Meantime, although so much disheartened by his failure to accomplish any thing in Europe, he did not abandon his art studies, but continued to model figures in clay, and shortly after his arrival in Chicago, gave one of his groups to some ladies of that city, to be sold at a fair in behalf of some benevolent purpose.  This was the “Checker Players,” and was the first of his efforts ever submitted to the public.  Its success was immediate.  It proved one of the most attractive features of the fair, and the newspapers pronounced it one of the most satisfactory evidences of native genius ever seen in Chicago.  Mr. Rogers was much pleased with its success, and soon followed it with “The Town Pump,” one of his most popular compositions.

The popularity which these efforts attained, opened John Rogers’s eyes to a correct perception of his true mission in life.  He was not capable of accomplishing any thing in classic art, but here was a field in which a renown, unique and brilliant, might be won, and in which he might endear himself to thousands of hearts in the great world in which he lived.  Both fame and wealth seemed opening up before him.  He did not hesitate long, but resolved to follow the leadings of his genius.  Having heard that a new process of flexible molds had been invented, by which the most intricate designs could be cast with ease, he came to New York in 1859, bringing with him his “Checker Players” and “Town Pump,” and the model of a new group on which he was then engaged.  Seeking an Italian familiar with the new process, he engaged him to cast his figures in plaster by means of it, and from him he learned how to practice the new method himself.

He now put forth his “Slave Auction,” which he had modeled in Chicago and brought to New York with him.  The antislavery excitement was then at its height, and this effort aroused the sympathy and won Mr. Rogers the support of the greater part of the people of the Northern States.  There was a large demand for the group, and Mr. Rogers soon found himself obliged to employ assistance to fill the orders which kept crowding in upon him.  By selecting a subject which was of the deepest interest to the people of the country, he had thus attracted attention to his merits, and he felt sure that by keeping the people supplied with works illustrative of the topics of the day, he would win the success to which he aspired.

He now ventured to establish himself permanently in New York, and, renting the garret of a Broadway building, set up his studio in it, and issued this modest card:  “John Rogers, Artist, Designs and Executes Groups of Figures in Composition at his Studio, 599 Broadway.”  The success of his works had been so marked as to induce him to believe that he would have no difficulty in establishing a permanent business, and he set to work with enthusiasm.  In quick succession he produced his “Fairy’s Whisper” and “Air Castles,” the latter of which is the only commission he has ever executed.  The war began soon after, and supplied him with an abundance of popular subjects.  These war subjects attracted universal attention, and sold as rapidly as he could supply them.  A New York journal thus describes the “sensation” which they created in that city: