discovery of forgotten photo negatives found in attic of 1870’s cottage show its façade and surrounding neighborhood at turn of century

the wrecking machine is immobile for a moment, but research on this cottage remains active, as i repeatedly visit to explore and document the house's framework -- bedecked with pegged and notched sill plates, rough-sawn white pine "sticks," and so on. both the interior and exterior have been altered so many times over the past 150 years that very little, if any, original elements survive (with the exception of course of the structural framing). i'm completely okay with that, since the house will still provide data on materials and methods. i hope this information will, in due time, be enough to essentially "rewrite" the inaccurate portrayal of the "chicago method" applied to 19th century residential balloon framing.

before i explore this in greater detail, i find it highly important to highlight an additional avenue or source of data, in the form of material left behind by the many occupants that lived in the house. whether it's "insulation" stuffed in the wall cavities between the studs, or, as in this case, a pile of silver print negatives discovered under old floorboards in the attic, ephemera and trash proves useful not only to better understand occupants and how they lived, but to offer structural information, sometimes a nod to the date of construction or even a glimpse of the transformations the house has undergone over the years.

one of the greatest bits of data i discovered the other day was in the form of two photographic negatives, with one capturing the facade of the house as it looked in the 1920's; in my opinion, it appeared to be largely free and clear of any exterior alterations at that time, so a very valuable portrait of the structure. the window and door treatments pictured were no doubt original to the date of construction, which was likely sometime between 1869-1873. the other negative that caught my attention reveals the house's surrounding neighborhood along ohio street, which hasn't changed too drastically since the cottages were erected or moved there in the mid-19th century. in fact, two neighboring houses torn down last year were written up in blog postings that can be accessed here and here.

if this cottage was built before the great chicago fire, the building permit is long gone, but if it was built afterwards, i might be able to pinpoint the exact date of construction. i realize now, more than ever, that dating materials and methods for the upcoming "deconstructing chicago" publication is one thing, but falls short of the experience of actually visualizing an unaltered cottage. nearly all of the structures i've so far included as "case studies" in the book have been altered beyond having recognizable bones underneath the multiple layers.

this discovery deep in the attic is so profound, it reverberates to all my other work. i need to rethink a few of my approaches to documenting these incredibly old, but indistinguishable cottages. one thing for me to consider, as time-consuming as it may be, is whether it's worth it during the salvage process to remove any and all layers of the facade until i reach the clapboard. i suspect i might find ornament (e.g., window hoods, etc.), or "shadows" that would provide insight into the facade's original configuration - that is, window and door placement and so on. much more to follow.