The Vanity Fair of Chicago: The Chicagoan

The University of Chicago Press publishes a book of articles and graphics from a "Lost Magazine of the Jazz Age," The Chicagoan, unearthed by Neil Harris.

Noted historian Neil Harris, while browsing through the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago, found nine plainly bound volumes of The Chicagoan. He quickly realized that it was Chicago's answer to the New Yorker or Vanity Fair. The magazines had wonderful artwork, striking covers, cartoons and diverse articles within. It was first published 16 months after the New Yorker debuted.

The magazine's editorial staff aimed to celebrate Chicago as a cultural center just as rich and essential as New York City, London and Paris.

Certainly, when one looks at this book, at this relic of the Jazz Age, it's a shame that this magazine was unable to continue publishing. And at $45, it's practically a steal.


(Click here to order The Chicagoan)