19 May rare and original chicago evening post extra newspaper covering the great conflagration of 1871 joins bld. 51 museum and archive
May 19, 2026
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products
the chicago evening post “chicago in flames” extra edition published on tuesday, october 10, 1871, is one of the most famous and historically significant artifacts from the great chicago fire. it provided the public with urgent, raw updates just as the multi-day disaster was finally being brought under control by rain.
context of the publication:
the date: october 10, 1871, was the third day of the disaster. the fire had broken out on sunday evening, october 8, and burned relentlessly through monday, obliterating the central business district before dying down on tuesday.
the headlines: the front page famously declared “chicago in flames” and “the great fire: night of horror,” capturing the panic of a city that had lost over 17,000 structures.
improvised printing: because the printing offices of major newspapers (including the evening post, tribune, and times) were entirely destroyed in the downtown inferno, local publishers had to scramble to makeshift facilities on the edges of the city or use unburned presses in nearby neighborhoods to get these “extras” to the public.
historical relevance and value:
today, original copies of this specific extra edition are highly sought-after pieces of history.
institutional collections: surviving copies are preserved by historical institutions like the newberry library and the chicago history museum to study firsthand accounts of the tragedy.
collector’s items: due to its iconic status, original printings command high values among historical document collectors. however, because it is so famous, numerous high-quality facsimiles and reproduction prints have been produced over the decades (often sold at museum gift shops or online marketplaces like ebay).
