The Wisconsin State Fair began in 1851 under the auspices of the State Agricultural Society, remaining under Society control until 1897. From that year until 1915 the fair was organized and run by the State Board of Agriculture. In 1915 the newly-formed State Department of Agriculture superseded the board and oversaw the fair's operation until 1961. In 1929 the Department of Agriculture was renamed the State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and in 1939 it returned to the name State Department of Agriculture. In 1961 the fair was incorporated into the State Exposition Department, where it remained until 1968 when the department was renamed the Wisconsin Exposition Center and transferred to the Department of Local Affairs and Development under the Reorganization Act of 1968. State fair operations and its three-member board of control for the state fair park were transferred back to the Department of Agriculture in 1971. Then in 1977 the fair was transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
For the period represented in these records, most state fair publicity was generated within the department. Creative writing and copy editing was performed by staff employees, while photography and printing was contracted to private vendors. In addition, a media buying organization, Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlop Associates, was hired to schedule publicity for the 1948 State Centennial Exposition.
