[ORIGINAL ART: Bradley, Will- Scarce and Superb Original Pen and Ink Drawing ] Original Pen and Ink Drawing for the Twentieth Century Club.

Offered here is a wonderful pen and ink drawing and paste-up for the title-page of an 1899 pamphlet (or booklet) for the Twentieth Century Club, in Chicago. Matted and framed under glass, image size: 7 x 4 3/4 inches. "The origins of Chicago's Twentieth Century Club lay in the belief that the creation of a cultural and literary club composed of members from the city's best families could help Chicago overcome its reputation for coarseness. Spearheaded by Mrs. George R. Genevieve Jones Grant of Prairie Avenue and several of her friends, the club was organized to replicate similar organizations in New York and elsewhere. Potential members were nominated and vetted before they were offered membership. The club suffered from open tensions over control the club and the nature of its cultural and social activities. This page from Jones's father Fernando's scrapbook provides a sense of the club's mission, the social struggles of the rapidly growing city, and the elite's consciousness about the city's reputation compared to that of its chief rival, New York." -clipping from a scrapbook ca. 1900. With two sets of overlays in card added by Bradley at the bottom to affect the proper spacing of the lettering, which reads: "1899/ Constitution/ History/ Officers/ List of Members/ and Meetings." Fine.

Price: $1,850.00   Item #6196