Curator of Photographs and Prints for the Missouri Historical Society Duane R. Sneddeker collaborated with author/editor Timothy J. Fox for this oversized book showcasing over 300 high-quality reproductions of photographs from the MHS collection. The photographs depict the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The “Palaces” referred to in the title include the Palace of Fine Arts (still functioning as the St. Louis Art Museum) as well as adjacent, large exhibition halls that were built for the fair but destroyed afterward. Fox and Sneddeker provide some general historical and cultural analysis of the fair and its exhibits. Their 30-page introduction focuses on the preparation of the fair grounds and each of the 21 chapters begins with a short (one-page) essay about the various exposition venues and events that appear in the photographs.
