Current Exhibition -
Chicago Looks Ahead: 100 Years of Planning, 1909-2009
September 30 - November 30

The 1909 Plan of Chicago, which presented one group's radical vision for a more beautiful, orderly, and unified city, was a deeply influential document which has shaped the course of urban planning in Chicago for nearly a century. This exhibition examines both the legacy of the Plan and the ideas which would come to supplant it in later years. As a repository rich in collections documenting the last 100 years of Chicago planning, the Libraries will feature a a selection of papers, photographs, maps and books relating to: the early Plan-related projects prior to World War II, New Deal-funded infrastructure improvements, the post-war housing crisis and genesis of urban renewal, the regional growth of the 1950s and 1960s, and the proliferation of local planning organizations and policies in the last half of the 20th century.

Please note the exhibition is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Image: The Comprehensive Plan of Chicago, Summary Report, January 1967, p.10

Collection Highlight -
Daniel H. Burnham Photograph Albums

This year Chicago is celebrating the centennial of the Plan of Chicago, written by Daniel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett. As the repository for the papers of both architects, the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries have been involved in many of the programs developed for the centennial. A very special event was the gathering of Burnham family heirs in April 2008 in the Libraries' Reading Room. On that occasion the Libraries received three photograph albums and some business papers from family members, as well as the loan of two silver loving cups that had been given to Burnham.

The photograph albums are important and fascinating additions to the Burnham archives offering rare images of the private Burnham, with his wife, his children, and his friends. For a complete description and finding aid for collection, click here.

We are deeply grateful to the Mardi Burnham LeGrow Family, Christy Burnham Laier, Kendall Morris, and the Hubert Burnham, Jr. Family for their generous gifts to the Burnham archives, and to George Wells III and Mardi Burnham Brayton for the loan of the loving cups, currently on view in the Reading Room.

Image: Photograph of Burnham family from the Daniel H. Burnham Collection (1934.1) at the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries. Front row: Daniel, Jr., Hubert and Margaret B. Back row: John, Ethel, Daniel and Roland Woodyatt

New Book Shelf:
A Selection of Recent Acquisitions

The Libraries add hundreds of titles to the collection each month. Now, patrons are able to browse the New Book Shelf in the Franke Reading Room. Each day new books are added to these shelves. Here is just a small selection of books added to the collections in September and October.

Paul Outerbridge: Command Performance
Martineau, Paul
Los Angeles : J. Paul Getty Museum, c2009
TR647 .O94 2009

Cloth and Culture: The Couture Creations of Ruth E. Funk
Funk, Ruth E.
Plano, Tex. : Panache Partners, c.2009
NK4798.F73 A4 2009

Response: art and the art of criticism: Chicago Critics Respond to Chicago Artists
Chicago : I Space, 2009
N6535.C5 R47 2009

Incidental Architect: William Thornton and the Cultural Life of early Washington, D.C., 1794-1828
Brown, Gordon S.
Athens : Published for the U.S. Capitol Historical Society by Ohio University Press, c2009
NA737.T47 B76 2009

The Literate Eye: Victorian Art Writing and Modernist Aesthetics
Teukolsky, Rachel
New York : Oxford University Press, 2009
N7485.G7 T48 2009

Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait: Essays and Interviews
Peppiatt, Michael
New Haven [Conn.] ; London : Yale University Press, 2008
ND497.B16 P49 2008

Robert Mangold: X, Plus and Frame paintings : Works from the 1980s
London: Parasol unit/Koenig, 2009
N6537.M34 A4 2009a

Designer apartments
[Köln?]: H.F. Ullmann, c2007
NA7860 .D474 2007

The Splendor of Roman Wall Painting
Pappalardo, Umberto
Los Angeles : J. Paul Getty Museum, 2009
ND2575 .P28 2009

Madness and Modernity: Mental Illness and the Visual Arts in Vienna 1900
Farnham: Lund Humphries, 2009.
RC455.4.A77 .M35 2009

The Taqwacores: Muslim Punk in the USA
Badawi, Kim
Brooklyn, NY: powerHouse Books, 2009
ML3534 .B16 2009

Lewis Carroll
London: Thames & Hudson, 2009
TR680 .C367 2009

Masterpieces of Himalayan Art: From a European Private Collection
Kalista, Kathleen
New York: Carlton Rochell Asian Art: Rossi & Rossi, 2009
N7310.8.H5 K35 2009

The hand of Palladio
Portoghesi, Paolo
Turin; New York: U. Allemandi, c2008
NA1123.P2 P6713 2008

Image: Paul Outerbridge. Images de Deauville (detail), 1936. Paul Outerbridge: Command Performance.

New Collections at the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries

Chicagoland Building Brochure Collection, c.1920-2008 (bulk 1998-2005)

This collection contains building brochures relating predominantly to structures in Chicago and the surrounding metropolitan area. Also documented are projects by local firms built outside the Chicago region, and the promotional brochures produced by architectural firms. The brochures cover a range of projects from residential housing to commercial buildings. Ranging in date from the 1920s to the present, though largely from the 1980s and 1990s, these brochures catalogue a history of the promotion of architecture in Chicago. As most of the brochures contain floor plans, they also provide a sampling of design styles and construction patterns throughout this time period.

View this finding aid.

Chicagoland Memorabilia and Map Collection, 1877-2008 (bulk 1929-1968)

This collection brings together a variety of documentation about Chicago and vicinity, including 19th and 20th century maps, ephemera, correspondence, and photographs. The maps series is divided between general and real estate maps. The printed ephemera consists of souvenir and promotional literature on various topics. Subject files relate to Chicago area department stores.

View this finding aid.

Ralph E. Clarkson Papers, c.1900-1941

Ralph E. Clarkson (1861-1942) was a painter in America in the early 1900s, known specifically for his portraits. After arriving in Chicago in 1896, Clarkson became an instructor and governing member of the Art Institute of Chicago. Along with Lorado Taft, Clarkson became one of the founding members of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony in Oregon, Illinois, in 1898. This collection sketches a broad view of the career of Ralph E. Clarkson (1861-1942), including photographs, printed materials, manuscripts and correspondence. Highlights include photographs of many of Clarkson's artworks, clippings relating to the life of Lorado Taft, Clarkson's collegue, and letters regarding his works and other social matters.

View this finding aid.