When the Chicago Daily News closed its doors in March 1978 after over a century of publication, the city mourned the loss of an American original. The Daily News boasted the inventive, aggressive writing of such luminaries as Carl Sandburg and Ben Hecht. It was also one of the first newspapers in the country to feature black-and-white photography. In 1900, staffers from the paper’s art department began lugging bulky cameras, heavy glass plates, and explosive flash powder throughout the city. A labor strike, a boxing match, or a crime scene—it was all in a day’s work for the Daily News photographer. These cameramen helped sell papers, but, as Mark Jacob and Richard Cahan reveal, they also made art. Chicago under Glass: Early Photographs from the Chicago Daily News is the first collection of images from the photo staff’s early years, 1901 to 1930. Jacob and Cahan, seasoned journalists themselves, have selected more than 250 images—many of which have never before been published—from the nearly 57,000 glass negatives housed at the Chicago History Museum. They include rare photographs of a young Buster Keaton with his wife and child, waiting to board a train and the notorious Al Capone outside a courtroom, smoking a cigar and consulting with his lawyer. Each thematic section begins with a fascinating introduction by the authors, and each image is accompanied by insightful historical commentary. These fragile glass records are a remarkable piece of American history. Together, they capture a time of massive change and stark contrasts, the defining years in a place Nelson Algren called “Hustlertown.” From candid shots of the Eastland steamer disaster to the glittering electric lights of the White City amusement park and the grim aftermath of the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, the history these images reveal is not simply the story of Chicago, but the history of the modern American city.

Chicago under Glass: Early Photographs from the Chicago Daily News

Arts & Photography

Chicago History Museum

Richard Cahan

Mark Jacob

Photography & Video

University of Chicago Press

Held in Chicago to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s landing in the New World, the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 was unprecedented in its scope and innovation. The brilliantly illuminated “White City” covered more than 630 acres and housed some 250,000 exhibits; more than forty-six nations participated. Attended by roughly half the US population, the fair debuted such inventions as AC?DC electricity and the Ferris Wheel, and congresses ranging from agriculture to workers’ rights spawned significant cultural and scientific advances. This book of postcards presents thirty historical photographs, color posters advertising the fair, paintings, and more, capturing the excitement and energy of this groundbreaking event.  Pomegranate’s books of postcards contain up to thirty top-quality reproductions bound together in a handy, artful collection. Easy to remove and produced on heavy card stock, these stunning postcards are a delight to the sender and receiver. Postcards are oversized and may require additional postage.

The White City: Chicago's Exposition: Book of Postcards

Pomegranate

Compiled by the Chicago History Museum, edited by Joy L. Bivins and Rosemary K. Adams. Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair tells the story of the country's most popular traveling fashion show and the inspirational woman behind it, Eunice Johnson. Three provocative essays and more than sixty full-color images weave the Fashion Fair's tale of vision, innovation, and power that has inspired African American women for decades. Eurnice Johnson, longtime director/producer of the Ebony Fashion Fair, has a remarkable flair for fashion. Her hard-won influence with designers around the world conveyed style to audiences in big cities and small towns alike and brought the civil rights struggle to the runway. At a time when African American women were largely excluded from mainstream fashion, the show, along with Ebony magazine, proved that black was indeed beautiful. Softcover, 110 pages.

Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion

Chicago Historical Society

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Books by Chicago History Museum