Daniel Burnham writing in 1909 Plan of Chicago studio

Burnham, Daniel H. (Daniel Hudson), 1886-1961

The prominence of this image on scrapbook pages in Bennett's papers, retained by him in 1953, along with Burnham seen writing in the setting in the 1800 Railway Exchange Building studio, suggested that this was an image of Burnham working on the 1909 Plan of Chicagodraft text. The image when magnified does show the pattern of the writing on the page he had just completed: a page number at the top, five lines down a word crossed out with a new one above, and in the next line something darker at the left side. But this may well have been subsequently changed further, so that trying to match it up with the pages of Burnham's Plan text or of speeches on the Plan that he drafted probably can't ascertain this page's relationship to any surviving document. That his work was Plan related seems reasonable, since he is working in the studio dedicated to that purpose. But further specificity depends on assumptions about Bennett's sense of history, etc. in taking this candid photo.

Bennett, Edward H. (Edward Herbert), 1874-1954

Marcia O. and Edward H. Bennett III Collection

1907? - 1908?

Marcia O. and Edward H. Bennett III Collection (Lake Forest College)

image/tiff

Image

lfspbennett00109.tif

before 1909

photographic print

3.25", 4.5"