Quasimodo Von Belvedere: Independent Superman of Chicago | ed. by Trevor Blake

Wobbly. Bootlegger. Satirist. The Lost Writings of Chicago’s “Independent Superman.”

“That’s enough!” I cried, interrupting him. “You are an anarchist! It’s talk like that that undermines the discipline of labor and destroys the fabric of government.”

“I would become the American Rasputin.”

Who was Quasimodo von Belvedere? To the police, he was Vincenc Noga, a bootlegger identified by a magnificent ten-inch mustache that he refused to shave, even when it led to his arrest. To the bohemians of 1920s Chicago, he was the proprietor of the "Gold Coast House of Correction," a prison-themed speakeasy where the waiters wore stripes and the intelligentsia drank illicit spirits. But to history—until now—he was a ghost.

Quasimodo von Belvedere: Independent Superman of Chicago collects, for the first time, the incendiary, satirical, and bizarre writings of this forgotten figure of the radical underworld. Noga moved elbow-to-elbow with the likes of Max Bodenheim, Emma Goldman, and the soapbox orators of the "Dil Pickle Club". He was a man who ran for President on the "Independent Superman" ticket, penned plays about pigs and potatoes that baffled editors, and wrote a lost novella, The Conscience of a Dum-Dum Bullet, which is reconstructed in this volume.

Edited by historian Trevor Blake, this collection resurrects the voice of a man who declared himself a "Volcano of Genius". The book also features a newly written memoir by Noga’s niece, Chloris W. Noelke-Olson, offering an intimate glimpse into the family life of a man who lived on the edge of the law and the center of the arts.

What’s Inside:

• The Conscience of a Dum-Dum Bullet: A morality dialogue between a plutocrat and his revolutionary servant, Matys, originally serialized in the I.W.W.’s One Big Union Monthly.

• The Presidential Campaign: Read the nomination speeches and platforms of the "Independent Superman" ticket, where von Belvedere promised to turn the White House into a place of leisure.

• Tales from the "House of Correction": The history of Noga’s notorious speakeasy, including the time he advertised for a "vamp" waitress with an "untamed but gentle" disposition.

• Family Archives: Rare photographs and oral history provided by the Noga family, including the story of the mustache that proved his undoing.

Step into the "Hobohemia" of Jazz-Age Chicago and meet the American malcontent who claimed, "I teach you the Superman".