Color Printing Comes to American Newspapers

June 23, 1892...things were hopping in Chicago. The Democratic Party was in the city nominating a candidate for president down at the Wigwam, and the Chicago Inter-Ocean newspaper was marking the occasion with the first run of papers printed with their new-fangled perfecting color printing press. With that historic issue, the Chicago Inter-Ocean introduced color printing to American newspapers.

Headlines announcing the new color printing process at the Chicago Inter-Ocean newspaper,
page 2, June 23, 1892

Now You Know, Grover Cleveland Had Blue Eyes

The illustrated supplement issued on June 23, 1892 was eight pages in length, with color printing incorporated in the first and last pages. According to an inside article the new color press was capable of printing up to 4 of the 8 pages in color.

"In other words this press is capable of printing four pages of reading material and four pages of colored plates, or six pages of reading material and two pages of colored plates."

The front page of the issue featured a four-color (yellow, red, blue and black) portrait of Grover Cleveland, who had just received the Democratic Party's nomination for president. There's no artist credited on the portrait, which is fairly boiler-plate with the addition of color.

Front page, June 23, 1892, Illustrated Supplement of the
Chicago Inter-Ocean newspaper, first American color newspaper

The 1892 Democratic Convention at the Wigwam in Chicago

There were two color pages in the June 23, 1892 issue, the front page portrait of Grover Cleveland and the back page which featured the "Wigwam," site of the 1892 Democratic Convention. There were very few images of the Wigwam and this may very well have been the only color view of the building.

Page 8 of the Illustrated Supplement of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, Illustrated Supplement.
The Democratic Convention Wigwam

The Wigwam was a temporary structure erected on, and facing, Michigan Avemue between Madison and Washington Streets. It was a beast of a building, seating 20,000 conventioneers.
Convention-goers were not particularly pleased with the Wigwam, as just 10 minutes after the opening gavel fell on June 21, inclement weather paid a visit and the temporary nature of the building was exposed. From a page two article...

"About 12:10 one of Chicago's thunderstorms rolled over the Wigwam, and the interior of the hall was filled with more or less of Egyptian darkness, through which sharp, quick flashes of lightning occasionally shot, and the building shook with several rounds of rattling thunder. Umbrellas were raised in all parts of the hall for protection from various aggressive globules of water that sneaked in through crevices in the roof."

The view in the picture would be from across Michigan Avenue as the brass band parades in front of the building. The caption reads "The Democratic Convention Wigwam, Chicago, June 21-26, 1892." The artist is not noted.

The Wigwam existed for just over a month. Construction was completed in early June and the building was gone by the middle of July, either dismantled or destroyed in a thunderstorm...the history is vague.

Chicago Inter-Ocean Masthead, June 23, 1892

Masthead of the June 23, 1892 illustrated supplement of the Chicago Inter-Ocean newspaper. First American newspaper printed in color with a cylinder press.

Masthead, Chicago Inter-Ocean Illustrated Supplement, June 23, 1892