Carlos Schwantes 336 pages hardcover
From passenger tickets, wall calendars, and advertising posters to train
orders and bills of lading, railroads have left a colorful paper trail
across America. In Railroad Nation, historian Carlos Arnaldo
Schwantes examines a fascinating array of these materials, showcasing
the railroad industry's incredible variety of eye-catching illustrations
to enliven their timetables and promotional brochures.
Schwantes
traces the evolution of railroad commercial art from drab
black-and-white broadsides and text-only advertisements that the early
railroads placed in local newspapers to the riotous mélange of color
graphics in the early twentieth century, when the visual appeal of
public timetables and their thousands of different brochures enticed
settlers to create farms, ranches, and towns alongside newly laid
tracks.
Railroad Nation offers readers an unparalleled
look at the ephemera of the railroad industry, highlighting the vibrant
history of railroading in America through its rich tapestry of visual
materials.