Illinois and Iowa Book Tour
A journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip to Illinois and Iowa as part of the Caxton Club’s On the Move Tour to Iowa City, April 28-May 3, 2015. Photos by Susan Hanes, copyright 2015.
Illinois and Iowa Book Tour April 28-May 3, 2015 A drive through Illinois and Iowa, visiting libraries and historic towns, as an extension of the Caxton Club’s On the Move Tour of Iowa City.
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Tuesday, April 28
to Springfield, IL
We got away at 8:30 on a crisp and sunny morning that finally had the promise of spring; were surprised by the light traffic on the Dan Ryan. Took I-57 to Kankakee, a town of 27,000 south of Chicago at the confluence of the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers. Drove through the shady Riverview Historic District that lies along the river, stopping to photograph two Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School homes: the 1900 Harley Bradley House, and next door, the Warren Hickox House, built the same year.
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Kankakee, Illinois
Kankakee County Courthouse
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Seventy miles brought us to Champagne-Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. Visited the Krannert Art Museum on campus where we particularly enjoyed an exhibit of African Art, most of which was from the collection of Richard J. Faletti. The MFA Show was also on, and it was fun to see the quirky, edgy work of the art students. The classical collection was disappointing, however, as most works were small, minor pieces. I was interested to find a Guy Wiggins: a dark New York scene that renewed my appreciation for my own large Wiggins canvas of the Art Institute of Chicago.
University of Illinois Krannert Art Museum 5
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At 1:00, we arrived for our appointment at Special Collections in the Main Library. We wanted to see the staff, headed by Valerie Hotchkiss, and including Caroline Szylowicz and Tad Boehmer; all are Caxton members. As we waited for them, we went through an exhibit commemorating the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
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I was also looking forward to seeing something very special: the original prompt copy of the Wilkie Collins play, Miss Gwilt, containing handwritten directions by the producer, H. Herman. Herman had sent this copy, act by act, to Wilkie, and had tipped in four letters that Wilkie wrote to him regarding the production and a new ending for the second act. It is a remarkable artifact and I look forward to doing further research on it. Although Valerie promised to have the work digitized, I could not resist taking numerous photos on the spot. I spent so long on that book that I had time for only a glimpse at the twenty or so other Wilkie letters in their collection, but since all of those have been published, I did not feel the same urgency.
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Tad walked us back to our car, pointing out various aspects of the library, in particular the 27 tinted glass windows bearing printers’ marks that run the length of the reading room. 11
Retrieving the car just before the meter expired, we headed west to Decatur, noting the huge Archer Daniel Midland complex as well as Tate & Lyle, both agricultural processing companies. We drove through the shady campus of Millikin University, a private institution of 2,400 students, before continuing to Springfield for the night. We thought it would be easy to get a reservation, but quickly learned that police and sports conventions had taken virtually every room in town. We managed to get the last room at the Crown Plaza, and were in no position to argue when they refused to offer a discount. Walked though the parking lot for a calorie-laden dinner at Red Lobster. No wonder all the patrons and staff were obese. 12
Wednesday, April 29
to Nauvoo, IL
After a dreadful night in a soggy bed with sheets that felt like the coated ones used for children in diapers, the alarm went off at 6:30. The early start allowed Jake to get in line at the car service place. The rearview mirror had become disengaged yesterday and we preferred not to continue on our trip with it dangling loose. So while he took the car in, I had a leisurely shower and a glance at the newspaper. Jake met me back at the hotel and we had breakfast before driving to the Lincoln Museum complex. We stopped at the Library to meet Dr. James Cornelius, Curator of the Lincoln Collection. Dr. Cornelius will be speaking at the May Caxton luncheon, and I was happy to meet him. We had a brief chat about the unique Lincoln items that he will be discussing next week in Chicago.
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The Museum is preparing for the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination. We joined masses of school children for “The Eyes of Lincoln,” a multimedia presentation showing how Lincoln’s face revealed the pressures of his presidency. “Undying Words” traced the evolution of Lincoln’s ideas on equality through five historic speeches. Artifacts from his death —including his bloody gloves, photos and broadsides, and his deathbed—depicted the assassination in chilling detail. 14
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At Oak Ridge Cemetery we visited Lincoln’s Tomb, a handsome obelisk framed with pink dogwoods. Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their sons are buried there.
We arrived in Jacksonville just after noon. I had hoped to stop at Illinois College and say hello to Jan Figa, Director of the college’s Schewe Library, but he was not in. Nonetheless, I enjoyed a walk through the lovely campus, dating from 1829.
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In Quincy, we drove along Maine Street, marveling at the rambling 19th century homes.
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The sun was shining and the budding flowers and trees showed them at their best.
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Crossing the river to Keokuk, Iowa, we stopped to see its historic lock and dam, which date from 1913. An old bridge has been turned into an observation platform from which I watched a riverboat and six barges navigate the lock. Nearby, the Romanesque Revival Keokuk Union Depot, designed by Burnham and Root in 1891, made for some evocative photos. It is in need of restoration and a fundraising campaign has been initiated, but I liked the way it looked today. 20
It was nearing 5:00 as we drove north to Nauvoo. In late 1839, the Mormons bought the small town of Commerce and in April 1840 it was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith, who led the Latter Day Saints there to escape religious persecution in Missouri. On the town’s high ground, overlooking the river, stands the imposing Temple. It was rebuilt in 2002. The flatlands below are occupied by a small number of 19th century brick houses and buildings, many of which are part of the Joseph Smith Historic Site. We are staying at the Willard Richards Inn, at the edge of the site. The house belonged to one of the original twelve LDS apostles, and was the meeting place for Church leaders from the day it was completed. Joseph Smith spent countless hours there, working with Richards to complete his History of the Church and the Life of the Prophet. We are staying in a room on the top floor where Joseph Smith held meetings, which he accessed by ladder through a small hole. Thankfully, steep steps have replaced the ladder. Our host, Tom Simpson, who is a photographer for weddings and other occasions at the Temple, gave us a detailed tour of the home and the wine cellar below, proudly showing us artifacts that included pieces of stone from the original Temple, a Mormon sun carving, and the death masks of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, who were assassinated in Carthage, Illinois in 1844. It was after 7:00 when we excused ourselves; the only place in town to eat closed at 8:00. At the Hotel Nauvoo, fried chicken, BBQ ribs, and loads of sides were arrayed on a long table that appeared well suited for bus tours. 22
The Prophet’s Last Ride On June 14, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum left their families for the last time. Traveling on horseback, they paused on this bluff, admiring the unfinished Temple. They would soon be killed in Carthage, Illinois.
The Nauvoo Temple 24
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Thursday, April 30
to Iowa City, IA
Since the Inn offered no breakfast, we drove up the hill for a buffet at Grandpa John’s, open since 1917 and presently housed in the old Nauvoo movie theater (the marquis outside announced that “The Codfather” was now showing).
A 45-minute drive brought us to Fort Madison, Iowa. We tried to take a back road along the river but gave up when it turned to gravel. I kept thinking of the ‘60s horror movie, 2,000 Maniacs, about an unsuspecting couple lost on back roads out in the country. Stopped to see a replica of Fort Madison, built in 1808 and burnt down in 1813; it was the first permanent US military fortification on the Upper Mississippi.
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We reached Cedar Rapids at 12:30 and visited the Charles Moore-designed Cedar Rapids Museum of Art to see its large collection of Grant Wood paintings, an exhibit of master printmaker Mauricio Lasansky, and an extraordinary collection of original children’s book illustrations from the Cedar Rapids Public Library, cleverly displayed as an ABC book. 29
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At 2:00, we joined seven other members of the Caxton Club for a tour of the library at the National Czech & Slovak Museum. After checking out the current “Beer, Please” exhibit and posing with Czech artist Peter Sis’ version of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Librarian, we were ushered into the library for a presentation by Director David Muhlena. He told us about the challenges of the 2008 flooding of the Cedar River and the Museum’s ensuing conservation efforts. We saw beautiful examples of early books in both Latin and vernacular Czech. David also showed books that exemplified the Czech-American experience, including books about American law practices and grammar books in both Czech and English.
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Driving from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City, we all checked into the Verlo Hotel (where Jake and I stayed when we were here in 2013). After a break, we walked down to the Motley Cow together for dinner with members of the
SRH and GEL
Jackie Vossler and Colleen Theisen
Matt Runkle and Candida Pagan
Margaret Gamm and Greg Prickman
University of Iowa Library staff. Matt Runkle and Candida Pagan, two of the Caxton grant recipients were there, along with Nancy Kraft, Head of the Conservation Department, Greg Prickman, Head of Special Collections, and other U of Iowa librarians. A lively evening and a pleasant walk back to the hotel were a great start to our Caxton On the Move tour of Iowa City. 37
Friday, May 1
Iowa City, IA
It was a short walk from our hotel to the Main Library. Greg Prickman, Head of Special Collections, welcomed us and described the challenges faced by the Library as it successfully dealt with the Great Flood of 2008 without the loss of a single book. He and members of his staff took us through the archives and the vault, where we were invited to examine incunables, manuscripts, and rare books with no restrictions on handling. Among the eclectic treasures set out on tables were the “Frankenstein letters” to and from Mary Shelley, a tiny robot with a miniature accordion book tucked inside, and an oversize medieval missal. In the vault we were able to walk amongst the shelves and handle the books as we wished. I was delighted to see the initial, self-published edition of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit, and a collection of Andrew Lang’s color Fairy Books. Alas, no Wilkie Collins, unless something has been unknowingly tucked into the significant Leigh Hunt collection. We were taken through the Szathmary Culinary Manuscripts collection, more than 20,000 cookbooks and culinary items that had been amassed by Chicago chef and former Caxtonian Louis Szathmary. In a nearby conference room, part of the Library’s collection of 1930s mimeographed “fanzines” and pulp fiction magazines from the 20s to the 50s were laid out for viewing. It was hard to resist opening the lurid covers. Peter Balestrieri, Curator of Science Fiction and Popular Culture, pointed out the August 1928 issue of Weird Tales, containing "The Vengeance of Nitocris,” the first published piece by 16-yearold Tom Williams, later known as “Tennessee.”
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After a box lunch, we walked to the Center for the Book for a tour of the facility. Program Administrator Kathleen Tandy took us though dedicated studios for letterpress printing and papermaking. Director Tim Barrett welcomed us and gave us an overview of the Center and its earlier challenges. Matt Runkle and Candida Pagan, two former Caxton grant recipients, gave presentations about their projects and we met the eight students who will be earning their MFA degrees next week. Their projects were set out for us to handle and admire. At 6:00 we gathered for the Iowa City Gathering of Book Lovers Dinner at Joseph’s Steakhouse. Again, several of our U of Iowa hosts joined us for a festive evening.
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University of Iowa Center for the Book MFA Candidates
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Saturday, May 2
Iowa City, IA
At 9:00 we went by van to the Hardin Library for Health Sciences for a tour of the John Martin Rare Book Room. Curator Donna Hirst presented an impressive array of rare medical books, many of them incunables. Most were of exceptional beauty, with exquisite illustrations of surgical techniques and examples of all that can go wrong with the human body. Of particular interest was William Harvey’s 1628 De Motu Cordis, a small, fragile book that many consider to be the most important book in the history of medicine. The story of how Dr. Martin obtained this little book and gave it to the Library was quite moving. The collection also includes what many think is the most important anatomical book ever published, the beautiful De Humani Corporis Fabrica by Andreas Vesalius (1543). Other highlights of the collection were Charles Bell’s gory Illustrations of Great Operations of Surgery (1821) and Jenner’s inquiry into the Causes of Cow Pox (1798).
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At noon, the van took us to Stella for hamburgers and local beer. At 2:00 we traveled to the home of law professor Arthur Bonfield to see his private collection. His beautiful library of perfectly bound books looked like a movie set. Arthur enthusiastically showed us examples of English chronicles, books on travel and exploration, political philosophy, early encyclopedias (known as Dictionaries of Arts and Science), early herbals, and anything else that had caught his eye. He explained that he has always been willing to wait for the perfect copy; condition is most important to his collecting tastes. By the time we returned to the hotel, we were satiated with books and ready to chill out. After a welltimed break (giving us the opportunity to watch the Kentucky Derby), we walked down the street to the Sanctuary where we found a booth for seven and relaxed over drinks and pizza.
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The Caxton Club Group (from the left) Richard Renner, Greg Prickman, Jackie Vossler, Bob McCamant, Arthur Bonfield, Anthony Davis, Michael Thompson, Anne Royston, Richard Lamm, Susan Hanes, George Leonard
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Sunday, May 3
to Chicago, IL
Checked out of the hotel at 8:30, just as it was starting to rain. In spite of an iffy forecast, we decided to head west to Amana before returning to Chicago. Amana is the main village of six that were settled by German Pietists who came to the US to escape persecution by the Lutheran Church. Calling themselves the Community of True Inspiration, they first settled near Buffalo, New York, moving to Iowa in 1856. We enjoyed a family-style breakfast at the Ronneburg Restaurant. With a platter of bacon and their famous thin, crunchy pancakes, we couldn’t go wrong, although we decided to adopt stringent eating habits for awhile, once we get home. The rain prevented a stroll down the curving road lined with shops and bakeries. Jake waited in the car while I took a peek at the antique show at the Performing Arts Center. I was looking for something typical of the area; a friendly man named Tom Johnson showed me a 1930s-era basket made in the Amana style with a unique base construction.
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We drove east on I-80 to Davenport, which with Bettendorf, Moline, and Rock Island, form the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois. The sun came out as we crossed the Mississippi River and headed deep into Illinois farmland. Taking a series of turns onto smaller and smaller farm roads, we reached Bishop Hill, population 128. The village was founded in 1846 by Swedish Pietists who, like the German Amana colonists, had broken with the Lutheran Church. It was interesting that this trip has now taken us to three unique religious colonies. We found it to be a delightful little town with numerous
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interesting buildings.
I discovered an antique store, Sweet Annie Primitives, that reminded me of the shops that I so loved in the 1980s. Again, Jake waited for me to go inside, where I found a little stool and a heartdesigned butter mold. Nearby, a small museum in the 1854 Steeple Building displayed treasures that had been lovingly brought from the home country, including a rosemaled clock and a heart-decorated fraktur betrothal announcement. A display of antique broom-making tools stood in a corner; the town is known for its handmade brooms and we bought one to take home. At 2:00, we retraced the turns back to I-80 and made the twohour drive back to Chicago. 53
A journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip to Illinois and Iowa as part of the Caxton Club’s On the Move Tour to Iowa City, April 28-May 3, 2015. Photos by Susan Hanes, c.2015.