Abstract Chicago voluntary association founded in 1874 of men and women interested in writing original essays on topics of their own choosing and in listening to other members present their essays. Prominent members include Lorado Taft, Edgar Lee Masters, Irving Kane Pond, William Rainey Harper, and Thomas Elliott Donnelly. Primarily weekly papers read by over 250 members, but also correspondence, minutes, a visitors' register, cashbook, and scrapbooks.Also includes papers of the Chicago...