la Diablo, Brimstone wafers, Burnt Olives, Beer, Spirits, Mineral Water, and Fire Water. The menu ended with this epithet, "Eat and drink with the dead, for a long time ye will be with them."

"A monk led visitors from the bellows of an infernal region to St. Peter’s heavenly grotto of gold, radiant under brilliant electric effects. The macabre waiting room, called Cabaret de la Mort, used coffins as tables.”

"From a large lobby a descending passage leads into a large underground chamber, used as the Cabaret de la Mort. Here coffins are used as tables and undertakers' stools as chairs. Beer and wine and eatables will be served by pretty girls, in widow's weeds, to patrons. Leaving this chamber a guide leads the way through the weird and sensational passage of Dante's Inferno, and after leaving the throne room of hell arrives at St. Peter's gate, and convincing St. Peter that his charge has passed through hell unscathed and is worthy of a higher sphere, St. Peter throws open the gates and the ascent is made up the golden stairway. When the top is reached a Paradise bursts upon the view that is true to its name, radiant with its crystal stalactites and glitter of gold under brilliant electric effects."

"Darkness and Dawn" was only open for 6 weeks during the Exposition, but over 60,000 people walked through the amusement!

Chiquita "The Living Doll"

Chiquita was an accomplished entertainer named Señorita Espiridiona Cenda. She was a Cuban dancer from Matanzas province. It was speculated in the newspaper she escaped the Cuban war for Independence. She was thought to be the smallest woman in the world at just 26 inches tall and 17.5lbs at 28 years old. She performed on a tiny bicycle and was said to have 21 trunks of costumes and jewelry for her acts.

A Note on "Famous" Criminals Visiting

The Exposition attracted patrons from every class and upbringing. It even had some famous criminals visit--the Velvet Hand from Chicago was spotted; Tony the Dago, the King of Pickpockets from New York City, attended; Little Lou aka Mrs. Louise Jordan, who had no right ear due to punishment for diamond theft in Brazil, was also spotted at the Exposition.

Roentgen Wonderful Ray of Light

Notes on The Indian Congress

The Indian Congress was not widely covered by Omaha newspapers but it was a significant portion of the Exposition. What was planned as a 'side show' for white patrons, was inactuality a three month long gathering of over 500 Native Americans from 26 tribes. This meeting was orchestrated with the intention of an ethnographic exhibition of these tribes, their cultures and customs. Ceremonies, dances, and other displays of cultural significance were performed for white onlookers. Tribes that attended were Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Apache, Sioux, Crow, Omaha, Wichita, Flathead, Sac and Fox, Pueblo, and Tonkawa. Sham battles were reenacted between tribes.

Geronimo, Apache chief, who had been in federal prison for 12 years, arrived by train to the Exposition. The federal government claimed they were unaware he was still in their custody. Towards the end, the proprietors closed off the Indian Congress and allowed the Natives to feast together without onlookers, being interrupted or put on display.

A large collection of photographs and portraits are preserved in the Omaha Public Library Collection. View them here.

"Psycho" on the Midway

The Omaha World Herald provided the reader some insight into this attraction:

“[Psycho] is a little wooden image about the size of a 10-year-old boy and is dressed in a fantastic Turkish costume, but it is Psycho’s work that confuses and mystifies people. In front of Psycho is a holder or quadrant on which are placed in regular order cards on who are the numerals from 1 to 10. At the word of command Psycho picks out these cards with unerring accuracy. He solves mathematical problems, answers questions, shakes hands, does the bidding of any one in the audience and finally winds up his performance with an exhibit icon of mind reading that is little short of marvelous."

The Amusement Continues...

The uproar over the amusements at the Exposition are echoed the following year. In 1899, a Danish Mask Ball was held in Omaha, which drew large attendance. A "Midway" was produced, mimicking the 1898 Exposition. Performers imitated its most popular attractions:

Sources

• The Benkelman Chronical. "The Judicial mind..." Page 2. June 17, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Midway Was Thronged." Page 5. June 2, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Court Saw the Dance." Page 2. June 8, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Zaref is Set Free." Page 1. June 9, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Holds with Streets of Cairo." Page 3. June 9, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "In Hands of Exposition." Page 5. June 11, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway." Page 6. August 1, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Texans Arrive in Omaha; Glimpses of the Midway." Page 6. August 17, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Installing Streets of Cairo." Page 3. May 4, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Midway Amusements." Page 6. August 18, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Great Array of Talent to Take Part in Starkey Benefit." Page 4. August 26, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Midway Amusements." Page 6. September 15, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Lunette Continues to Be the Great Sensation." Page 12. September 23, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Parisian Dancing Girls Draw Crowded Houses - Other Shows." Page 4. October 4, 1898
• Evening World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; The Moorish Giant is Disciplined by His Wife." Page 10. October 7, 1898
• Evening World Herald."Glimpses of the Midway; Cold Weather Does Not Front the Cyclorama." Page 5. October 19, 1898
• The Excelsior. "Persinger Perigrinates; And Writes Up Omaha and the Big Show in His Own Style." Page 1-2. June 18, 1898
• Fremont Tri Weekly Tribune. "Judge Scott." Page 4. June 9, 1898
• Lincoln Journal Star. "Scott Makes an Order in the Midway Case." Omaha, NE. Page 3. June 10, 1898
• Lincoln Journal Star. "Trans-Mississippi Expo grew into Omaha version of World's Fair." Jim McKee. Page 85. June 21, 1998
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "A Taxing Mania." Page 5. May 16, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "They Humbugged?" Page 6. June 1, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "Down on the Muscle Dance." Page 5. June 9, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "Omaha in Brief." Page 5. June 11, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "Cairo Has Fallen." Page 2. June 12, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "Life on the Gay Midway." Page 11. August 21, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "Fondle Oriental Dancers." Page 5. September 9, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "Litigation in Prospect." Page 3. October 17, 1898
• Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. "Particular About the Name." Page 5. November 12, 1898
• The Mead Advocate. "Midway Judge Scott." Page 4. June 23, 1898
• Nebraska Christian News. "A Few Points from Omaha." Charles E. Taylor. Page 8. September 7, 1898
• Omaha Daily Bee. "Concessionaires Can't Settle." Page 21. June 1, 1898
• Omaha Daily Bee."Litigation Takes a New Turn; Management Restrained from Interfering with Streets of Cairo." Page 8. June 12, 1898
• Omaha Daily Bee. "Amusements." Page 22. August 28, 1898
• Omaha Daily Bee."Amusements." Page 8. October 30, 1898
• Omaha Daily Bee."Wadley Tells His Story; First Witness for Dense in Exposition Contempt Case." Page 5. December 14, 1898
• Omaha Daily Bee. Advertisement for Midway. Page 2. October 21, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. Wanted Ad for Oriental Dancers. Page 7. August 2, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Building Starts Up." Page 8. March 27, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Opening the Midway. Private Stag Party Specially Invited to Attend." Page 1. May 31, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "In Hands of Exposition." Page 5. June 11, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "The Streets of All Nations Restrained and 'Their Alders, Settors, and Counsellors." Page 5. June 15, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Creates Consternation; Sheriff McDonald Shortens a Midway Performance." Page 5. June 19, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Reduced Admission Evenigns and Sundays Still on the Tapis." Page 12. July 1, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Colonel Ninci's Success in the Streets of Cairo." Page 5. August 3, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Fall of Babylonian Exhibition That Proves Great Attraction." Page 2. August 17, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Entertainment at the East Casino This Week." Page 3. August 21, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Selika Wins New Laurels at German Village Benefit." Page 2. August 28, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Passing Show." Page 10. August 28, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Ishmael, the Wondrous Magician Secured at the Palace." Page 6. September 18, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "La Belle Rosa." Page 19. September 18, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Wonderful Magician at Chinese Village on Pleasure Tract." Page 2. September 27, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Tunis Torture Dancers Come to Streets of Cairo." Page 3. October 2, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Everybody Wants a Relic; Souvenirs in Demand as the Final Day of the Exposition Approaches." page 5. October 22, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Glimpses of the Midway; Haunted Swing Has a Way of Entertaining the Crowds." Page 2. October 28, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "Dancing Girl Illusion." Page 21. November 13, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "The Illusion, 'She'." Page 20. November 20, 1898
• Omaha World Herald. "The Early Years: Ak-Sar-Ben and the Trans-Mississippi Expo." Page 113. December 9, 2007
• Omaha World Herald. "Ax, and you shall hear, stories of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition." Stu Pospisil. Page E4. November 19, 2023
• Omaha World Herald. "Trans-Mississippi Exposition had it all." Stu Pospisil. November 12, 2023
• Trans-Mississippi & International Exposition Brochure. 1898

Websites

• "The Omaha World’s Fair." https://trans-mississippi.unl.edu/
• "Trans-Mississippi International Exposition, Omaha, June to November, 1898." https://trans-mississippi.unl.edu/texts/view/transmiss.book.tmie.1898.html

Photographs

• Photos of Trans-Mississippi Expo. 1898. North Omaha. Omaha Public Library Collection
• Photographs from Durham Museum Digital Collection
• Construction of Moorish Palace. with snow. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. c 1897
• The Flying Lady. East Midway. Rinehart. Entrace to the Flying Lady, Psycho the Automation Wonder, Mystic Maze, and Trilby Temple to northwest. 1898. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
• "Photogravures of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition." F.A. Rinehart. 1898. History Nebraska Collection