Included among the voluminous company correspondence of CB&Q Vice President & Treasurer J.C. Peasley, are multiple advertisements and solicitations from two business publications: Poor’s Manual of Railroads and the Rand McNally Business Atlas.
Letter soliciting information from CB&Q for inclusion in Poor's Manual of Railroads
When American Railroad Journal editor Henry Varnum Poor published History of the Railroads and Canals in the United States in 1860, it was the first real attempt at compiling the financial and operational details of railroads, by far the country’s largest industry. Eight years later, he formed H.V. & H.W. Poor & Co. in New York City with son Henry William, and the company began publishing yearly guides tracking the financial and geographical progress of railroads in the U.S. Poor’s asked the railroads to contribute information, and also expected companies to subscribe to the yearly publication, which included maps, railroad data indexed by state and company, merger news, and the details of any railroad-specific legislation. A significant portion of each book was also devoted to ads from bankers and companies manufacturing railroad industry products, a section so large it warranted its own index. In a visual representation of the industry’s growth, the inaugural 1868 edition of Poor’s came in at just under 500 pages, and by 1912 had expanded to a hefty 3106. While railroads eventually decreased in importance and the Manual ceased publication, the original Poor’s survived mergers and bankruptcy and evolved into what we know today as Standard & Poor’s financial services company and credit rating agency.
Title page from 1884 edition of Poor's Manual of Railroads
Portion of CB&Q entry in Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1884 edition
Chicago’s Rand McNally & Co., known worldwide for its maps, actually started out printing tickets and timetables for railroads. The company began publishing railroad guides in the late 1860s, and Rand McNally’s very first map appeared in the 1872 edition. In the mid 1870s the company introduced the Business Atlas, which focused on publishing maps and included relevant data for business planning. Railroads, of course, were an important feature. The company marketed the atlas as an indispensable business tool, and constantly updated and improved the volume’s railroad coverage, as noted in their advertising.
Letter advertising separately colored railroad lines in 1890 edition of the Business Atlas
Rand McNally marketing for 1890 edition of Atlas
1880s editions of Atlas in Newberry stacks
The 1890 atlas included maps much like this Rand McNally Railroad Map of Illinois, currently featured in the Newberry’s digital exhibit The American West. Rand McNally, of course, established itself as the primary American publisher of maps and atlases for travel, reference, commercial, and educational use. The Business Atlas still exists today, as the Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide, and the Newberry holds nearly every edition. Also available at the Newberry are the Rand McNally and Company Records, which include a variety of railroad material from the company’s early days in the printing industry. Many Rand McNally railroad maps were cataloged separately, and can be found in the library’s online catalog and cartographic catalog.
