1928 Corner of State and Washington Streets Chicago

A vibrant example of one of Raol Varin's iconic aquatint street scenes in the city of Chicago, this one presenting the corner of State Street and Washington Street looking north on State in the year 1865. This original engraved aquatint print is numbered 62/100 and signed R. Varin in pencil. The work was published by A. Ackermann & Son in June of 1928. Later examples were reprinted in greater abundance in 1933 for the Century of Progress World's Fair. This special work brings one to the corner of a active street scene in old Chicago, some six years before the Great Chicago Fire that would forever transform the way the city was constructed. In this scene, we find a group of kids playing near a gravestone supplier and gathering around a high-society gentleman who is tipping a trained street performing monkey on a soap box with its trainer standing just behind. The mud street is active with carriage traffic, both personal coaches and ones representing a form of mid-19th century public