After its incorporation in 1837, Chicago became one of the fastest growing cities in the world and its flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe. By 1900, more than 77% of the population was either foreign-born or had foreign-born parents. The city, already an important hub for industry, transportation, and commerce, needed – and cultivated - a robust print culture that incorporated different languages and cultural traditions.
From the 15th century, the print trade in Europe and eventually the United States has been powered by immigrants seeking new opportunities and new lives. Some of these immigrants are well-known and celebrated as innovators who shaped the print industry and the burgeoning marketplace. But there were thousands of other workers who toiled in anonymity but were no less important in producing and selling books and other printed materials that shaped every aspect of our culture – people who literally made impressions. Who were – and are – “immigrant printers”? What kinds of things do they print? How have they changed industry and culture? This exhibition establishes Chicago as a vital center of multicultural printing and celebrates what makes Chicago’s immigrant printers, their work, and their communities unique.
Curator
Jill Gage, Custodian of the John M. Wing Foundation on the History of Printing and Bibliographer for British Literature and History, Newberry Library
More About the Space
The Hanson Gallery is a small, intimate space. Exhibitions mounted there typically include 12-24 items, allowing visitors a glimpse of what the Newberry’s vast collections have to offer. Hanson exhibitions are often modest thematic presentations that draw from a range of the library's collections or interpretive explorations that are built around single items. Examples of past exhibitions include: Wheels and Indigenous Portraits Unbound. Click here to view a photo of the gallery.
Supporters
Making an Impression: Immigrant Printing in Chicago is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art that highlights the city's artistic heritage and creative communities.
