This picture shows one of the more interesting souvenirs that were brought home from one of the World's Fairs a hundred years ago. This one came from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The print shows at least three native Americans observing the fair from high ground plus there is the added bonus of a Dalton point glued to the print.
   As the story goes, the vendor that was selling these prints was not having very good luck. At least not until a friend suggested that he try gluing an "Indian arrowhead" to the shield-like image on the left side of the print. After he did that he had no problem getting rid of his prints.
   It's also interesting to note that the name Whelpley is written on the back on the frame. Dr. Henry M. Whelpley was one of the largest collectors in the St. Louis area at that time. He would have been 43 years old at the time of the fair. His collection was eventually donated to the Academy of Science of St. Louis by a relative in 1943. It is currently the finest collection of native American Stone Age artifacts in St. Louis.
   The Dalton point that happened to be glued onto this print is made of Kaolin chert which is a fairly rare material for Dalton points. Most Dalton points in the area were made from white Burlington chert. This point is also very well made. Whoever was picking out the points to put in the souvenir frames must have been picking from a large collection to have such good quality specimens.
   It's been suggested that the friend who offered the advice to the vender of adding an "Indian arrowhead" along with the prints might have been Dr. Whelpley himself.