The Chicago Society of Etchers

Over the past twenty years, increasing attention has been paid by scholars to the European printmaking revivals of the second half of the nineteenth century. Building on new research in this area, the study of American printmaking and its relationship to the revival phenomenon in England and Europe has also been gaining steam.1 A recent contribution, Joby Patterson's Bertha E. Jaques and the Chicago Society of Etchers , demonstrates that the original print movements of the nineteenth century had repercussions in America well into the twentieth century. While knowledge about the Chicago Society of Etchers has been growing steadily, thanks to studies of individual printmakers and through the efforts of print dealers and archivists, Patterson's narrative is the first book-length study of the Society. It is therefore a volume that print rooms, dealers, and collectors particularly in the United States will want to add to their library shelves.2