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Chicago Illustrated

Lot 261
26.05.2022 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 32 760
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 753049
Lot 261 | Chicago Illustrated
Estimate value
$ 30 000 – 50 000
Chicago IllustratedJames W. Sheahan & Louis Kurz, 1866CHICAGO – SHEAHAN, James W. (1824-1883), text, and Louis KURZ (1833-1921), lithographs. [Wrapper title:] Chicago Illustrated. Chicago: Jevne & Almini, 1866."'Chicago Illustrated' captured the spirit of an American city of the Gilded Age as Birch had captured that of Philadelphia in 1800"—America Pictured to the Life First edition of this unparalleled portrait of pre-fire Chicago. The lithographed views by Austrian-born Louis Kurz depict Chicago's bustling streets, major transportation sites, and its prominent architecture. Otto Jevne and Peter M. Almini were partners in a Chicago decorating firm specializing in ornamental painting who in 1865 joined three lithographers, including Kurz, to form the Chicago Lithographing Company. Kurz later formed the famous Kurz & Allison firm, which drew and lithographed the prints for this ambitious portfolio, entitled Chicago Illustrated. The text was written by James W. Sheahan, a former Democratic newspaper publisher and journalist who worked for the Chicago Tribune. The complete portfolio was originally intended to consist of twenty-five parts, each of which was to contain "at least four tinted Lithographic Views of the Public Buildings, Churches, important thorough-fares, of the River and Harbor, of the Lake Park and Great Central Depot, and other objects and points of interest." The parts were issued, at $1.50 per fascicle, between January 1866 and January 1867, when the project terminated. Although the project was never completed, the fifty-two images produced provide a fascinating documentation of pre-fire Chicago, and rank among the finest American city portraits.The former Director of the Chicago Historical Society, Paul M. Angle, considered Chicago Illustrated "outstanding for several reasons" including that it "was written, drawn, and published by Chicagoans, and is the best source for the physical appearance of the city that the Great Fire destroyed in 1871" (Antiques, Jan. 1953, 61). America Pictured to the Life 23; Chicago Ante-Fire Imprints 1047; Howes J-108 ("d"); Sabin 12623. Oblong folio (280 x 352mm). Pictorial wrapper to part one, 52 tinted lithographic plates and accompanying text (dampstain to upper corner and lower edge through first half). Later half morocco (some minor spotting and rubbing to extremities). Provenance: “Ro. H. Laflin” (ownership inscription to title).
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