unearthing 19th and 20th century bottles frozen in time: a photo essay by eric j. nordstrom

in preparation for publishing "unearthing chicago" in 2022, i've pulled some images capturing 19th and early 20th century bottles at excavation sites around chicago. shortly after being discovered, these remnants of victorian-era rubbish were carefully exposed by removing surrounding dirt and debris to reveal a little more of their identity. even when cleaned the artifacts retain the imprint of their resting position, having been deposited in the ground for over a century.

in reviewing the images i am utterly consumed, trying to recreate the circumstances that led to the object being discarded. it's as if the 19th century emerges with each excavation to reveal a business name, an address, a clue as to what buildings or people resided nearby. i find great joy imagining that these forgotten artifacts - deliberately disposed of - were patiently waiting to be discovered, and extracted in preparation for another, vastly different life above ground, where they will once again see the light of day, as if awakened from a very deep sleep.

note: the "unearthing chicago" project is winding down, now that the book is heading to the publisher. however, i will continue to actively document excavations, collecting both data and imagery that could be used as supplemental information to perhaps strengthen various arguments made, or fill the many voids were data is badly needed to draw more convincing conclusions (e.g., the exact location and/or characteristics of the refuse that was carted to the lakefront during clean up of the "burnt district" after the great chicago fire of 1871) in the book's first edition.