Carl Smith on Chicago’s Great Fire

March Daytime Program

Carl Smith

October 1871. Drought. Barn. Fire. Chaos. Destruction. That’s the story that has been told and told again about this signal event that is remembered with one of those stars on Chicago’s flag. But noted historian Carl Smith is going to share a much more specific tale, one crafted especially for Caxtonians. He’ll answer the question, “What did the fire and its aftermath mean for books, authors, publishers, and libraries?” Smith, an emeritus professor from Northwestern University is well known to Caxtonians; he has two essays in the Club’s most recent publication,