Lithograph Advertising Belding Bros. & Co. Silk Thread, "Sectional View of Cable Street Cars," circa 1880

Summary

This print shows a cutaway of Chicago City Railways' State Street cable car line. In the 1880s Chicago transit companies invested heavily in cable railways, but most had switched to electric streetcars by 1900. Belding Brothers, a leading manufacturer of silk thread, put the strong fiber to work pulling cable cars-but most transit companies eventually settled on cheap, sturdy wire rope.

This print shows a cutaway of Chicago City Railways' State Street cable car line. In the 1880s Chicago transit companies invested heavily in cable railways, but most had switched to electric streetcars by 1900. Belding Brothers, a leading manufacturer of silk thread, put the strong fiber to work pulling cable cars-but most transit companies eventually settled on cheap, sturdy wire rope.

Artifact

Print (Visual work)

Subject Date

circa 1880

Creators

Belding Bros. & Co. 

Creator Notes

Made for Belding Brothers and Co.

Collection Title

Seymour Dunbar Collection 

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

82.129.829

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Lithography
Hand coloring

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height: 3.375 in

Width: 5.875 in

Inscriptions

Verso: Museum of Science and Industry (founded by Julius Rosenwald) Chicago, Illinois

Connect 3

Discover curious connections between artifacts.

Learn More