“The World a Million Years Ago” memorabilia, including two bronze figures from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, sheet music, a recording of the song, along with an audio tour through “The World a Million Years Ago” exhibit, presumably played on local radio stations, a DVD/CD set (left) with motion pictures and audio from the World’s Fair dinosaur attractions and also the song and audio tour, a set of vinyl sound effects records (that provided the growls, grunts, chirps, etc.) for Messmore & Damon’s mechanical prehistoric creatures). a plaster relief, a “composition” tar pit tableau (part of a set), souvenir postcards, Tru-Vue film strip of 3-dimensional photos and a “Big Little Book” (1938). The original venue for the attraction was a large dome-like structure (CLICK HERE) wherein the mechanical prehistoric creatures performed.
Messmore & Damon’s mechanical prehistoric animals also appeared at other world’s fairs and expositions, in zoos, stage shows, at parades, even department stores and resorts. Here are collectibles from some of those venues. Sometimes the show was revamped and appeared under different names than “The World a Million Years Ago.”
