Rebuilding Chicago, Oct. 1871.

PrinterPrinted by Kellogg & Bulkeley American, 1867 - 1990

PublisherPublished by Kellogg & Bulkeley American, 1867 - 1990

PublisherPublished by Rufus Blanchard American, 1822 - 1904

Dateafter 1871

MediumLithography; printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 9 3/16 x 13 13/16in. (23.3 x 35.1cm)
Sheet (height x width): 12 3/8 x 17 9/16in. (31.4 x 44.6cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineMuseum purchase

DescriptionIn the foreground, two men in work clothes consisting of shirts and trousers mix mortar in a trough. One man is smoking a pipe. A third man carries bricks in a hod, while a fourth man appears to be filling a second hod with bricks. A horse-drawn cart full of bricks and a man with a shovel are at the far right. Barrels and additional bricks are at the left. In the left background, men use a block and tackle to hoist stones on the roof of a large building. Two men are laying bricks on the second floor of the next building to the right. Another man climbs a ladder. Still another carries an empty hod on his shoulder. A two-wheeled cart drawn by a horse is to his right. At the far right, a man wields a pick. Another man wheels a wheelbarrow. An evergreen tree decked with streamers and an American flag is on the roof of the building at the far right. Densely packed buildings, many of them showing fire damage, extend into the distance.

Object number1994.181.0

InscribedOn recto, lithographed title and text beneath image, "REBUILDING CHICAGO, OCT. 1871. / The ruins of the great fire of Oct. 9th, were still smouldering, as the persistent and not to be discouraged citizens of that vast city came forward to clean up / and rebuild. It was no question of when--work began immediately, and many thousand laborers were everywhere busy removing rubbish and clearing the foundations. More / than fifty thousand loads of waste material were deposited in the Lake, only one day following the great conflagration, showing energy and spirit unparalleled. New build-/ings are going up every day, and no doubt Chicago will soon again astonish the world, by its wonderful and almost instantaneous reproduction."

On verso, in pencil: upper left, "2 x 765"; lower right, accession number.

Subject Terms