Artie: A Story of the Streets and Town was published by Herbert S. Stone in 1896. The book collected Ade’s syndicated newspaper sketches about Artie Blanchard, a young Chicago office worker whose adventures — in boardinghouses, saloons, theaters, and on the street — mapped the social world of working-class and lower-middle-class Chicago in the 1890s. The sketches were written in the same vernacular slang that Ade would later refine in his fable collections.
Artie was Ade’s first book, and it established his characteristic strengths: the precise ear for American speech, the eye for social detail, and the ability to create sympathy for characters who were simultaneously comic and genuinely human.
Collecting Artie
First edition (Herbert S. Stone, Chicago, 1896): Cloth binding.
Market values:
- Fine condition: $75–$200
- Very good: $30–$75
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation. Ade’s first novel.
Chicago Vernacular
Artie (1896) began as a series of columns in the Chicago Record and was published as a book when the character became popular. Artie Blanchard is a young office boy — sharp, street-wise, ambitious, and fluent in the Chicago slang that Ade transcribed with phonographic accuracy. The linked sketches follow Artie through the boardinghouses, saloons, parks, and social clubs of 1890s Chicago, creating a portrait of urban working-class life that is both sociological document and comic entertainment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Ade’s connection to Chicago? Ade moved to Chicago after graduating from Purdue in 1887 and worked as a newspaper columnist for the Chicago Morning News and Chicago Record. His columns — particularly “Stories of the Streets and of the Town,” illustrated by John T. McCutcheon — made him one of the city’s most popular writers. Chicago’s energy, diversity, and slang shaped his literary voice.