DATE: Edwardian, 1910

A selection of memorabilia connected with the 1910 Brockton Fair (October 4-7), including a celluloid pin badge with image of a Wright Flyer and two colourised photographic postcards featuring hot air balloons: "All Ready for a Flight at the Brockton Fair", and "Filling the Balloon, Brockton Fair". The latter postcard has a message on the back and postmark for October 7th 1910. 

The Brockton Fair has entertained, shocked, and amazed New Englanders since 1874. The summer carnival has always had a flair for hosting extreme stunts, often paired with (in the early days, anyway) cutting edge aviation technology. The fair runs to this day, drawing crowds of around 7000 each day, with attractions including a demolition derby and sea lion shows. It's by all accounts much more tame these days, take for example an advertised attraction from the 1933 fair for "Oso the Bear Boy", or the 1915 fair in which a young man was killed jumping from a hot air balloon: 

On the afternoon of October 6, 1915, two men, Emil Olsen, and Berton Eager, were scheduled to give performances at the Brockton Fair by jumping from a balloon using parachutes. Eager went first, rising to the appointed altitude and making a successful drop.

About an hour later it was Olsen’s turn. As an estimated crowd of 35,000 people looked on, Olsen rose from the fairgrounds after declaring that he was going to do his friend “one better”. His plan was to jump using four parachutes, only using one at a time.

After the balloon had risen to several thousand feet, Olsen made his jump. The first parachute opened perfectly, which he then dropped away from and opened the second, which also opened as it should. The third did likewise, but for some reason the fourth failed to open while Olsen was still about 5,000 feet in the air. At first the crowd though it was all part of the act, but after a few seconds realized something was wrong. Olsen plummeted to the ground and landed in an open area just outside the fairgrounds.

Mr. Olsen was 22-years-old, and lived at 244 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, Mass.

Source: Vermont Phoenix, “Killed At Brockton Fair”, October 8, 1915

MEASUREMENTS 

Pin badge: 4.3cm

Postcards: 5.5 x 3.5 inches

WEIGHT 

5.6g

MARKS 

No marks present, pin tests as base metal

CONDITION 

Very good, light wear commensurate with age