HOWARD VAN DOREN SHAW (1869-1926)

Chicago-born Shaw earned his architecture degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1891 and spent a year and an half traveling in Europe after he had completed post-graduate study, returning to Chicago in spring 1893. He entered the office of Jenney and Mundie for a short time and then established his own practice in 1894, best-known for residences located in Hyde Park and Chicago's north shore suburbs, and for Lake Forest's Market Square commercial complex. Prior to his death he was awarded the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects in 1926.

Shaw was an avid traveler, eager to educate himself in the aesthetics and culture of the foreign countries he visited. Between 1900 and 1924 he made six trips to Europe, plus six to Nassau, as well as numerous camping trips in the States. Selections from his travel sketchbooks record decorative elements, noting color, material, texture and occasionally dimensions, ideas to be drawn upon later. His scrupulous observation of these details can be understood through his widow's commentary on his eclectic interests in her essay "Concerning Howard Shaw in his Home" (1926): she wrote, "...he did everything well. Carpentry, brick-laying, cement work, tree planting, gardening, shingling, stone-laying, sign painting, stage setting, lighting effects and scenery."

1. Objects in the Volksmuseum, Kopenhagen. Paris. Dusseldorf. Munich. Budapest. Vienna. Prague. Dresden. Leipzig. Berlin. Lubeck. Copenhagen. Hamburg. Bremen. 1913.
2. Miscellaneous Korean objects. Howard Shaw/1917/China.

THOMAS EDDY TALLMADGE (1876-1949)

After graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1908, Tallmadge first joined Daniel Burnham's practice and then established a partnership with Vernon Watson, known for its Prairie School residences and civic buildings. Tallmadge also maintained a very active career as lecturer and author on both American and European architectural history. In a 1908 Architectural Review article he first coined the term "Chicago School," a now ubiquitous, albeit somewhat vague, reference to the development of the skyscraper in turn-of-the-century Chicago.

Tallmadge's travel sketches reveal his scholarly interest in architectural history. He meticulously recorded details, both ornamental and structural, and floor plans, as well as his personal reactions and analyses. In this single notebook he gathered sketches from numerous European trips between 1908 and 1931.

3. "Salisbury Cathedral 9/8/08" [England].
4. "Marycel 5/5/21" [Charles Deering estate, Sitges, Spain].
5. "Sitges 5/5/21" [Church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla, Sitges, Spain].
6. "Ripon Cathedral", n.d. [England].
7. The Story of England's Architecture. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., c.1934.