Jevne & Almini's Chicago Illustrated

Other view pages
[ Location Index | Subject Index | Artists ]

Views by Louis Kurz. From Chicago Illustrated. Chicago: Jevne & Almini, 1866. With literary descriptions by James W. Sheahan. Tinted lithographs by the Chicago Lithographing Company. Ca. 8 1/4 x 12. Some with minor condition problems, but overall very good condition. Text with original text sheets, unless noted otherwise.

From the first, Chicago's existence depended on its position as a transit point between the Great Lakes and the interior of America. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago grew significantly during the following decades, with the opening of the Illinois and Michigan canal in 1848 and then the arrival of the railroads. Chicago became the center for ten major railroads, with one hundred trains coming and going each day. During the Civil War, Chicago was the nation's major entrepot for cattle, with the Union Stockyards completed in 1865, though many other goods passed through Chicago on trains and ships. On the evening of October 8, 1871, this booming, prairie metropolis began to burn and when the fire flamed out the following evening, about 300 Chicagoans were dead, nearly 100,000 were homeless, and Chicago had suffered property loss of around $200 million. Its geographic position and the survival of the transportation network meant that Chicago was soon rebuilt, but much of the pre-fire city was lost forever. Luckily, just five years before, an enterprising group of men had produced an unparalleled portrait of pre-fire Chicago.

Otto Jevne and Peter M. Almini were partners in a Chicago decorating firm specializing in ornamental painting. An 1866 advertisement for the firm listed them as "Fresco & House Painters, And Dealers in Artists' and Painters' Materials, Oil Paintings, Steel Engravings, Chromo Lithographs, Etc. Etc." After the war there was a spirit of civic boosterism in Chicago, and this inspired Jevne and Almini to embark on the publication of an elaborate work to illustrate the scenes and buildings of the city. In 1865, Jevne and Almini joined with three lithographers, Louis Kurz, Otto Knirsch, and Edward Carqueville to form the Chicago Lithographing Co.. Kurz, later to form the famous Kurz & Allison firm, drew and lithographed the prints for the ambitious Jevne and Almini portfolio, entitled Chicago Illustrated.

As described in the prospectus, Jevne and Almini proposed "to publish, in Monthly Parts, an illustrated History of Chicago." The portfolio was to consist of twenty-five part, each of which was to contain at least four tinted lithographs, accompanied by text description, and when completed it was to be accompanied by a "General View of the City." The parts were issued, at $1.50 per fascicle, between January, 1866, and January, 1867, when the project abruptly stopped. The views showed street scenes, transportation sites, and major buildings throughout the city. Only fifty-two images were completed, but they provide a fascinating documentation of pre-fire Chicago. These rare views are among the most desirable nineteenth century images of any American city.

N.B.: A $25 discount applies to the price of a part cover when purchased in conjunction with a print from that part.

Part 1

"Chamber of Commerce." Located at the corner of LaSalle and Washington, this impressive edifice, designed by E. Burling, was dedicated on August 30, 1865. This was the headquarters of the Board of Trade of Chicago and, according to the text, "the external view of the building, though faithful in every particular, fails in giving any just idea of the magnitude, convenience, elegance and grandeur of the interior construction and finish." $725
"Tremont House." A busy street scene, with an American flag flying over the four story Tremont House, one of the leading hotels in the West, located at Lake and Dearborn from 1850 to the great fire. The 260 room hotel was designed by John M. Van Osdel. The hotel was the headquarters of the Illinois Republican Party during the Republican national convention of 1860. $725
"2d Presbyterian Church." Church was located at Wabash and Washington. $325
Illustrated cover for part 1. With toning, 1" long hole near center, tear at left, and wear at edges. $75

Part 2

"Custom House." The Custom House, at the corner of Dearborn and Monroe, was the location of various federal offices, such as Customs, the Post Office, the Internal Revenue and U.S. Marshalls. It was claimed to be "perfectly fireproof," but it was almost completely destroyed by the great fire of 1871, with only the walls left standing. $750
"Wabash Avenue Methodist Church." Church was located at Wabash and Harrison. $325
Illustrated cover for part 2. With creases and some wear at edges. $75

Part 3

"View From 12th Street Bridge." Chicago's economic role as a transportation center depended to a great extent on its location at the mouth of the Chicago River. Much river and lake traffic docked along the river, unloading and loading grain and other commodities into the massive elevators and warehouses along its banks. This scene shows the Chicago River from the 12th Street Bridge, looking south and showing the elevators of the Munn & Scott and Flint & Thompson firms. $775
"Jesuite [sic] Church." Some toning at top. No text. $300
"View From Lake View House." Several holes in left half of image, expertly repaired, also minor blemishes in lower left margins. A wonderful view of the city from Chicago's first North Shore suburban development, Lake View. In 1854, the Lake View House hotel was built near Lake Shore Drive and Byron Street. The area was first developed as farm land (celery was the principal crop), but as wealthy Chicagoans looked for a summer retreat and new immigrants created a demand for suburban housing, and as the development of railroad lines allowed for easy access to the city, Lake View became a prosperous residential area. This lovely scene shows the city in the distance across a still rural foreground. $850
Illustrated cover for part 3. With wear and short tears at edges. $75

Part 4

"Court House Square." The court house was located on the corner of LaSalle and Randolph. Originally built in 1853, designed by John M. Van Osdell. In 1858, a third floor was added and a cupola erected with an observatory balcony. This print shows a very busy street scene at this central location in pre-fire Chicago. $775
"Trinity Church." Church was located between Wabash and Michigan, near Jackson. $325
Illustrated cover for part 4. With wear and short tears at edges, and long tear at left. $75

Part 5

"Col. Wood's Museum." A busy street scene looking East along Randolph street from Clark to State Street. In the center of the image is Col. Wood's Museum, a museum of curiosity similar to Barnum's Museum in New York City (which had burned in 1865). Of the museum the text says, "It embraces all the objects of curiosity common to all first-class collections, and is remarkable for its specialties." The image shows large banners, flags, and a two story tall statue of a soldier, the text remarking that "Col. Wood, the proprietor, knows he has a good thing, and that he does not hide it in the dark." Other businesses, including "Baker's Wood Engraving Rooms," are noted on the buildings along the teeming street. $750
"Universalist Church." Also known as St. Paul's Church, it was located at Wabash and Van Buren. Designed by W.W. Boyington, who also designed the Water Tower. $325
"Lake Street Bridge." Minor surface bumpiness, mostly in margin. A view of the South Branch of the Chicago River between the Randolph and Lake Street bridges, just south of the junction of the North and South Branches. $775
Illustrated cover for part 5. With some wear edges. $75

Part 6

"Chicago University." A few repaired tears and chips in right margin. In 1856, Stephen A. Douglas offered ten acres of land on the south side of Chicago to a denomination which would build university for the city. The Presbyterians considered the offer, but declined, but the first Baptist Church of Chicago accepted. The students began to enroll in 1858, though the first building wasn't completed until February 1859. The main building was constructed in 1863 and for a while the University was successful. The great fire of 1871 and panic of 1873, left the University in debt and it closed at the end of the academic year of 1885-86. Some of the trustees, trying to keep the University alive, approached John D. Rockefeller for support. Rockefeller decided to finance the resurrection, and his funds along with local contributions allowed the new University of Chicago to open in 1892. This iamge shows the original building, with students on the grounds in front, including a pair on their way to rowing practice. $850
"North Presbyterian Church." Church was located at Indiana and State. Designed by W.W. Boyington, who also designed the Water Tower. $325

Part 7

"Douglas' Monument." This monument to the "Little Giant," Stephen Douglas, is located at Cottage Grove. Douglas died of typhoid in Chicago in 1861, a year after he helped rally the Union behind the man to whom he lost the Presidential election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln. $725
"Briggs House." One of the first-class hotels in pre-fire Chicago, built in 1854-55. "The Briggs House has always been celebrated for the comfort, neatness, quiet, and admirable order of its appointments, and also for the excellence of its table and the general hospitality of its proprietors." Located at the corner of Randolph and Wells Streets. $725
"Second Baptist Church." Church was located at Morgan and Monroe. The round building was a reservoir which held 500,000 gallons of water. $325
Illustrated cover for part 7. $75

Part 8

"Plymouth Congregational Church." Church was located at Wabash and Eldridge. Designed by C.P. Randall. $325
"Soldiers Home." The Soldier's Home was located along the shore of Lake Michigan to the south of the city, near the first University of Chicago. The home was created by ladies of Chicago to provide housing and comfort for sick and disabled soldiers after the Civil War. The scene shows a sail boat and a row boat in the lake with a steam train running along the tracks by the shore. $675

Part 9

"1st Congregational Church." Church was located at Washington and Green. Designed by C.B. Smith. $325
"Hough House." This hotel was built on the edge of the city right by the Chicago stock yards. The image shows as many cattle in the streets as people. A steam railroad train is shown approaching in the distance. An interesting view that shows that Chicago, though a large city in 1866, was definitely on the border of "the boundless prairie to the south." $775
"Illinois Central Round House." No text. The Illinois Central Railroad entered Chicago from the South, running along the Lake Michigan shoreline and ending in a round house located South of the mouth of the Chicago River. This scene shows the round house from the South, looking along the weir constructed to help preserve the beach. The warehouses and elevators along the river can be seen in the distance and a Ferris wheel is depicted on the horizon. $825
Illustrated cover for part 9. $75

Part 10

"Third Presbyterian Church." Church was located at the corner of West Washington and South Carpenter Streets. $325

Part 11

"M.S. & N.I. & C & R.I. & Pc. R.R. Dep." This imposing Franco-Italian building, measuring 542 by 160 feet, was the depot for both the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad Company and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company." This station was located on Van Buren between Sherman and Griswold. $775
"Centenary M.E. Church." The Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church was located on West Monroe Street, between Morgan and Aberdeen Streets. $325
"Armory & Gas Works." An interesting image of two important buildings in the history of pre-fire Chicago. On the right is the Chicago Gas Light and Coke Company gas works, which supplied the city with most of the gas for lighting and cooking. On the left is the "Armory." Originally intended to store arms for the local militias, by the time this print was issued it was used almost exclusively as the location of a prison and the civil courts, "wherein the degraded and the criminals of this great city appear and play their parts. The location of the building is in the very center of the abodes of crime, degradation and vice of every form, which, by some strange impulse, have gathered under the very walls of the tribunal where it is daily arraigned, subjected to penalties, and discharged, to be brought back, within a few hours, to pass through the same ordeal." The text also mentions that the procession of figures marching toward the Armory includes "police, and the persons captured upon one of their raids upon the disreputable establishments of the city." Given that four of the six people being escorted by the police are women, the nature of the "disreputable establishment" raided is quite clear. $750
"Pittsburgh, Ft Wayne & Chicago Ry Freight Dep." Vertical crease through image and toning in top margin. A view of the South Branch of the Chicago River between Madison and Van Buren Streets. Across the river is shown the large freight depot of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway Company. The quays are filled with ships, and a tug and row boat ply the river, while a small group of sailors chats on the near shore. $750

Part 12

"Cor. Lake St. & Wabash Av." Missing text. A large commercial block at the corner of Lake St. and Wabash Avenue. This seems to be the garment district, with the corner building occupied by Young Brothers & Co. Typically of these views, the street is teeming with wagons, pedestrians, riders and an omnibus. $725
"8th Presbyterian Church." Church was located at the corner of West Washington and Robey Streets just west of Union Park. $325
"Park Row." With repaired tear and creases in right margin. "Park Row takes its name from a block of brown stone buildings which for a long time stood alone, facing the South end of the Lake Park, the right resting upon the Lake Shore. It is one of the finest residence locations in the city." This row faced Lake Park, the original core of what became Grant Park, at the opposite side from Randolph. $675

Part 13

"Marine Bank Building." A busy commercial scene looking down Lake Street from the corner at LaSalle. Of interest is the fact, as noted in the text, that in 1858-59, the grade of Lake Street was raised, so the entire block of substantial buildings had to be raised nearly six feet. $725
"1st. Babtist [sic] Church." Church was located on Wabash, just South of Hubbard Court. $325

Place Order

To Contact us, call, write, fax or e-mail to:

PPS Logo
8441 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118 USA
(215) 242-4750 [Phone]
(215) 242-6977 [Fax]
PhilaPrint@PhilaPrintShop.com