Christmas Diamonds - B&W and Address in Ad

[ms-geekette.livejournal.com]

(click to enlarge)
1904

From the 1904 Christmas Issue of the Burr McIntosh Monthly. You can see more images from that issue at Forgotten Bookmarks.

1905



I looked up 92 State Street, but I got 3 addresses in 3 different zip codes, so not sure which was the original address.

Comments

[thedabara-cds.livejournal.com]

These are cool - "Love is the Real Santa Claus!"

[ms-geekette.livejournal.com]

I probably should've saved these for the Christmas ads event, but I'm probably not going to be on the computer that much on Thursday.

[rejectomorph]

Chicago addresses underwent extensive renumbering in 1909, and those in the Loop in 1911, so the 1905 address would no longer apply.

[ms-geekette.livejournal.com]

Thanks for confirming the renumbering; I figured something like that had happened. N State Street and S State Street seem like likely candidates since it's got a mix of retail and has definite city blocks. There was another S State Street, but it seemed a bit off the beaten path for a business like this.

[rejectomorph]

Before the renumbering, if I recall correctly, N. State Street was the section north of the Chicago River and the section south of the river was just called State Street. Numbers in the Loop began at the river, so 92 State Street was probably in the block south of it. Which side of the street it was on would be difficult to determine, as the old system was chaotic, and odd and even numbers would sometimes be used on the same side of a street.

Edit: I've found later ads for Loftis Bros. which give the post-1911 address as 108 N. State Street. I also found a 1902 ad which gives their address as 92-98 State Street, with the tag "Opposite Marshall Field." Marshal Field's building, now a Macy's, is indeed opposite modern address 108 N. State, so that must have been where the Loftis Bros. office was located. That location is now the site of Block Thirty Seven, a modern multi-use complex on the west side of State Street north of Washington Street. It's actually a few blocks south of the river, so State Street's addresses must have been non-standard before the renumbering.

[ms-geekette.livejournal.com]

Thanks for doing all of that sleuthing! I really didn't mean for you to go to all of that trouble!

[rejectomorph]

You're quite welcome. I enjoy digging up obscure bits of information about places that have been gone for ages, and do it all the time at the historic movie theater web site, cinematreasures.org

[fall3nxsnow.livejournal.com]

This is such a beautiful ad. Love it. :)