Emeritus Scholarship (2024-2025)

My 2003 book Made in USA is out of print after exhausting two printings.  The book remains the first and only comprehensive scholarly history of East St. Louis.  The book had a companion public television documentary of the same name.  It is "out of print" but copies exist in various public libraries still.  The used-book market like ABEbooks.com and eBay occasionally list old copies for sale.   However, a new edition should be available in 2025--stayed tuned!

This book was a collaboration with a long-time friend, Bill Nunes.  It is available through the Arcadia Publishing website, but is also available at BN and Amazon.  It's a great book that's drawn largely from my research collection at SIUE.

My friend Mark Abbott was the editor of this volume, and I contributed an essay to it.  I was the series editor for this, the series' first volume.  "How Three Lives Changed a City" is an examination of how three individuals forever shaped the city of East St. Louis, Illinois.  It is distributed by the Missouri History Museum through University of Chicago Press.  It is readily available on BN or Amazon.  

My friend Charlie Lumpkins edited this, the second volume in the Sesquicentennial Series.  It is a faithful reproduction of pages from historic encyclopedias, atlases, directories, and other documents related to East St. Louis.  It also is distributed by Missouri History Museum through the University of Chicago Press.  Find it on BN and Amazon.

Sadly, the series ended after two volumes (instead of the planned five) due to Illinois's budget crisis.  The content for volumes 3, 4, and 5 was assembled  and will be published online eventually.

This book is a collection of essays on the St. Louis region that is published about every five years since the 1990s.  It was begun by FOCUS St. Louis, but SIUE took over the publication in partnership with FOCUS for the last two editions.  

• I edited the 4th edition with Mark Abbott.  It focused on urban planning and how communities evolved after a century of planning.  I contributed an essay that applies Daniel Elazar's political culture study to the St. Louis region.  The DVD version contains a faithful reproduction of the 1907 St. Louis City Plan.  
• I edited the 5th edition with Terry Jones, but did not contribute an essay.  It is a thoughtful look at St. Louis with essays from experts in many areas.  
• These are distributed by Reedy Press in St. Louis.  Find both online at BN or Amazon.
• Both volumes are available through Amazon and/or Reedy Press.  If you have difficulty, please contact me at atheisi@siue.edu for assistance. 

This book examines the life and work of one of the Midwest's most prolific photographers, Henry Bregstone, who captured images of a city on the rise and small towns on the decline.  The 1920 Census revealed that America had become an urban country, with more than 50% of the population living in cities.  Bregstone first captured images of St. Louis on its rise in the 1900s and 1910s, but he then shifted to photographing small towns across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.  His life was so much more than photography, though.  He was an attorney who didn't practice law, a solider who didn't fight, a religious man who was not observant, and a husband who couldn't be married.   The book was featured in the 2018 St. Louis Jewish Book Festival.  Copies are available.  Amazon may still have inventory through Reedy Press.  However, there are copies available for purchase from the Florissant Valley Historical Society  in Florissant MO and the Vermilion County Historical Museum in Danville IL.  These nonprofits sell the book to raise money for their work.    If there are any difficulties in ordering the  book, please contact me at atheisi@siue.edu for assistance.    I donated 500+ Bregstone postcards to the Newberry Library in Chicago for their archives.  Newberry also holds the papers of Philip Bregstone, Henry's brother.  Henry's military papers are found in the archives of the Chicago Public Library.

Ernest Hemingway did not spend much time in St. Louis, but five St. Louis families shaped his life and enabled his career.  Think of all the great associations people have with Hemingway.  So many of them were made possible by St. Louisans.  Living in Paris in the 20s?  That was thanks to first wife's trust fund from the Richardson Drug Company of St. Louis.  The house in Key West?  That was purchased by Uncle Gus, of the Pfeiffer Chemical Company of St. Louis.  The estate in Cuba?  That was found and renovated by Martha, his third St. Louis wife.  The greatest contribution the book makes is the deep research into the Smith Family.  Bill Smith, one of the "Summer People" in Michigan, was a lifelong friend of Ernest's and his family was from St. Louis.  It is available through Amazon, as well as The Novel Neighbor and Missouri History Museum, among other places connected to Hemingway.  See the book website:  www.hemstl.com

This book, available from Amazon and Florissant-area historic preservation groups, is the first examination of slavery in North County.  It starts with an examination of the role of John Mullanphy's family in slavery and at Taille de Noyer (Walnut Grove).  It also examines the plantations of the Florissant Valley and the stories of slavery that took place here (such as William Wells Brown's Narrative).  The book looks at the history of African American settlements in the years after emancipation and follows history up through the Ferguson uprising in 2014.  I edited this volume and contributed several of its essays.  It is an important examination of Black History and was published by the Florissant Valley Historical Society.  Visit the site:  www.florissantvalleyhs.com     

Housed in the Bowen Archives at SIUE's Lovejoy Library is the Andrew J. Theising Research Collection.  I donated my East St. Louis memorabilia and resources to the University to help advance research on that city.  It is one of the most-frequently used collections at SIUE.  Find it on the SIUE website.  https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/items/show/2378 

Additional artifact collections are found at the St. Clair County Historical Society (2022/23) and the Newberry Library in Chicago (2023).  

You can follow me on my Amazon author page!  https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-J-Theising/e/B08N45VBMP/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1