Reverend Goodspeed's History

Goodspeed's book was one of a great many rushed into print after the Great Fire-- one indication is the source of the text and illustrations. The book itself included a section on the city as it was, and an extended addendum on the huge prairie fires that had swept the Midwest that year and in the recent past. The wood-engraved illustrations were drawn from standard wood engravings of pre-Fire Chicago, and from stereographic photographs made of the Fire's ruins. The book was sold "by subscription only," which meant that it was a product of the lively door-to-door salesman's staple, the subscription book.

Prefire Chicago Views: Wood Engravings from Goodspeed's History of the Fire

  • The Chicago Water Works
  • Crosby's Opera House
  • The New Pacific Hotel
  • The Chamber of Commerce
  • The Courthouse
  • Clark Street from Washington
  • The Sherman House
  • Field and Leiter Store
  • Bookseller's Row, State Street
  • Illinois and Michigan Central Railroad Depot
  • Chicago Tribune Building
  • Palmer House

    Views of the Fire

  • Burning of the Chamber of Commerce
  • Burning of the Crosby Opera House
  • A Family Terribly Perish[es] on the Roof...

    The Ruins

  • Some of the Ruined Churches of Chicago
  • Living Among the Ruins
  • Opening the Vaults of the Merchants' Savings, Loan and Trust Company, Corner Lake and Dearborn Streets

    This webpage is a part of the Chicago Imagebase Project of the Department of Art History, The University of Illinois, Chicago
    Robert Bruegmann, Professor
    Peter Bacon Hales, Professor
    If you have comments or suggestions, email me at     pbhales@uic.edu