Nixon

1903 · réf. 21384 — Chicago: Thomas J. Noonan. Plates and engravings: F. G. Jungblut & Co. Press of Rand McNally & Co 1903. First Edition. Cloth. Near Fine. An unusually lavish celebratory theatre souvenir programme for a theatre that would go down in history but not in a good way as something of a Theatre equivalent to the Titanic. The Iroquois survived its opening night but a little over a month after that opening on December 30th during a matinee performance of "Mr. Blue Beard" the building went up in flames killing 602 people and injuring another 250. The supposedly fireproof building -- so this programme boasts -- was the site of the deadliest single building fire in U.S. history making it after The Great Chicago Fire arguably the most notorious fire to occur in Chicago.The fireproofing without such things as sprinklers didn't protect those victims of course but the building was still standing after the fire and would be reopened a year later as the Colonial Theatre. The fire is also remembered for bringing out the heroism of the comedian Eddie Foy who was appearing in "Mr. Blue Beard" and his bravery had to have been a major factor in why later there was a biopic made about him starring Bob Hope. 8vo. 24 by 15.5 cm. 93 pp. And one ad plate on a thicker paper outside pagination. Profusely illustrated with both photos and drawings excepting one full page advertisement for A.H. Andrews Co. which supplied the seats for the theatre and in the ad the photo-based image of the seats is colorized. This ad is the above mentioned plate. Its verso is blank. Following a few pages that are essentially a playbill for "Mr. Blue Beard" the programme with chapters like a standard book discusses at length the new theatre and its design the people involved in the building of the theatre and perhaps most interest a history of the Chicago theatre from its inception in the 1830s up to the then present. Interspersed are advertisements many full page for railroads businesses who had a hand in building the new theatre and nearby businesses including Marshall Field. The cloth on the cover has light negligible soiling and spots of color loss. A smattering of insignificant soiling on the glossy leaves within -- all told it doesn't add up to much. Thomas J. Noonan. Plates and engravings: F. G. Jungblut & Co. Press of Rand McNally & Co unknown