Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Winter 2016

Volume 109, Number 4

The Winter 2016 volume features three essays that engage histories of race, gender, and the Chicago artworld respectively.In "Days of Jubilee: Emancipation Day Celebrations in Chicago, 1853-1877," Amber Bailey documents the rich history of black activism in celebration of emancipation. Bailey makes clear that Emancipation Day celebrations constituted a vibrant civic tradition that galvanized community bonds, forged a shared identity based on the history of race and slavery in America, and provided one context for asserting the prerogatives of freedom in public life. 

In "Illumination or Illusion: Women Inventors at the 1893 World's Columbian Fair," Denise E. Pilato examines how the work of women inventors was "promoted, judged, and valued." Pilato finds that prevailing ideas about women and domesticity limited the cultural and professional terrain available to these women inventors.

And finally, in "From Peer to Obscurity: Julius Moessel and the Fall of an Artistic Reputation," Mark Alvey examines the career of German-born Chicago painter Julius Moessel to raise broader questions about how artistic cannons are made and who gets included in them.

Articles

"Days of Jubilee: Emancipation Day Celebrations in Chicago, 1853-1877,"
Amber Bailey

"Illumination or Illusion: Women Inventors at the 1893 World's Columbian Fair,"
Denise E. Pilato 

"From Peer to Obscurity: Julius Moessel and the Fall of an Artistic Reputation,"
Mark Alvey

 

Book Reviews

James F. Jaquess: Scholar, Soldier, and Private Agent for President Lincoln. By Patricia B. Burnette.
Reviewed by T.J. Vaughan

Lens of War: Exploring Iconic Photographs of the Civil War. Edited by Matthew Gallman and Gary Gallagher.
Reviewed by Samuel Blackwell

A Black Gambler's World of Liquor, Vice, and Presidential Politics: William Thomas Scott of Illinois, 1839-1917. By Bruce L. Mouser.
Reviewed by Bryan M. Jack

The Life and Death of Gus Reed: A Story of Race and Justice in Illinois during the Civil War and Reconstruction. By Thomas Bahde.
Reviewed by John R. McKivigan

Sensing Chicago: Noisemakers, Strikebreakers, and Muckrakers. By Adam Mack.
Reviewed by Ann Durkin Keating

South Side Girls: Growing Up in the Great Migration. By Marcia Chatelain.
Reviewed by Shirley J. Portwood

The University of Chicago: A History. By John W. Boyer.
Reviewed by David W. Scott

A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music. By Robert M. Marovich.
Reviewed by Robert Pruther

Reagan's Legacy in a World Transformed. Edited by Jeffrey L. Chidester and Paul Kengor.
Reviewed by Anthony O. Edmonds

Obama at War: Congress and the Imperial Presidency. By Ryan C. Hendrickson.
Reviewed by Paul R. Edleman

Cover

One of the eighteen murals Chicago artist Julius Moessel painted for the “Story of Food Plants” series at The Field Museum, this one depicts Native Americans gathering lily pods at Klamath Lake, Oregon in the nineteenth century. The murals, done in oil on canvas, measure about 6.5 by 9 feet. Courtesy © The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, B70702c. Photograph by Clarence B. Mitchell.