Photo Lab Slides
Photo Lab was one of the first licensees of the Fair Corporation, signing a contract that made it the official photo company. This allowed them to control the rights to commercial images from the Fair, and they made the most of it. They issued quite a few slides under their own banner, but also authorized other companies to offer slides. Some of those companies re-used Photo Lab images and others used their own pictures. Some examples have been found of slides that have both a Photo Lab and Wolfe Worldwide number on them.
While Photo Lab was fairly prolific in the number of images they released, and many of the images were well composed, the company seems to not have had much in the way of quality control. Many of their slides were printed with dirt and scratches on the image, making it a bit of a challenge to restore them. Scanners with scratch and dust removal built-in can usually remove physical defects from a slide, but not if the slide is actually suffering from a printed image of dust or a scratch on the original slide. Here's some examples of the effort involved in bringing Photo Lab slides back to life:
This is an un-retouched scan of a Photo Lab slide. The shift in colors is not uncommon and is fairly easy to correct, but there are quite a few areas of dirt and scratches. The image is also a bit soft in focus - and other Photo Lab slides are even worse in all these areas.
Here's the same slide after color, dust and scratch correction through the Nikon Coolscan V scanner. It's starting to look better, but there are still quite a few problems with it. All of them are printed on the slide.
Here's a close-up view of the sky area. All of that dust is a permanent part of the slide, thanks to the folks at Photo Lab. All of these have to be manually removed.
Here's the final product after manual effort in Photoshop. The exposure was also adjusted, and a giant fingerprint removed from the walkway.
Most of the Photo Lab slides were issued in sets of 10 and were packaged in a paper envelope that had the set name over-printed on it. Here's one example of the packaging.
They also offered boxed sets of slides, with a mixture of 50 different subjects and a handy pocket viewer. These could be bought at the Fair but were primarily intended for mail order sales.
The pocket viewers proved to be popular and were issued separately from this boxed set, packaged with four slides.
Here are the slides offered under the Photo Lab name, listed in alphabetical order by set. They also issued special sets that are listed on their own pages: Super Scenic Slides and Vatican Pavilion. I am interested in buying or trading for any slide listed in bold; if you have any, or know of any not on the list, please contact me.
Architect's Renderings
These slides were issued in a large format group similar to the Super Scenic Slides. They were usually sold in sets of four with one of the pocket viewers.
S-180A - Unisphere (Red)S-180B - Port of New York Authority Heliport
S-180C - Federal Pavilion
S-180D - New York State Pavilion
S-181A - Main Mall
S-181B - Astral Fountain - Night
S-181C - Pool of Industry
S-181D - Solar Fountain - Night
S-182A - Sudan
S-182B - Hong Kong
S-182C - Thailand
S-182D - Vatican Pavilion
S-183A - General Motors
S-183B - Johnson's Wax
S-183C - Sinclair Dinoland
S-183D - Seven-Up
S-184A - Medo - Photographic Headquarters
S-184B - Pavilion of American Interiors
S-184C - Coca Cola
S-184D - Travelers Insurance Companies
S-185A - Philippines
S-185B - Republic of China
S-185C - Hong Kong
S-185D - Indonesia
S-186A - Hall of Education
S-186B - Hall of Science
S-186C - Sermons from Science
S-186D - Wax Museum
S-187A - The Protestant Center
S-187B - Church of Jesus Christ
S-187C - Billy Graham's Pavilion
S-187D - Christian Science
S-188A - Main Mall, Port Authority, Medo, Pool of Industry, IBM, Kodak
S-188B - Shea, highways. Education, Federal, Transportation & Travel, Press
S-188C - Brass Rail, Boy Scouts, Circus, Sinclair, Music Hall, Intl Plaza
S-188D - Greyhound, Coca-Cola, NCR, Simmons, American Interiors, Gas
Architect's Renderings - Attractions
5401 - Unisphere5402 - Unisphere (Red)
5403 - Entrance Gate
5404 - Unisphere (Weinrich Horizontal)
5405 - Solar Fountain - Day
5406 - Astral Fountain - Day
5407 - Lunar Fountain - Day
5408 - Pool of Industry (Blue)
5409 - Heliport Cocktail Lounge
5410 - Brass Rail Refreshment & Souvenir Center
Architect's Renderings - Entertainment & Education
5421 - Auto Thrill Show5422 - Circus
5423 - Music Hall
5424 - Mutiny on the Bounty
5425 - Dancing Waters
5426 - Hall of Free Enterprise
5427 - City Museums in New York City Building
5428 - Singer Bowl
5429 - Transportation & Travel
5430 - International Plaza
Architect's Renderings - Foreign Participants
5441 - Central America - Panama5442 - Mexico
5443 - Malaysia
5444 - Austria
5445 - Morocco
5446 - Greece
5447 - Sierra Leone
5448 - Republic of Korea
5449 - Pakistan
5450 - Guinea
Architect's Renderings - Industrial Participants - Set A
5451 - Coca-Cola5452 - Continental Insurance Companies - Model
5453 - Dupont Pavilion
5454 - Eastman Kodak Exhibit
5455 - Equitable Assurance
5456 - Ford Motor Company
5457 - General Cigar
5458 - General Electric Progressland
5459 - International Business Machines
5460 - National Cash Register
Architect's Renderings - Industrial Participants - Set B
5461 - Parker Pen Pavilion5462 - Pepsi-Cola
5463 - Radio Corporation of America
5464 - Rheingold's Little Old New York
5465 - Schaefer Center
5466 - Scott Paper
5467 - Formica Exhibit
5468 - Socony-Mobil
5469 - Simmons Beautyrest Center
5470 - Sinclair Service Station
Architect's Renderings - Public Service
5411 - Bell System Exhibit5412 - Telephone Booth
5413 - Electric Power & Light
5414 - Greyhound Information Booth at the Fair
5415 - Festival of Gas
5416 - Festival of Gas Restaurant
5417 - Greyhound at the Fair
5418 - U.S. Post Office
5419 - Clearview Expressway & Grand Central Parkway
5420 - Marina Administration Building
Architect's Renderings - States
5431 - Alaska5432 - Hawaii
5432 - New England States
5434 - New Jersey
5435 - State of West Virginia
5436 - Florida
5437 - Maryland
5438 - Montana
5439 - Wisconsin
5440 - Missouri
Belgian Village
78 A - Belgian Village - Cafe78 B - Belgian Village - Night
78 C - Belgian Village - Street Scene
78 D - Belgian Village - Famous Gilles Dancers
Color Slides of Architect's Renderings
This early set of slides bears a 1962 copyright date and includes several planned pavilions that did not actually make it to the Fair. Some of the copies I have also say "Tour #2" on them. Many of the slide titles have a "+" mark after the name; the significance is unknown.
WF-1 - Your Invitation - New York World's Fair 1964-1965WF-2 -.Unisphere presented by United States Steel
WF-3 - Unisphere (Red)
WF-4 - Unisphere (Weinrich Horizontal)
WF-5 - Main Mall
WF-6 - Location in relation to Manhattan (New York)
WF-7 - Access to Fair
WF-8 - World's Fair Site
WF-9 - Pavilion of American Interiors
WF-10 - World's Fair Assembly Pavilion
WF-11 - Bell Telephone System (a second copy is labeled "Bell System Exhibit")
WF-12 - Telephone Booth
WF-13 - Group Call Booth
WF-14 - Better Living
WF-15 - DuPont Exhibit
WF-16 - Electric Power and Light (two versions exist - horizontal and vertical)
WF-17 - Festival of Gas
WF-18 - Festival of Gas Restaurant
WF-19 - Graphic Arts Pavilion
WF-20 - Hall of Education
WF-21 - House of Good Taste
WF-22 - IBM - International Business Machines
WF-23 - Johnson's Wax
WF-24 - Eastman Kodak Exhibit
WF-25 - National Cash Register
WF-26 - Rheingold's Little Old New York
WF-27 - Schaefer Center
WF-28 - Schaefer Center Cocktail Lounge
WF-29 - Seven-Up
WF-30 - Scott Paper
WF-31 - Simmons Beautyrest Center
WF-32 - Travelers Insurance Company (two versions exist - model view and rendering view)
WF-33 - The Protestant Center
WF-34 - World of Food
WF-35 - unknown
WF-36 - Pool of Industry +
WF-37 - Pool of Industry (Blue)
WF-38 - Solar Fountain - Day +
WF-39 - Solar Fountain - Night +
WF-40 - Astral Fountain - Day +
WF-41 - Astral Fountain - Night +
WF-42 - Lunar Fountain - Day
WF-43 - Arch of Americas
WF-44 - Republic of China
WF-45 - France (a second version exists for Pavilion de Paris)
WF-46 - Hong Kong (Model)
WF-47 - Hong Kong
WF-48 - Mexico
WF-49 - Pakistan
WF-50 - Sudan
WF-51 - unknown
WF-52 - unknown
WF-53 - Thailand
WF-54 - Vatican Pavilion
WF-55 - Michelangelo's "Pieta"
WF-56 - Federal Pavilion +
WF-57 - Federal Pavilion +
WF-58 - Florida +
WF-59 - Hawaii
WF-60 - Coca-Cola
WF-61 - Maryland +
WF-62 - Missouri +
WF-63 - New England States
WF-64 - New Jersey
WF-65 - New Mexico +
WF-66 - State of West Virginia +
WF-67 - New York State Pavilion
WF-68 - Transportation & Travel (two versions exist - original design and as built)
WF-69 - Port of New York Authority Heliport
WF-70 - Heliport Cocktail Lounge +
WF-71 - Ford Motor Company
WF-72 - General Motors
WF-73 - Greyhound at the Fair
WF-74 - Sinclair Dinoland (two versions exist - model view and rendering view)
WF-75 - Sinclair Service Station +
WF-76 - Marine Center +
WF-77 - Circus
WF-78 - Flushing Bay Marina +
WF-79 - World's Fair Amphitheatre +
WF-80 - Municipal Stadium at Flushing +
WF-81 - World's Fair Press Building +
WF-82 - Lincoln Center +
WF-83 - Jones Beach +
WF-84 - City Museums in New York City Building +
WF-85 - Clearview Expressway & Grand Central Parkway +
WF-86 - unknown
WF-87 - New York World's Fair 1964-1965 Model (two versions exist)
WF-88 - New York World's Fair 1964-1965 Model +
WF-89 - The Church of Jesus Christ of the Later Day Saints +
WF-90 - Entrance Gate +
WF-91 - Greyhound Information Booth at the Fair +
WF-92 - Christian Science +
WF-93 - World's Fair Assembly Area + (a second version exists for the Singer Bowl)
WF-94 - unknown
WF-95 - Continental Insurance Companies Model
WF-96 - Ireland
WF-97 - Japan
WF-98 - Wisconsin
WF-99 to WF-104 - unknown
WF-105 - Caribbean
WF-106 to WF-128 - unknown
WF-129 - Parker Pen Pavilion
WF-130 - Formica Exhibit +
WF-131 to WF-136 - unknown
WF-137 - Malaysia
WF-138 to WF-145 - unknown
WF-146 - Pavilion of Spain - Model
WF-147 to WF-150 - unknown
WF-151 - Pavilion of Argentina
WF-152 - Pavilion of Denmark
WF-153 - Polynesian Village
WF-154 - American Israel Pavilion
WF-155 - Dick Buttons Ice-Travaganza
WF-156 - Les Poupees de Paris
Federal and State Area
5501 - Unisphere - Night5502 - Hollywood - Night
5503 - New York State Pavilion
5504 - Night View from New York State Pavilion
5505 - Aerial View
5506 - Illinois Pavilion
5507 - United States Pavilion
5508 - Minnesota Pavilion
5509 - West Virginia Pavilion
5510 - Missouri Pavilion
General Motors Futurama
5541 - Building Canopy at Night5542 - City set - Commercial and Living Areas
5543 - Moon set - Lunar Rover
5544 - Antarctic construction - Futurama Ride
5545 - City of the Future
5546 - Moon Set
5547 - Jungle set - Road Builder
5548 - City set - Industrial Area
5549 - Antarctic construction - Futurama Ride
5550 - Undersea Set - Drill Rig and Oil Field
General Motors Futurama - Set L
1 - Future Modern Cities2 - Underwater Vista - Featuring Underseas Motel
3 - Lunar Crawlers on Moons Surface
4 - Future Modern Cities
5 - Future Modern Cities
6 - Underwater Living
7 - Antarctica Weather Station
8 - Airplane View of Future City (Night)
Industrial Area - Set A
5471 - Electric Power and Light - Night5472 - Schaefer Center
5473 - General Electric Company - Night
5474 - Coca Cola - Night
5475 - National Cash Register - Day
5476 - General Cigar
5477 - Eastman Kodak Exhibit
5478 - Parker Pen Pavilion
5479 - The Protestant Center
5480 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Night
Industrial Area - Set B
5481 - Fountain of the Planets5482 - Bell System Exhibit
5483 - Festival of Gas
5484 - House of Good Taste
5485 - International Business Machines - Night
5486 - Travelers Insurance Companies
5487 - Pavilion of American Interiors - Night
5488 - Rheingold's Little Old New York
5489 - Seven-Up
5490 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Day
International Area - Set A
5491 - Thailand - Night5492 - Republic of China
5493 - Pakistan
5494 - Philippines
5495 - Africa
5496 - Mexico
5497 - Morocco
5498 - Sudan
5499 - Greece
5500 - Indonesia
International Area - Set B
5511 - Pavilion of Spain (two versions exist - one with flag flying to left, one with flag to right)5512 - Vatican Pavilion
5513 - Berlin Pavilion
5514 - Pavilion of Africa
5515 - Pavilion of India
5516 - Polynesian Restaurant
5517 - Pavilion of Sweden
5518 - House of Japan
5519 - Sermons From Science (two versions exist - one close-up, one showing Brass Rail to left)
5520 - Swiss Sky Ride
Lake Amusement Area
5521 - Aerial view5522 - Circus
5523 - AMF Monorail
5524 - Amphitheatre
5525 - Santa Maria
5526 - Hawaii
5527 - Wax Museum
5528 - Les Poupees de Paris
5529 - NASA
5530 - Music Hall
Transportation Area
5531 - Unisphere5532 - Sinclair Dinoland
5533 - To The Moon
5534 - Aerial View
5535 - U.S. Rubber Company Exhibit (two versions exist - one cropped horizontally, one cropped vertically)
5536 - Chrysler Rocket
5537 - Space Park Robot
5538 - Gemini Space Capsule
5539 - Transportation and Travel
5540 - SKF Industries
Untitled set #1
This group of slides does not have any title on it other than "New York World's Fair 1964-1965" and a 1964 copyright date. It is not yet known how many slides were in the set. Several of the numbers were re-used; for example, there are two completely different #13 - and then a #13N.
1 - Mall at Night2 - Bell System Exhibit - Night
3 - unknown
4 - Port of New York Authority Heliport
5 - Night View from New York State Pavilion
6 - Unisphere - Day
6 - Thailand
7 - Aerial View from New York State Pavilion
8 - Republic of China
8 - Aerial View - Lake Amusement Area +
9 - unknown
10 - Sudan
11- Vatican Pavilion
12 - Bell System Exhibit - Night
13 - Voice Patterns
13 - Protestant Center
13N - Wall of Peace
14 - Better Living
15 - Greece
15 - Austria
16 - unknown
17 - Federal Pavilion
18 - Festival of Gas
19 - New England
20 - Hall of Education
20 - New Jersey
21 - House of Good Taste
21 - New York
22 - International Business Machines - Night
23 - Fountain of the Planets
23 - Johnson's Wax
24 - Eastman Kodak Exhibit
25 - IBM
26 - Reingold's Little Old New York (actually Rheingold's Little Old New York)
26A - General Electric - Night
27 - Schaefer Center
28 - Miss Clairol
28 - Festival of Gas
29 - Seven-Up
29 - Dupont
30 - Scott Paper
31 - Simmons Beauty Rest Center
32 - Travelers Insurance Companies - Night
33 - Travelers Insurance Companies - Day
34 - Dupont
34 - Protestant Center
35 - Aerial Ride & Waffle Shop
36 - Fountain of the Planets
37 - Minnesota Pavilion
38 - Solar Fountain - Day
39 - Solar Fountain
40 - Astral Fountain - Day
41 - Statue on Main Mall
42 - Lunar Fountain - Night
43 - Pavilion of Africa
44 - Pavilion of Africa
45 - Republic of China
46 - Hong Kong
47 - Hong Kong
48 - Microwave Tower
48 - Mexico
49 - Pakistan
50 - Sudan (two versions)
51 - Swiss Sky Ride
52 - Thailand - Day
53 - Thailand - Night
54 - Vatican Pavilion
55 - New York City Pavilion
56 - United States Pavilion
57 - Florida
58 - Hawaii
59 - Coca Cola - Day
60 - Coca Cola - Night
61 - Maryland
62 - Missouri
63 - New England States
64 - New Jersey - Aerial View
65 - New Mexico
66 - West Virginia
67 - New York
68 - Transportation & Travel
69 - Manhattan Skyline and Heliport
70 - Port of New York Authority Heliport
71 - Ford Motor Company
72 - Ford Motor Company - Night
73 - General Motors - Night
74 - General Motors - Day
75 - Greyhound
76 - Sinclair Dinoland
77 - Circus
77 - Hall of Science
78 - New York State
79 - Amphitheatre
80 - Chun King Inn
81 - General Electric Progressland
82 - General Electric Progressland - Night
83 - Transportation Area - Day
83 - Chrysler Island - Day
84 - Chrysler Rocket
85 - Chrysler
86 - Chrysler Island - Night
87 - To The Moon
88 - Masonic Center
89 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
90 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Night
91 - At Entrance Gate
92 - Christian Science
93 - Singer Bowl
94 - Billy Graham Pavilion
95 - Continental Insurance Companies
96 - Berlin
97 - House of Japan
98 - Illinois
99 - unknown
100 - Dynamic Maturity
101 - Sweden
102 - Austria
103 - Philippines
104 - Greece
105 - UAR Egypt
106 - Republic of Korea
107 - Hollywood - Night
108 - Radio Corporation of America
109 - unknown
110 - Swiss Pavilion
111 - Bourbon Street
112 - New Jersey - Night
113 - Sierra Leone
114 - The Pavilion
115 - Frontier Palace - Texas
116 - unknown
117 - Avis Antique Auto Ride
118 - unknown
119 - Equitable Assurance
120 - Wax Museum
121 - Eastern Airlines
122 - Montana
123 - Morocco
124 - American Express
125 - American Express - One Million Dollars
126 - SKF Industries
127 - Aerial View of the Fair
128 - Wax Museum
129 - Parker Pen Pavilion
130 - unknown
131 - General Cigar
132 - Medo - Photographic Headquarters
133 - Brass Rail - Night
134 - Brass Rail - Day
135 - unknown
136 - Guinea
137 - Malaysia (actually Africa)
138 - Log Flume Ride
139 - Chunky Square
140 - unknown
141 - Music Hall
142 - Pepsi-Cola
143 - Sermons From Science
144 - Les Poupees de Paris
145 - United States Rubber Company
146 - unknown
147 - Jordan
148 - AMF Monorail
149 - Santa Maria
150 - India
151 - GM - City of the Future
152 - GM - City of the Future
153 - Polynesian Restaurant
154 - American-Israel Pavilion
155 - Les Poupees de Paris
156 - NASA
157 - Base of Apollo Moon Rocket
158 - Lunar Excursion Vehicle
159 - Gemini Space Capsule
160 - Cooper's Mercury Spacecraft
161 - Space Park Robot (actually Chrysler)
Untitled set #2
This group of slides does not have any printing on them other than a stamped number on the reverse side. This set was probably released prior to the opening of the Fair as all of the slides feature models or architect renderings of the pavilions. There evidently was a tie-in with United Airlines as one of the slides features a United Airlines jet in flight. It is not yet known how many slides were in the set. The titles below were taken from the captions on the slide images.
1 - unknown2 - Adult ticket
3 - Your Invitation to the New York World's Fair 1964-1965
4 - Unisphere
5 - World's Fair Site
6 - Thailand
7 - Republic of China
8 - Pakistan
9 - Vatican Pavilion
10 - Michelangelo's "Pieta"
11 - Sudan
12 - Mexico
13 - Federal Pavilion
14 - Pool of Industry
15 - Festival of Gas
16 - Festival of Gas restaurant
17 - Travelers Insurance Companies
18 - Johnson's Wax
19 - unknown
20 - Coca-Cola
21 - Bell System Exhibit
22 - General Electric Company
23 - General Motors
24 - Ford Motor Company
25 - Sinclair Dinoland
26 - World of Food
27 - Electric Power and Light
28 - unknown
29 - New England States
30 - New Jersey
31 - Missouri
32 - Hawaii
33 - The Protestant Center
34 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
35 - Greyhound at the Fair
36 - unknown
37 - (United Airlines jet in flight)
38 - Transportation & Travel
39 - Circus
A postscript on Photo Lab
Sadly the company has gone bankrupt and out of business, apparently sometime in the 1990s. All attempts to determine what became of the negatives and other items related to the Fair have failed, and it appears everything was simply disposed of as the company was shut down and the processing equipment sold off. If anyone has any leads as to where any of this material might have gone please let me know. It's a shame to think it may have all just ended up in a landfill somewhere.