ABSTRACT
Soon after McCay's arrival in Chicago in 1889, he found employment as an apprentice at the National Printing and Engraving Company, which specialized in designing and printing posters for circus companies. The world of the circus informed the imagery in McCay's art as much as dime museum freak shows and vaudeville performances. At his boarding house, he befriended another young artist, Jules Guerin, who later became a noted painter. In lieu of art school, the two taught each other their respective art specialties. During this time, McCay became a Freemason. He found work at a local Windy City dime museum as an artist painting ornamental posters and announcements. This led him within two years to accept a similar position at Kohl and Middleton's New Dime Museum in Cincinnati. For the next nine years, he painted advertisements and posters announcing the week's odd attractions, and his reputation as an artist began to grow.
