relics of the chicago fire: a virtual exhibit of bldg. 51's museum collection

chicago fire relics housed in the bldg. 51 museum collection:

fused china tea cups from the great chicago fire of 1871. i have several other artifacts from the fire that were sold as "souvenirs" to tourists by young merchants (see period lithograph) that set up shop in and around the "burnt district."

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

original pocket-sized "souvenir" medal representing the first anniversary of the disastrous conflagration known simply as the "great chicago fire" of 1871.

the unique and diminutive artifact is commonly referred as the "chicago fire medal" according to multiple museums and other institutions that have one in their collection. the thick 50 mm medal resembles an oversized coin consisting of salvaged bronze metal from chicago's city hall bell.

the building that held the bell was chicago's fourth city hall, constructed in 1853 by chicago's first architect, john m. osdel. the two-story classically inspired cupola-crowned edifice stood in the center of the block bounded by randolph, clark, washington and la salle streets - the sight of all future court houses. it was bell that hung high up in the cupola that sounded the alarm of the fire, until the building itself was consumed.

on october 9th at 2:20am, the building's cupola collapsed, sending the massive bronze bell crashing down into the rubble. it has been said that witnesses reported hearing the "crash" from a mile away.

shortly after the fire was contained and rebuilding commenced, the city retrieved the badly damaged bell and placed it in storage for a few months before auctioning it off to thomas b. bryan of the fidelity repository. bryan reserved a small portion of the bell to fashion into an alarm for his own firm, then sold the rest to h. s. everhart & company. h. s. everhart in turn, melted the remainder of the bell down, and recast it into several commemorative souvenirs, with the most popular (at the time) being small replicas of the original bell. each of these small bells were accompanied by certificates of authenticity, signed by the members of the chicago board of public works. additional souvenirs included miniature fire helmets and the "fire medals."

the circular-shaped fire medal contains a finely executed (obverse) portrayal of the city in flames, with an angel holding a torch and sword in flight over fort dearborn, which was a united states military fort built on the edge of the chicago river in 1803. a large portion of the fort was destroyed in a fire that occurred during the 1850's and what was left of its outer walls were later completely destroyed by the great chicago fire. the text below reads: "chicago oct 8-9 1871, / fort dearborn chico / 1812."

the reverse contains a centrally located winged phoenix (a mythical sacred bird that lives as long as five hundred years and is then ignited by the sun's rays. after its body is consumed by flames, another phoenix emerges from the ashes) rising from the flames amid smoke surrounded by the words: "made from chicago court house bell / semper resugens."

the c. 1872 (one year anniversary) bronze fire medal was fabricated in new york by william e. barber, who worked as a die engraver in london before immigrating with his family to boston in 1852. he was hired by the gorham company as a die engraver for ornamental embossing of silver plate. barber was later hired as the assistant engraver at the united states mint in philadelphia in 1865 and was promoted to head engraver in 1869.

according to some sources, 500 of these particular medals (struck in 1872) were distributed, presumably by h. s. everhart & company, with barber as the fabricator (the artist's name is found on the coin).

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

seldom seen "relics of the fire" period stereoview card by unidentified photographer and/or publisher. verso has no markings.
i have never seen a stereoview card series featuring relics from the great chicago fire of 1871 as carefully displayed subject matter.
the material in the background consists primarily of household chinaware fused together. the objects in the foreground are difficult to readily identify. the two vessels on either side might be glass or possibly brass. what appears to be a large typeset block and cluster of beads are positioned towards the center.

i've included three objects in my possession found in the "burnt district" and sold as "souvenirs" to tourists.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

unusual "relics of the fire" period stereoview card by unidentified photographer and/or publisher. verso has no markings. stereoview cards exhibiting actual relics from the great chicago fire of 1871 are hard to come by.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

the relic house was constructed in 1872. the building became a curiosity and tourist attraction, being comprised of melted masses of glass, iron, pottery, stone and other materials rescued from the rubble.
a man named rettig created the cottage at a time when mementoes of the fire were abundantly available and cheap. raising the structure at north park avenue and center street. it was eventually relocated to clark and north park avenue. philip vinter became the new proprietor and the building was outfitted with a restaurant, hall and saloon, before, in 1884, the relic house passed into the hands of william lindemann, who added a refreshment parlor.
the image shown below was likely taken when the relic house was operated by lindermann. based on the address of john kanberg's studio, the images dates to the late 1880's. the relic house was later torn down in 1929.

cabinet card and chicago fire artifacts courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

profusely illustrated "lakeside memorial of the burning of chicago" (1872) published by the university publishing company.
the hardbound book contains a compilation of articles along with several full-page albumen prints capturing the aftermath of the fire's destruction.
the frontispiece features the proposed fire memorial designed by architect w.l. jenney. the image was taken by george barnard, a photographer who worked in matthew brady's studio.
book.

courtesy of the bldg. 51 archive.

original double-sided promotional card for purchasing a ticket to the panorama of the chicago fire.
the great chicago fire of 1871 cyclorama – consisting of giant hand-painted murals attached to the walls of cylindrical room (in this case a 16-sided rotunda) – was housed in its own building located at 130 michigan ave.
the murals depicted detailed scenes of the fire’s devastation that left over three acres (commonly referred to as the “burnt district’) of the city in ruin.
the cyclorama was built by the simeon w. king panorama company. when the exhibit ended on october 10th, 1893, the large murals were stored on a south side chicago warehouse for a time before being sold off to a dealer on 1913.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

unusual chicago fire book (published, 1872) i recently acquired. criminals were "brained." definitely the most gruesome piece of great chicago fire ephemera i've added to my fire archive.

original chicago tribune newspaper supplement distributed on "chicago day" during the 1893 world's fair. the richly colored lithograph features the mahlon d. ogden mansion, which escaped destruction from the great chicago fire of 1871 when it was blanketed with several water-soaked carpets as the fire swept past on the north side. mahlon's brother william served as chicago's first mayor.

i purchased a box filled with chicago fire insurance claims, letters, city permits, flyers, and advertisements from an auction house a few days ago. i've already spent countless hours sorting through and reading piles of paper that offer great insight into the conflagration and its aftermath.
there is such an amazing story here - in great detail.
i was blown away by written accounts of businessmen who lost everything. the flyers handed out by businesses, who announce to their patrons that they are back in business, albeit in temporary locations, only days after the fire offers a firsthand account of resilience.
builders are pouring in at this time, generating permits for rebuilding the city's infrastructure. along with is come the catalogs and brochures - for iron shutters, fireproof safes, etc.
i had no idea a "directory of the burnt district" was made and updated weekly.

i'm interested in any and all period images of the 1871 chicago fire "burnt district" featuring building materials and people. i picked up this stereoview featuring a child walking across a street (the location is not identified). isolation and devastation. a bit haunting.

just acquired two oversized albumen prints showing the great chicago fire "burnt district." the residential flats in the foreground of picture two survived relatively unscathed. quite a sharp contrast to the field of chimney stacks in the background.