Brains Brilliancy Bohemia
Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago
Jack Jones in Court, 1932. PUBLISHING INFO CONTACT INFO
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This publication and accompanying exhibition would not have been possible without the support of several organizations and individuals, most significantly the Newberry Library, whose extensive collection of Dill Pickle related materials, provided much of this publication’s content. I would also like to thank Lila Weinberg, Tim Samuelson and Mess Hall for their exceptional support and generosity. Introduction
f you walk by Tooker Alley, the unmarked alleyway between Dela- ware and Chestnut off Dearborn Street in Chicago, it looks not unlike many other alleyways in the city. Passersby would have little Ireason to stop and take notice of the parking lots, dumpsters and back porches of the adjacent townhouses. And yet 80 years ago, Tooker Al- ley was nationally known as home to Jack Jones’ notorious Dill Pickle Club. This club served simultaneously as a tea room, lecture hall, art gallery, theatre, sandwich shop, printing press, craft store, speakeasy and one-time toy manufacturer — and just about the most curious venue in the known universe.
And so goes the dependability our collective memory. The non-remem- brance of the Dill Pickle reminds us of which histories are kept alive and which are lost to the dustbins. Our historical amnesia also recalls the importance of preserving the stories of our social movements for future generations.
This booklet documents one such effort: a re-circulation of ephemera from The Dill Pickle Club, one of the most creative, politically engaged and influential American cultural centers of the 20th Century. The fact that this is the first publication in which most of these images have ap- peared reveals the lack of understanding about this important creative period, and its significance to Chicago and American intellectual life. I hope this re-distribution will foster a greater awareness of this cultural landmark and inform the work of artists and activists today. The Dill Pickle Club, Circa 1928. The Traditon of Non-Tradition: The Dill Pickle Club as Catalyst for Social Change
rue to its hobo roots, the Chicago Daily News and Chicago history of the Dill Pickle Tribune.2 Club is muddled in myth, Texaggeration and confusion. There By 1917, Jones officially incorpo- are at least a dozen stories circu- rated the Dill Pickle Artisans as a lating about the club’s inception, non-profit by the State of Illinois most of which were likely invented for the promotion of arts, crafts, by its owner, John A. “Jack” Jones. literature and science. Long pre- And while the exact origins of the dating today’s professionalized arts Dill Pickle are obscure, we can be sector, it is doubtful the Pickle re- sure of several things. ceived any federal, state or private grant funding; however, it may In 1914, Jones, a former union have been eligible for tax write offs organizer of the Industrial Work- and charitable donations. ers of the World (IWW), started a series of weekly forums at the “The Dill Pickles was founded Radical Book Shop, located at by several groups of people who 817½ North Clark St to talk about were convinced that they, nor for labor issues and other social con- that matter no other person or cerns of the day.1 A few months group knew all there was to be later, in 1915, gatherings exceeded known about art, literature, drama, the shop’s capacity and operations music, science, social or political were relocated to the best place economy or any other problems Jones could find: a dilapidated confronting or bothering the barn on Tooker Alley, just off human race.” wrote Jones of the Dearborn St, on the near north club’s original intent, “The various side of downtown Chicago. After groups responsible for the forma- the move, fellow labor organizer tion had one idea in mind: the Jim Larkin soon joined him, as did thought that there should be some hobo king, prostitute doctor and center where any idea or work social agitator Ben Reitman, who would be given a respectful hear- masterfully helped the club receive ing and brought before the public, regular news coverage in The which in the last analysis are the Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: 6 best judges of what they want.”3 as one the first “little theatres” in the country, and Jones did every- Getting to the place proved to be thing from build the stage and something of an obstacle course wire the lighting system, to write, — if one were nimble enough to direct and act in productions.5 fit through the “hole in the wall” between two adjacent buildings, Modernist, cubist and other revo- they would be greeted by a dimly lutionary art decorated the club’s lit door with “DANGER” scrawled walls. Drawing classes were held above and an arrow pointing to weekly, where one could sit in on a the entrance. A notice warned, session with nude models (highly “Step High, Stoop Low and Leave touted in marketing materials). Your Dignity Outside,” while Occasionally dancers would per- inside another read “Elevate your form on the Dill stage, and dances mind to a lower level of thinking.” with jazz bands were held Friday A tearoom, art exhibitions, stage, and Saturday nights. In addition, standing capacity for a reported the center sold a small assortment 700, and without fail, the eccen- of crafts and literature. tric Jones, met visitors with the greeting, “Are you a nut about During these early years, Jones anything? Then you have to talk to started the Dill Pickle Press, the Picklers!”4 which did odd jobs for hire and produced promotional materials, The club soon expanded pro- like The Dill Pickler newsletter, the gramming to include one-act short-lived bulletin The Creative plays, poetry readings, dance World and Jones’ technocratic performances, jazz dances, opera book Tech-Up. The press pub- and almost anything else under lished a number of small artist the sun. Theatre grew to be a books, including Arthur Des- staple of the club’s identity, as the mond’s Lion’s Paw (published newly formed Dill Pickle Players under the alias of Richard Thur- performed original works by local land) and works by Sol Omar and authors, as well as contemporary J. Edgar Miller. Jones was also playwrights Henrik Ibsen, H. L. rumored to have made counterfeit Mencken, Eugene O’Neill, Arthur editions of out-of-print books, Schnitzler and George Bernard printed on yellowed stock, to Shaw. The Pickle was instrumental make a quick buck. Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago 7
The irreverent, and what would Anderson, Maxwell Bondenheim, today be recognized as a Do-It- Theodore Dreiser, Ben Hecht, Al- Yourself (DIY) spirit, of the Dill fred Kreymborg, Marry MacLane, Pickle is reflected in its print ma- Kenneth Rexroth, Carl Sandburg, terials, which were letter pressed Upton Sinclair and Vincent Star- or featured woodcuts by Jones or rett were all regular Dill Picklers. J. Edgar Miller. These handbills, Many activists and political speak- posters and cards were raw, crude- ers attended the club’s forums as ly designed and quickly and inex- well. These included Clarence pensively reproduced. Many have Darrow, Emma Goldman, Big Bill a sense of immediacy, urgency and Haywood, Hippoltye Havel, Lucy a playful sense of humor. Typos Parsons, Dr. Ben Reitman and and made up words abound, either Nina Spies.6 intentional or unintended. And lecture titles, irregardless of the Still, the most extraordinary thing program’s seriousness, were often about the Dill Pickle was the given off-the-wall, sex-themed incredible mix the club seemed and Dadaist titles, such as “Will to attract. Where else could one Amazonic Women Usurp Man’s hear from both a scientist and a Sphere?” and “Nymphomaniacs in panhandler on the same evening? Modern Literature.” Many who have written about the era reminisce about the Pickle’s Without question, the Pickle is wild conglomeration of aca- best remembered for its regular demics, social workers, hoboes, schedule of lectures, debates and prostitutes, socialists, anarchists, forums. Sundays proved to be conmen, single tax advocates, re- infamous, as many soapboxers, ligious zealots and most any other reporters and students made the perspective imaginable. Equally club their destination after Bug- important were the many char- house Square, an outdoor soapbox acters who dutifully harangued forum located but a block away. and heckled speakers, such as As the venue’s reputation grew, Statistical Slim Brundage, “Red” it attracted scholars, movers and Martha Biegler, Elizabeth Davis shakers, including PhDs from top (queen of the soapboxers), Little universities around the country. Birdie Weber, Harry “Kill Christ” Wilson, “Sirfessor” F. M. Wilkes- Literary luminaries Sherwood barr, “Whispering” Sullivan and Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: 8
“Triphammer” Johnson.7 Art Colony Blue Fish Admissions and food sales kept Blue Goose Club the club afloat financially. The club Cheese Box served salads, sandwiches, sodas, The Cloister chocolates and bootleg gin, which Coal Scuttle Jones was cited for innumerable Copper Kettle times during prohibition. To get Cuckoo Clam Club through slow times the club also Fabian Club held masquerade balls several Great Dane times a year and hosted parties for Green Mask college sororities and fraternities. Grey Cottage House of Blazes It is important to realize that House of Correction while The Dill Pickle was a unique Intellectual Inferno institution, it did not function Knowledge Box (Hobo College) alone. The club was part of a broad Lower Depths bohemian social movement that The Oasis combined art, intellectualism and Phalanstery activism. Named after the Chi- The Pindarians cago water tower, the Towertown Seven Arts Club district grew to house numer- Social Science Institute ous salons, forums and clubs of Suicide Inn a similar nature. Many of these Temple of Wisdom organizations closed as quickly as and Wind Blew Inn.8 they opened. A partial, but by no means definitive, list of clubs in Vital statistics and documentation Chicago at the time consisted of: of nearly all of these ventures are but a distant memory. Operating in an era of Comstock laws and government repression, many may have purposefully disposed of evidence of radical involvement.
Chicago bohemianism also reflect- ed artistic and intellectual shifts that were taking place throughout Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago 9
America leading up to World War theatres, cheap diners, haircut- I, and, most specifically, those ting schools, used bookshops and developing in Greenwich Village. underclass saloons. Restaurants It is unclear what communication such as Schlogl’s and Hinky Dinks existed between Chicago and New served up cheap grub to “the great York, but The Pickle drew gener- unwashed,” while magazines like ously from the model set by Floyd The Anvil, Chicago Literary Times, Dell’s Liberal Club, a space that Earth, Kapustkan, Poetry and The featured an eclectic mix of lectures, Rebel Poet provided a forum to one-act plays, art and discussions. discuss the new, liberated soci- Feminism, sex, radicalism, labor ety.10 In addition, hoboes invented and American involvement in the an entire culture based on their war were among the topics regu- shared values, with dress, song, larly discussed at the Liberal Club. language, art and even cuisine that Other New York institutions that flourished in the tramp districts, played a significant role in early train yards and hobo jungles in Greenwich Village were Polly’s and around Chicago. restaurant, Guido Bruno’s garret and publishing house, and the As the Great Depression set in, the publications The Masses, Mother Dill Pickle’s fortunes declined. By Earth, Pearson’s and The Little the early 1930s, Chicago mobsters Review.9 made the Pickle their hangout, often intimidating customers Chicago emulated its New York and creating a nuisance. Regulars counterparts, but also adopted a complained the club was becom- more working class and openly ing too commercial and catered to revolutionary approach. The a tourist crowd eager to discover a artists, writers, intellectuals and bohemia that was quickly fading. political dissidents in Chicago To exacerbate things, rents began embraced the outcast, the hobo to skyrocket as the near north side and the tramp – and hence hobohe- became increasingly gentrified. In mia came to define the merger of 1933, when the club faced tax dif- intellectualism and the spirit of the ficulties, it signaled the beginning migratory worker. West Madison of the end.11 Street became a “main stem” lit- tered with flophouses (single room Jones made a few last-ditch efforts occupancy hotels), burlesque to save the club, the strangest Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: 10 of which was the production a people from many walks of life. wooden duck sold as a fundraiser. Young, old, rich, poor, conserva- Named the Du Dil Duck, the toy tive, liberal, religious and agnostic supposedly brought the bearer all spoke of their visions and ideas good fortune. It did not save of improving society through Jones’ club, and after several failed public forums. As counteculture attempts to reopen in other loca- evolved it moved from an inclu- tions, the Dill Pickle Club closed sive desire to change society to its doors for good in 1934. Jones establishing a new subcultural fell onto serious hard times, lived utopia, clearly deliniating itself off welfare, worked briefly for the from the mainstream. By the Works Progress Administration 1960s, Abbie Hoffman deaclared, (WPA) and died penniless in “Don’t trust anyone over 30” 1940.12 while Timothy Leary encouraged hippies to “turn on, tune in, drop Much is to be learned from the out.” This tendency is still preve- Dill Pickle and Chicago hobo- lant in today’s myriad of subcul- hemia. Several historians have tures largely defined by music and labeled the bohemian era the first fashion preferences. “lost generation” and a precursor to contemporary counterculture.13 Similarily, the art of speaking one’s Hobohemia undoubtedly had a mind in public has by and large large influence on the beatnik gen- disappeared. Soapboxing – speak- eration because of its interest in ing openly on the street – is car- poetry, literature and radicalism, ried on by only the few and brave, as evidenced in the wanderlust most often religious missionaries travels of Jack Kerouac’s On the largely unaware of the history Road. The makeshift, participatory of their practice. Coupled with nature of yesteryear’s public fo- the hustle and bustle of today’s rums also bares many resemblanc- hyper-paced world, humanity has es to today’s movement of DIY, distanced itself from such public decentralized art spaces. Howver, forms of civic participation. there are significant differences. Yet, there are signs of a con- In the 1910s and 20s, bohemian temporary resurgence in public culture was constituted by the discourse. While the Liberal Club working class, and included promoted itself as “a meeting Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago 11 place for those interested in new and threat of nuclear militarism, to ideas,” today’s exchange of ideas name but a few. It would only be is taking place primarily through appropriate during our own trying electronic communication, namely times to look towards the models the Internet. Social media writ- set by previous generations in ers Douglas Rushkoff, Henry periods of economic and political Jenkins and Lawrence Lessig have distress. authored compelling arguments for this new open-source based The Dill Pickle Club stands as one civic engagement that is ultimat- model that can help guide contem- ley changing the way in which we porary culture workers. The club access information and communi- presented a sustaining model that cate ideas. survived 18 years – a remarkable feat for a venture of its type. It also Still, with every technology some- presented a confrontive and ir- thing is lost. And with the disap- reverent critique of life as we know pearance of public forums like the it, and as such, an essential part of Dill Pickle Club, we have lost an democratic society – one in which important facet of our culture: the artists, activists and regular people ability to have face-to-face conver- came together to learn, dream, sation and to air one’s ideas before laugh, discuss, entertain, agitate, a general public. The importance argue, organize…and ultimately of physical space and the human persevere in creating a more vi- interaction that it enables cannot brant, informed and freer society. be overlooked in light of the age of the Internet. Marc Moscato, 2008
We stand at a historic juncture, equal if not more politically tur- bulent, than the times of the Dill Pickle. While humanity learns to adjust to this “cultural revolution” and new technology, we continue to face an ever-growing number of crises: economic recession, a shrinking middle class, any num- ber of environmental problems Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: 12
Endnotes 1 Fagin, Sophia, Public Forums in Chicago (Chicago: Workers of the Writers’ Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Illinois, 1940) 38-39. 2 Reitman, Ben, “Highlights in Dill Pickle History” unpublished, Ben Reitman papers, Richard J. Daley Library, University of Illinois. 3 Jones, John A. The Creative World, Vol. 1 No. 1 (Chicago: Dill Pickles Press, 1931) 4 Rosemont, Franklin, ed, The Rise and Fall of the Dil Pickle: Jazz-Age Chicago’s Wildest & Most Outrageously Creative Hobohemian Nightspot (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishers, 2003) 48, 174-175. 5 Reitman, “Highlights in Dill Pickle History” 6 Rosemont, The Rise and Fall of the Dil Pickle, 31-35 7 ibid, 24-28 8 Fagin, Public Forums in Chicago, 40. 9 Richwine, Keith Norton, The Liberal Club: Bohemia and the Resurgence in Greenwich Village, 1912-1918 (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, Inc., 1969) 37-89. 10 Bruns, Roger, Knights of the Road: A Hobo History, (New York: Methuen, 1980) 164. 11 “Inventory of the Dill Pickle Club Records, 1906-1941, bulk 1915-1935”
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Illustrations All images appear courtesy the Newberry Library, except the following: p. 1 Jack Jones in Court, from The Chicago Daily News, courtesy Chicago History Museum p. 48 “2nd Oldest Profession” graphic courtesy Medina Gross p. 56 “Do Perverts Menace Society” graphic courtesy Univeristy of Illinois, Richard Daley Library, Special Collections p. 58 “Grand Blow Up” graphic courtesy Franklin & Penelope Rosemont p. 60 “Du Dil Duck” graphic courtesy Franklin & Penelope Rosemont