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Scarce ephemeral newspaper broadside map and article with breaking news about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, issued as an "Extra, Given Away with Number 95 of Every Saturday," a popular periodical in the 1870s. The article explains the map as follows:
The article indicates that the map was based on the latest Colton atlas. In the map, important buildings are designated by number including the Custom House, Board of Trade, Crosby Opera House, Sherman House, New Pacific Hotel, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Evening Journal, and Lincoln Park. The place the fire first began is also indicated, in the southern portion of the Western Division. The article posited that the fire spread quickly because the buildings in that section were largely made of wood, and that this was exacerbated by a “severe gale wind.” The Chicago fire began about 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, 1871, reached the business district by 1:30 a.m. and quickly spread northward across the main river. The fire continued burning on Monday until rain helped extinguish the last of it around midnight. 300 people died, 90,000 were left homeless, and property loss amounted to $200 million.
Every Saturday was an eclectic and literate weekly periodical published in Boston. Its editors included essayist Edwin Percy Whipple and Thomas Bailey Aldrich. It was published at least from 1866 to 1874.
Reference:
“1871: The Great Fire.” Chicago Public Library Chicago Timeline. August 1997. http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/greatfire.html (9 April 2004).