1910 Yates / Felthousen Railroad Chromolithograph - American Transportation

Technological optimism of early 20th-century.

A powerful 1910 Charles I. Felthousen / E. S. Yates chromolithograph broadside celebrating the technological optimism of early 20th-century America. It presents the United States as a nation dominating the globe, intoxicated by invention and increasingly convinced that technology will allow it to transcend geographic barriers. The broadside belongs to a broader tradition of aspirational progress imagery popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Such works sought not simply to document technological progress, but to elevate it into a defining national identity. It is no surprise that this was published in Chicago, which, by 1910, saw itself as the embodiment of the future.

A Closer Look

This is at least a 9-color chromolithograph, making it one of the most elaborate we've seen. At center, the United States appears oversized within a hemispheric globe. Bursting powerfully through the globe into the foreground is a steam locomotive, rendered at an epic scale. The train dominates the composition both visually and symbolically, reflecting the railroad's central role in binding together the continental United States and driving industrial expansion. Surrounding the locomotive are other emerging modes of modern transportation representing interconnected systems of commerce, mobility, and communication: two bi-wing airplanes, a dirigible, an electric trolley, an early automobile, a motorized truck, and a steamship at harbor.

The primative aircraft and dirigible are worthy of special attention. The large plane in the upper left is the Wright Flyer, illustrated here only a few years after the Wright Brothers' historic 1903 test flights. At the time, powered flight was a subject of enormous public fascination, and its inclusion here illustrates the transitional moment when aviation was evolving from experimental novelty into practical reality.

Additional vignettes reinforce ideas of national integration and industrial modernity. Factories, shipping facilities, and urban infrastructure suggest manufacturing power and expanding global trade, while an inset interior scene at the upper right introduces the convenient novelty of a telephone-connected railroad car.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process uses multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Generally, a chromolithograph begins with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors are layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired effect. Chromolithograph color can be blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda.

Publication History and Census

This is a full reimagining of an image originally conceived by Swain and Lewis in 1882 to promote the Illinois Central Railroad (I.C.R.R.). Although the present chromolithograph has a clear lineage to the 1882 print, they are distinct engravings. The present work was produced by Edgar S. Yates for Charles I. Felthousen, and published in 1910. Institutional holdings are limited, with examples held by the Library of Congress and the Newberry Library; no market history.

Cartographers

Edgar S. Yates (February 1854 - April 30, 1930) was a British-American artist and lithographic engraver. Yates was born in England and emigrated to the United States in 1883, settling in Chicago. Yates was extremely versatile, advertising services as a logo and trade emblum designer, letter designer, lithographer, architectural rendering, and general commercial artistry. He worked under various names, including Yates Bureau of Design and E. S. Yates. Yates remained active until at least 1927, three years before his death at 76. He does not appear to have married or had children.   Further Details...

Charles I. Felthousen (1851 - July 3, 1920) was a Chicago-based printer and lithographer active from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. Felthousen was born in New York, likely in Ithaca, but moved to Chicago as a child in 1854 - arriving, it is written in his obituary, by sailboat. In some reports, he is named as 'Colonel', though we see no military record. He worked for a time in St. Louis as the southwestern agent for an unnamed New York publisher. His printing and lithography firm was named after himself, 'Charles I. Felthousen', and later as the Delmont Publishing Company, after his son, Delmont. His wife was Clara Noble. The only image we found of Felthousen is a Chicago Tribune cartoon lampooning a 1910 incident wherein he was splashed with a bucket of paint.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Expertly conserved, with a few verso repairs - including a near-invisible 9-inch closed and stabilized tear extending from the left margin.

References

OCLC 1022950356.