Gift of World's Fair photo collection reveals look at 1930s pop culture

 A photo from an archive of newly aquired photos of the 1939 World's Fair shows women bathing elephants.

Rummaging through a dusty cardboard box at the New-York Historical Society, Marilyn Kushner found the world.

She gingerly fingered black-and-white photos of foreign displays, corporate exhibits and rides from the 1939-1940 World's Fair in Queens, which were recently bequeathed to the society.

It's one of the most extensive gifts of fair images the museum has ever received, instantly making its two-year-old photo collection 10 times larger.

"This far outweighs anything we've had," Kushner said. "You'll be able to walk through the World's Fair now."

Researchers will review the 1,000-plus images this summer, while historians wait to learn what secrets may be unlocked in the potential treasure trove.

Fair collectors wonder if the stash contains rare photos inside hundreds of pavilions that once dotted Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

"That's stuff you don't see," said noted fair collector John Riccardelli.

Richard Post, who leads tours of the park, said the photos are valuable because they may present a never-before-seen perspective.