Pullman Illustrated [cover title].

[Pullman, Illinois]: [Pullman Palace Car Company], 1883. Oblong 12mo (13 x 25.5 cm), green cloth, gilt title on front cover, rebacked, with original spine laid down. 24 bromide print photographs, 8.5 x 19.5 cm plus margins, mounted on stiff leaves, 4 pp. of text.

A rare and fascinating booster book for Pullman, Illinois, illustrated with original photographs of this extraordinary company town.

A model industrial community, the city of Pullman was created by George M. Pullman for the employees of the Pullman Car Works Co. and was situated on the west shore of Lake Calumet some ten miles south of Chicago. At the time this volume of views was published the city’s population totaled 7500, and 4000 men worked at the Car Works—the first laborers having begun work in May of 1880, and the first family having moved to Pullman in January of 1881. Said here to be built “in the light of art, science and intelligence,” the city provided brick homes for some 1400 families, supplied with gas, water, and modern bathrooms—far better housing than was available to typical workers at the time. The city was constructed on lands owned by both the Pullman Land Association and the Palace Car Co. The buildings were designed by architect Solon Spencer Beman (1853–1914), while the streets and parks were laid out by landscape architect Nathan Franklin Barrett (1845–1919).

Taken by photographer Thomas S. Johnson, who operated an Art Gallery in the city, the photos show Pullman’s Hotel Florence, Library, Presbyterian Church, Grand Stand Race Course (accommodating 7000 spectators), Arcade, Casino, Boat House, Gas House, Depot, Boulevard, School-house (where 850 pupils attended), Main Building, Water-tower, Market, Stables, and so on. There are interior shots of the Arcade (which housed stores, a bank, a theatre, town offices, etc.) and the library—here described as “the gift of George M. Pullman to the city.” One image shows the Pullman Car Works with smoke billowing out of the smokestack. While humans are scarce in these photos, a few feature young children. Two shots show railroad transfers No. 1 and No. 2, with incoming trains approaching and railroad men standing alert. Panoramic views from rooftops show the city and the adjacent lake.

The final four pages provide descriptions for thirteen of the views and “Statements and Statistics Concerning Pullman,” with information on health, industrial output, employment, drainage, etc. The text notes that “in manufacturing centres, little if any attention has hitherto been given by capitalists to the homes and home-life of operatives, and many of them are obliged to live in small, poorly lighted and badly ventilated rooms, and amid surroundings that render life a weary period of despairing toil.” The city thus provides workers with what “by their own unaided efforts they could never have.” Nevertheless, the workers paid rent, and in a decade the company’s refusal to lower prices after cutting wages resulted in the nationwide Pullman Strike. The courts ultimately forced Pullman to relinquish ownership of the city, which was then annexed by Chicago.

A fine and rare document of George Pullman’s vision of a model industrial community.

WorldCat records only 2 copies.

REFERENCES: Pullman Photographers at pullman-museum.org

CONDITION: Covers moderately rubbed and scuffed, some light wear to photos, final 2 pp. lightly damp-stained.