Nelson, Jean Sterling (sold)
Jean Sterling Nelson (1885 - 19xx) was an American interior designer and lecturer at the Chicago Art Institute. She was the daughter of immigrants and spent her entire life in Illinois. She received a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1907 and lived at 3202 Dearborn Street from 1910 until 1913 according to the University of Chicago Alumni Directory. She made one map: a pictorial map of Chicago entitled 'Old Chicago'. In 1951, Nelson was a patient at the 28-K infirmary at Oak Forest (a suburb of Chicago) and apparently read the entire Chicago Tribune to fellow patients every morning. A letter to the editor and publisher of the Tribune written by Nelson got a film of General MacArthur's visit to the U.S. in 1951 shown at the 28-K infirmary.
Chicago emerges...
Old Chicago.
sold
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This is a rare 1940 Jean Sterling Nelson and John Winters pictorial map of historic Chicago, Illinois. Nelson and Winters focus on illustrating Chicago in the first half of the 19th century, when it was a fledgling city on the very edge of civilization. The city's historic center, from South Water Street to Madison Street and from the South Branch of the Chicago River to State Street and Fort Dearborn farther east, exhibits an emerging urban grid. Many of Chicago's 'firsts' are illustrated, including the first post office, the first Catholic church (St. Mary's), the first Presbyterian church, the first jail and courthouse, the first permanent theatre, and the first public school. Outside this area, Chicago's first synagogue (built in 1849) is also illustrated (this is now the federal building, per the map), along with the water tower, Mary Todd Lincoln's 1866 home, and Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (supposedly started the Great Chicago Fire). Explorers, ranchers, Native Americans, and frontiersmen populate the map. Portraits of notable early Chicagoans, including John B. Kinzie, General Dearborn, and William B. Ogden adorn the border, along with text that reads 'Its River and Trails, its Persons and Places, some Historical Sites, some Famous Old Faces.' (more details)