Skip to main content

Noga family-Gold Coast House of Correction papers

 Collection
Identifier: Midwest-MS-Noga

Scope and Content of the Collection

Photographs, newsclippings, correspondence, and artwork documenting the Noga family.

Clippings include photocopied items and original clippings that are pasted on disbound scrapbook pages. They document Vincenc Noga's run-ins with the police in both the Pizen Pup Kafe and the Gold Coast House of Correction. Also kept in the scrapbook were newspaper advertisements for the speakers featured at the Gold Coast House of Correction. There are three photographs of Vincenc with Maxwell Bodenheim, Emma Goldman, and unidentified others. There is one print of "The Oriental Consistory" by Francois R.E. Noga, with a photocopy of a 1935 newspaper clipping announcing the gallery showing of his work. There are a few pieces of correspondence to and from Vincenc Noga in Oregon. Finally, there are several clippings from the 1970s through 2022 about Hobohemia in Chicago, Slim Brundage, and the College of Complexes. Donor and daughter of Francois Noga, Chloris Noelke-Olson, wrote a letter to the editor in which she gave valuable background information about her father and uncle, and their Chicago clubs.

Dates

  • Creation: 1922-2022
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1922-1935

Creator

Language

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The Noga family-Gold Coast House of Correction papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Noga family-Gold Coast House of Correction papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections at reference@newberry.org.

Biography of the Noga family

Czech/Bohemian-born family of artists and free-thinkers based in Chicago.

Little is known about the Noga family, other than there were at least four brothers: painter Francois R.E. Noga, musician and club owner Vincenc Noga, and brothers Adolph and Joseph Noga (the latter of whom at one point was a boxer known as "The Fighting Dishwasher"). Francois and Vincenc were members of the Dil Pickle Club and friends with Dil Pickle Club founder John A. "Jack" Jones, as well as poet Maxwell Bodenheim and radical political activist Emma Goldman.

Vincenc Noga ran for President of the United States in 1920, under the pseudonym "Quasimodo Von Belvedere." His platform was "Quasimodo von Belvedere, Whose Ambition it is to Quit Working, and to Become Your Next President." Vincenc opened up the Pizen Pup Kafe in 1922 at 818 1/2 North Clark Street in Chicago. He advertised for a waitress and was soon after shut down after a job applicant called the police and accused Vincenc of disorderly conduct. He left a note on the window: "Proprietor in jail. Be back later."

In 1923, Vincenc and Francois opened the Gold Coast House of Correction at 883 North Rush Street in Chicago, where Vincenc billed himself as "Warden and Press Agent." There were lectures and discussions, similar to the Dill Pickle Club, in an atmosphere where servers dressed in striped prison garb and guests were served inside mock jail cells. Again, the establishment was short-lived as it was shut down in 1924 for allegedly serving liquor.

Vincenc, Francois, and Adolph at one point hopped trains to North Dakota and became hoboes for a time. By 1939, Vincenc was living in Oregon. Francois had an exhibition at the Allerton gallery in Chicago in 1935. Joseph lived for a time in San Francisco.

Extent

0.2 Linear Feet (1 box)

Abstract

Articles, photos, letters, artwork and scrapbook pages documenting Czech-born brothers Francois R.E. Noga, Vincenc Noga, and to a lesser extent Adolph and Joseph Noga. The Noga brothers were artists and free-thinkers, and Vincenc Noga opened up two short-lived establishments similar to the Dil Pickle Club; the Pizen Pup Cafe and the Gold Coast House of Correction. Also contains later newsclipping articles about Slim Brundage and the College of Complexes.

Organization

Materials are arranged chronologically.

Collection Stack Location

1 26 6

Provenance

Gift, Chloris Noelke-Olson, 2024.

Processed by

Alison Hinderliter, 2024.

Title
Noga family-Gold Coast House of Correction papers, 1922-2022, bulk 1922-1935
Status
Completed
Date
©2024.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512