Chicago Press Club Records

Dates: 1880-1987
Size: 8.5 linear feet in 6 boxes and 2 bound volumes
Repository: Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60605
Collection Number: spe.a00022
Immediate Source of Acquisition: These records were donated by the Chicago Press Club's last president, Robert J. Herguth, in March 1999.
Conditions Governing Access: Materials are open without restrictions. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least 24-hours prior to your research visit to coordinate access.
Conditions Governing Use: Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection.
Preferred Citation: When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Chicago Press Club Records, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library
Finding Aid Author: Original author unknown. Processed, circa 1999. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Johanna Russ, 2021.

Abstract

The collection consists of the official newsletter of the Chicago Press Club, minutes of the board of governors’ meetings (1949-1987), guest books of club visitors and portraits of club presidents by Chicago artist/illustrator Felix Palm.

Biographical/Historical

The Press Club of Chicago was established on January 11, 1880, following a visit to Chicago by President Ulysses S. Grant. At a reception for the President at McVicker's Theater, Samuel L. Clemens commented upon the absence of a club for newspaper men such as could be found in New York. Several weeks later, sixteen journalists assembled at the Tremont House to organize a club, elect officers and draft a constitution and by-laws. Soon after, two rooms were secured for the club at 133 Clark Street, and the first full meeting of the Press Club of Chicago was held there on February 22, 1880. Forty-three applications for membership were reviewed. The club was incorporated in December 1880, and by 1882 it had become a powerful factor in the newspaper life of Chicago. In 1894, the rival newspaper organization "The Newspaper Club," which was established in 1893 by journalists from daily newspapers, merged with the Press Club of Chicago, further strengthening its membership.

The Club grew and flourished until the Depression of the 1930s when financial hardships caused the disintegration of many businesses and organizations. It was not until the late 1940s that the Club would rebuild, primarily through the efforts of WON news commentator Robert F. Hurleigh. Due to the Club's bad repute during the 1930s, the organization was re-named the Correspondence Club, and space was leased in the Sheraton Hotel. The Club officially reopened on May 2, 1949, and by September of that same year, membership was 352 strong. With the election of Arch Ward as the first president of the re-organized club, a tradition was initiated of providing portraits of each elected president. A year after its re-organization, the club's name was changed to the Chicago Press Club.

The year 1960 was an important one for the Club, with the launching of a newsletter, Overset: News Bulletin of the Chicago Press Club; revision of the constitution and bylaws; and a move into a newly renovated space on the penthouse floor of the St. Clair Hotel. Through the 1970s, the Club continued to grow and expand its programs (such as member outings, scholarship programs and international travel), as well as its member services (such as leasing larger spaces, operating a restaurant and hiring food services and chefs). By the 1980s, however, the Club once again found itself in a difficult financial situation. Expenses exceeded dues at a time when Chicago's economy was generally faltering, and taxes owed to the IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue could not be paid according to a negotiated payment plan. At an emergency meeting of the Board of Governors on January 26, 1987, Board members voted to retain counsel for filing a proceeding under Chapter Seven of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Following this meeting, the Club abruptly folded.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the official newsletter of the Club, minutes of the Board of Governors' meetings 1949-1987, guest books of club visitors, miscellaneous records and portraits of Club Presidents by Chicago artist and illustrator Felix Palm.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged roughly alphabetically by subject or format and often chronologically within.

Subjects

  • Press Club of Chicago
  • Journalism — Illinois — Chicago

Collection Inventory

Box 1 Folder 1 Overset: News Bulletin of the Chicago Press Club. Set I: Vol. 1, no. 1 (Feb. 1960) ~ Vol. 17, no. 6 (Nov/Dec 1976)
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 18, nos. 1, 3-6 (missing no. 2): 1977
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 19, nos. 1-2, 4-6 (missing no. 3): 1978
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 20, nos. 1-8: 1979
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 21, nos. 1, 3-6 (missing no. 2 and 7?): 1980
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 22, nos. 1-2, 4-7, 9 (missing no. 3, 8 & 10?): 1981
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 23, nos. 2-7, 9-11 (missing nos. 1 & 8): 1982
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 24, nos. 2-7 (missing no. 1): 1983
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 25, nos. 1-4: 1984
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, No issues published from December 1984 - July 1985
Box 1 Folder 1 Overset, Vol. 26, nos. 1-6 (1985/86)
Box 1 Folder 2 Overset: News Bulletin of the Chicago Press Club. Set II: Vol. 1, no. 1-Vol. 6, no. 2, [1960-1965]
Box 1 Folder 2 Overset, Vol. 6, no. 4 - Vol. 11, no. 6, [1965-1970]
Box 1 Folder 2 Overset, Vol. 12, no. 2 - Vol. 13, no. 5, [1971-1972]
Box 1 Folder 2 Overset, Vol. 14, no. 1 -Vol. 15, no. 2, [1973-1974]
Box 1 Folder 2 Overset, Vol. 15, no. 4-Vol. 17, no. 3, [1974-1976]
Box 1 Folder 2 Overset, Vol. 17, no. 6; Vol. 18, no. 1; Vol. 19, no. 2; Vol. 21, no. 1; Vol. 24, no. 2; Vol. 25, no. 2; Vol. 26, no. 5, 1976-1986
Box 1 Folder 3 By-Laws of Chicago Press Club (2 copies), [1949]
Box 2 Folder 1 Correspondence Club. Roster. 1949
Box 2 Folder 2 Board Minutes. Vol. 1: 1949 August 13 – 1960 November 23
Box 2 Folder 3 Board Minutes. Vol. 1: 1961 February 14 – 1965 August 11
Box 2 Folder 4 Board Minutes. Vol. 2: 1966 January 11 – 1969 December 9
Box 2 Folder 5 Board Minutes. Vol. 2: 1970 January 15 – 1973 December 20
Box 2 Folder 6 Board Minutes. Vol. 2: 1974 January 24 – 1977 December 19
Box 2 Folder 7 Board Minutes. Vol. 3: 1978 February 6 – 1980 December
Box 3 Folder 1 Board Minutes. Vol. 3: 1981 January – 1983 December 13
Box 3 Folder 2 Board Minutes. Vol. 3: 1984 January 24 – 1985 June 18
Box 3 Folder 3 Board Minutes. Vol. 3: 1985 July 16 – 1987 January 26
Box 3 Folder 4 Draft of By-Laws article, undated
Box 3 Folder 4 Correspondence, undated
Box 3 Folder 4 Report of Feasibility Committee, undated
Box 3 Folder 4 List of Charter Members, undated
Box 3 Folder 4 Chicago Media Hall-of-Fame Ballot, undated
Box 3 Folder 4 Financial State for 1975
Box 3 Folder 5 Underset. Nos. 1-3 (parody of the newsletter Overset), undated
Box 3 Folder 6 Press Directory and Handbook. Democratic National Convention (xerographic copy), 1952 July 21
Box 3 Folder 7 Program for the Eighth Annual Dinner of the Chicago Press Veterans' Association, 1946
Box 3 Folder 8 News clippings, 1922-1986
Box 3 Folder 9 History of the Chicago Press Club, with correspondence containing remembrances of Club founding by charter members, undated
Box 3 Folder 10 Biography of artist who painted portraits of Club Presidents, undated
Box 3 Folder 11 Freeman, William H., editor. The Press Club of Chicago: A History -with Sketches of Other Prominent Press Clubs of the United States. Illustrated. Chicago: Press Club of Chicago, 1984
Box 4 Folder 1 Portrait of Club President Herb Graffis [No surviving portrait of 1950 President Arch Ward], 1951
Box 4 Folder 2 Portrait of Club President Wilbur J. Brons, 1952
Box 4 Folder 3 Portrait of Club President John P. Carmichael, 1953
Box 4 Folder 4 Portrait of Club President Jere Hagen, 1954
Box 4 Folder 5 Portrait of Honorary Club President Robert F. Hurleigh, 1955
Box 4 Folder 6 Portrait of Club President George A. Brandenburg, 1955
Box 4 Folder 7 Portrait of Club President George Tagge, 1956
Box 4 Folder 8 Portrait of Club President Frank P. Smith, 1957
Box 4 Folder 9 Portrait of Club President Harry F. Reutlinger, 1958
Box 4 Folder 10 Portrait of Club President Alvin E. Orton, 1959
Box 4 Folder 11 Portrait of Club President John H. Thompson, 1960
Box 4 Folder 12 Portrait of Club President Frank L. Hughes, 1961
Box 5 Folder 1 Portrait of Club President Charles Ahrens, 1962
Box 5 Folder 2 Portrait of Club President Robert E. Kennedy, 1963
Box 5 Folder 3 Portrait of Club President George T. Schreiber, 1964
Box 5 Folder 4 Portrait of Club President Maurice Fischer, 1965
Box 5 Folder 5 Portrait of Club President Richard T. Orr, 1966
Box 5 Folder 6 Portrait of Club President Herman Kogan, 1967
Box 5 Folder 7 Portrait of Club President David Condon, 1968
Box 5 Folder 8 Portrait of Club President Fred J. Pannwitt, 1969
Box 5 Folder 9 Portrait of Club President MauryFalstein, 1970
Box 5 Folder 10 Portrait of Club President Nick Poulos, 1971
Box 5 Folder 11 Portrait of Club President Wendell Smith, 1972
Box 5 Folder 12 Portrait of Club President Robert G. Schultz, 1973
Box 5 Folder 13 Portrait of Club President Ed Baumann, 1974
Box 6 Folder 1 Portrait of Club President Kermit Holt, 1975
Box 6 Folder 2 Portrait of Club President Kenneth Towers, 1976
Box 6 Folder 3 Portrait of Club President Jerry Harper, 1977
Box 6 Folder 4 Portrait of Club President Thomas Dygard, 1978
Box 6 Folder 5 Portrait of Club President Jerry C. Davis, 1979
Box 6 Folder 6 Portrait of Club President Stephanie Fuller, 1980
Box 6 Folder 7 Portrait of Club President Hugh Hill, 1981
Box 6 Folder 8 Portrait of Club President Larry Townsend, 1982
Box 6 Folder 9 Portrait of Club President William C. Burk, 1983
Box 6 Folder 10 Portrait of Club President Harry Kariher, 1984
Box 6 Folder 11 Portrait of Club President Jerry Field, 1985
Box 6 Folder 12 Portrait of Club President Peter Nolan [no portrait of 1987 President Robert J. Herguth who just started his term when the Club folded], 1986
Bound Volume   Guest Book, Leather bound, with signatures and addresses of guests and visitors. 1950 May 22 – 1961 September 22
Bound Volume   Guest Book, Leather bound, with signatures and addresses of guests and visitors. 1962 May 16 – 1969 December 28
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