Books & Manuscripts, including Americana

1) Bronze cane handle with modern ebony stick measuring 36 in. overall with inscription at top, "A Relic of the Great Chicago Fire Bell Alarmed Chicago 1871 / Presented to T.N. Paynter, Oct. 8, 1877."

2) 5 miniature bells made from the Chicago courthouse bell, with two printed receipts from a December 1871 public auction that included metal recovered after the fire.

3) An albumen print of the Chicago courthouse. Framed and matted, 11 3/4 x 13 3/4 in.

4) An albumen print depicting the Chicago courthouse before and after the Great Chicago Fire. 7 4/3 x 4 1/2 in.

5) A bronze medal with original case gilt-stamped, inscribed on recto "Made from Chicago Court House Bell / Semper Resurgens" with image of a phoenix rising from flames and an angel with sword in hand soaring above the ruins of the Chicago courthouse on verso.

The fourth Chicago City Hall building was completed in 1853, designed by celebrated architect John Mills Van Osdel. This was the first permanent structure to house both City Hall and the County Courthouse, and was where President Abraham Lincoln's remains lay in state in 1865 prior to his final burial in Springfield. Mounted inside the courthouse's ornamental cupola was a massive bronze bell.

As the flames raged through the city of Chicago on 8 October 1871, Mayor Roswell B. Mason frantically directed containment and rescue efforts from the courthouse building. The courthouse bell was rung to warn citizens of the coming inferno. In the early hours of 9 October, the courthouse was ablaze, and at 2:20 a.m., the cupola collapsed, sending the massive bronze bell hurtling 120 feet to the ground.

In the aftermath of the fire, the bell was recovered and melted down, its metal used to manufacture souvenirs such as miniature bells and fire helmets, which were sold to raise relief funds, while more prominent donors received engraved presentation canes.