ABANDONED. a book set in 1890s/early 1900s with family life and the 1904 Worlds Fair

[Ginny]

I had a patron ask for this book she read as a child at least 50 years ago so that would put it in the 1960s or before. The book is set in the 1890s to early 1900s. It gives you family life of that era and includes going to the 1904 World's Fair. She mentioned a strict father and multiple daughters. The book included ink drawings that included the young ladies drawn in Gibson girl style and the father with a mustache. The family is from a northern state. I tried to press for more, but she only remembers that much.

[Kelly]

Two families of girls with a mustached father come to mind:

Alberta May Contstant's Millers - Those Miller Girls, The Motoring Millers, Does Anybody Care about Lou Emma Miller?

Carol Ryrie Brink's Ridgeway Family books? Family Grandstand, Family Sabbatical

[Ginny]

Kelly wrote: "Two families of girls with a mustached father come to mind:

Alberta May Contstant's Millers - Those Miller Girls, The Motoring Millers, Does Anybody Care about Lou Emma Miller?

Carol Ryrie Brink..."

Thanks, let me check with the patron and see if either title rings a bell.

[Ginny]

Ginny wrote: "Kelly wrote: "Two families of girls with a mustached father come to mind:

Alberta May Contstant's Millers - Those Miller Girls, The Motoring Millers, Does Anybody Care about Lou Emma Miller?

Car..."
Well the patron and I realized that that both those series are after the date of the book she was looking for which included the 1904 World's Fair as part of the events that happen in the novel.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Meet Me in St. Louis (written 1941)

I mean, it looked to me like she was describing the old MGM musical, and I think (haven't read it myself) that that is what this book is.

[Angela]

Is the patron sure it's the 1904 World Fair and not the 1893 one in Chicago? The description of Not So Long Ago by Ruth Langland Holberg sounds pretty close to what she was describing: "The story of three little girls who lived in Milwaukee in 1893 and of the trip one of them made to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago highlighting the newly discovered wonders of electricity, the telephone, and other technological marvels."

There's an entry for the book on eBay that gives a glimpse of some of the illustrations, if the patron might be able to recognize them.

[Ginny]

I will check with the patron on both "Meet Me in St Louis" and "Not so long ago" since both sound close to what she is describing.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Ginny, did the patron ever get back to you about which book it was?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Ginny, did the patron ever get back to you about which book it was?"

No response; moving to Abandoned.