photographic study of 19th century objects discovered in stud cavity of post-fire chicago cottage during its demolition

unfortunately, i didn't have the time to systemically document a post-fire chicago wood-framed cottage located on ohio street (west town neighborhood of chicago) until it was nearly demolished. when i arrived, the facade was left partially intact and the interlocking sills and girts where exposed. sheathing and stud cavities that survived the first wave of wrecking offered a glimpse at both the materials and methods used to build this cottage - likely between 1877-1879.

during the final years of the 1870's the neighborhood contained sporadic wood-framed cottages and stables surrounded by empty lots (this would change during the building boom of the 1880's when brick cottages were quickly erected - likely by the same builder - as boarding or rooming houses to accommodate the influx of immigrants eager to join chicago's workforce.

after spending time photodocumenting the cottager's framing, i walked along the sill plates looking carefully at the bricks of insulation located between mortise and tenon studs. i was pleased to find several objects in and around second floor girts on the both sides of the house. i uncovered several marbles, visiting or "calling" cards, an entrance door skeleton key, and other artifacts from some of the earliest occupants. newspapers found wadded up in "bricks" of insulation, consisting of plaster, lath, wood shavings, and square nails, dated to the late 1870's.

the following gallery provides a small collection of objects extracted, lightly cleaned, and documented in my studio. the 19th century artifacts gathered, provide a unique glimpse into the daily lives of past chicagoans - forgotten long ago. once excavation begins, i hope to locate a privy pit that wasn't "dipped" by a night scavenger prior to being covered over (assuming once exists). additional artifacts will no doubt strengthen or enhance the narrative of workers cottage's early occupants, who have now been brought back to life by what they left behind.

i took the time to extract and carefully clean a section of a sill plate from the  cottage before it was completely leveled. in addition, i secured two largely intact sections of insulation that rested on the beam between two studs. the objects discovered, were found on the insulation. 

heavily notched white pine wood sill plate section with protruding tenon outfitted with holes where "tree nails" or faceted wood pegs were situated. the additional notches were cut for integrating both studs and floor joists. the "bricks" of mortar - wedged in between the wall studs - were extracted from the house during my visit. nearly of the objects and/or ephemera were found in and around the "bricks."

when i arrived, the house was nearly demolished, with only part of the facade left standing. 

note its replacement on the signboard to the left.

update as of 6-9-2017:

Hi,
I'm a pretty big history and architecture nerd, so I enjoy following your blog, since the content obviously caters to both of those interests. I was particularly fascinated by the calling cards you found at the cottage on Ohio Street, documented in the May 25 post. I was curious about the names and addresses, so I did a little digging. Originally, I hoped to just find the homes on Sanborn maps (160 W 12th Street, now 551 W. Roosevelt, still existed as a two-story dwelling in 1914, the earliest available online version (Vol. 8, Sheet 3), but 391 Gross Parkway, now approximately 2000 W. Haddon Ave., had already been demolished and replaced by St. Mary's of Nazareth Hospital (built in 1902) by the earliest available Sanborn map (Vol. 5, 1914, Sheet 110)), but I also wondered if I could find any information online related to the Mrs. Kubasch or Mrs. Augusta Richards named on the cards.
I found a Louisa Kubasch, listed as a clairvoyant living at 160 W. 12th, in the 1887 Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago.  I also found her in the 1877 edition, right below a Hermon Kubasch who lived at the same address.An article from the Chicago Inter Ocean lists her as a fortune teller, and it looks like she died in 1903. I didn't find much on Augusta Richards, but I did find a Thomas Richards, a commercial traveler, also in the 1887 Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, listed as living at 391 Gross Parkway, so I presume there must be some relation there. Augusta Richards is mentioned in an article in the Chicago Legal News that covered Oct. 1872-Sept. 1873, but I found it difficult to read.
Anyway, I don't know if you're particularly interested in this information, since it isn't necessarily directly related to the original occupants of the cottage, but I thought it provided some interesting insight into who they associated with - or at the very least, whose calling cards they came across - so I thought I'd pass it on, just in case.
Thanks for the work you do documenting historic Chicago artifacts. It's a shame how often people choose to tear down old buildings around here, but I appreciate that you take the time to save at least part of the history that gets lots in teardowns.
B