Munsey's Magazine, April 1907

Munsey's Magazine presents "The Romance of Chicago," a historical narrative by Newton Dent examining the city's rapid growth and rise as an American metropolis. The cover features an allegorical female figure in classical dress, symbolizing Chicago as a vital force of industrial progress. Below, a wood engraving depicts the mouth of the Chicago River in 1821, showing Fort Dearborn and its stockade during the frontier era. This juxtaposition—between classical personification and documentary illustration—typifies how pulp magazines blended romantic narrative with factual reporting to celebrate American expansion and urban development.