Jeff Nichols
@backwardsriver.bsky.social
Chicago blueystorian, UIC ABD
jeffnicholshistory.com
jeffnicholshistory.com
Glad this dude isn't dead yet on the off chance he could feel embarrassment for the first time in his life.
November 24, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Glad this dude isn't dead yet on the off chance he could feel embarrassment for the first time in his life.
Chicago skyline, 1958
November 21, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Chicago skyline, 1958
Charles Dana Gibson sketches of Buffalo Bill and members of his troop at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Charles Dana Gibson sketches of Buffalo Bill and members of his troop at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
Detail from a map of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and its connecting lines, 1983
November 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Detail from a map of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and its connecting lines, 1983
Santa Fe California Limited ad with a Hopi model, Chicago 1912
November 19, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Santa Fe California Limited ad with a Hopi model, Chicago 1912
I'm always a sucker for goofily-drawn bear. New York, 1912
November 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
I'm always a sucker for goofily-drawn bear. New York, 1912
Hazy Chicago skyline, Mather Tower under construction, c. 1927
November 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Hazy Chicago skyline, Mather Tower under construction, c. 1927
Archbishop John Cody tells the FBI that he is worried about the civil rights activities of his younger priests, Chicago 1966
November 15, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Archbishop John Cody tells the FBI that he is worried about the civil rights activities of his younger priests, Chicago 1966
Henry Stevenson found freedom in Windsor, Ontario. This vivid passage from a retelling of his journey from Missouri didn't make the story. Stevenson died in Detroit in 1909.
November 13, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Henry Stevenson found freedom in Windsor, Ontario. This vivid passage from a retelling of his journey from Missouri didn't make the story. Stevenson died in Detroit in 1909.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West ticket, Chicago 1893
November 12, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Buffalo Bill's Wild West ticket, Chicago 1893
I couldn't pack it into the article, but there are great quotes from anonymous National Guardsmen who had been called out to prevent unrest during a (failed) roundup of freedom seekers.
November 12, 2025 at 6:20 PM
I couldn't pack it into the article, but there are great quotes from anonymous National Guardsmen who had been called out to prevent unrest during a (failed) roundup of freedom seekers.
Chicago, "The Wrestling Center of the World," 1957
November 12, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Chicago, "The Wrestling Center of the World," 1957
Goofy shoe store ad, Chicago 1860
November 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Goofy shoe store ad, Chicago 1860
Railroad Day ticket, Chicago 1893
November 12, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Railroad Day ticket, Chicago 1893
Part of a memo from the British Consulate in Chicago analyzing Mayor Richard J. Daley's 1971 reelection.
November 11, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Part of a memo from the British Consulate in Chicago analyzing Mayor Richard J. Daley's 1971 reelection.
And to think that half of these guys were down on their luck last year, having been fired for pleasuring themselves over Ozempic YouTube ads in the parking lots of dead malls. Now, with safety in numbers, they are visiting the Bean for free.
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
And to think that half of these guys were down on their luck last year, having been fired for pleasuring themselves over Ozempic YouTube ads in the parking lots of dead malls. Now, with safety in numbers, they are visiting the Bean for free.
How to become a professional communist agitator in three easy steps:
1) Get a master's degree in divinity from Princeton University.
2) Con the Presbyterian Church into hiring you as a pastor.
3) Fake doing pastor stuff while secretly plotting to set up a dictatorship of the proletariat.
1) Get a master's degree in divinity from Princeton University.
2) Con the Presbyterian Church into hiring you as a pastor.
3) Fake doing pastor stuff while secretly plotting to set up a dictatorship of the proletariat.
November 10, 2025 at 5:51 PM
How to become a professional communist agitator in three easy steps:
1) Get a master's degree in divinity from Princeton University.
2) Con the Presbyterian Church into hiring you as a pastor.
3) Fake doing pastor stuff while secretly plotting to set up a dictatorship of the proletariat.
1) Get a master's degree in divinity from Princeton University.
2) Con the Presbyterian Church into hiring you as a pastor.
3) Fake doing pastor stuff while secretly plotting to set up a dictatorship of the proletariat.
Muffs for sale, Chicago 1846
November 8, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Muffs for sale, Chicago 1846
Grokipedia's entry on Chicago has a whole paragraph on failed terrorism plots.
October 28, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Grokipedia's entry on Chicago has a whole paragraph on failed terrorism plots.
Magic shop ad, Chicago 1905
October 26, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Magic shop ad, Chicago 1905
Maxwell Street, 1971
October 26, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Maxwell Street, 1971
Child mortality on the South Side, Chicago 1898
October 26, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Child mortality on the South Side, Chicago 1898
