The Great Northern didn’t invent the slogan, “See America First,” but it probably used it more than any other travel company. The bright yellow, red, and blue colors in this brochure encourage people to take the Empire Builder to Glacier … Continue reading
Although the Depression pushed Great Northern’s secondary train, the Oriental Limited, off the timetable after 1931, this timetable shows that the Fast Mail, which ran from St. Paul to Seattle, had sleeping cars and coaches (but no food service). Another … Continue reading
When folded, this menu is about twice the size of a postcard, so one more fold allows the address space to appear and it is ready for mailing. The cover shows the Empire Builder, or possibly the Oriental Limited, in … Continue reading
We’ve seen this brochure before, only it was blue and advertised Union Pacific trains instead of Great Northern. The brochure was actually designed by the Alaska Steamship Company and co-distributed by Union Pacific, Great Northern, and possibly other railroads. Click … Continue reading
This pretty menu is undated, but the cover brags that the dining and observation cars on the Empire Builder are air conditioned, which dates the menu to 1934. By 1935, Great Northern had air conditioned the entire train. Click image … Continue reading
This is Morning Gun, who was apparently not a close relation to Morning Star. There is more than one Morning Gun in the Blackfeet geneology, but I suspect this one was born in either 1858 or 1861. Click image to … Continue reading
Morning Star was born in 1888, the seventh child of Spotted Bear and Panther Woman. That would make her about 38 at the time of this portrait. Click image to download a 1.8-MB PDF of this calendar. The PDF includes … Continue reading
All we know about Buffalo Body is that he was born in 1879, which makes him fairly young compared with the subjects of the previous two portraits. He was probably under 50 years old when this painting was made. Click … Continue reading
This painting shows Jim Blood, who was born in 1862. His parents were named Singing in the Middle and Singing Under. Click image to download a 1.5-MB PDF of this calendar. The PDF includes the calendar portion that is omitted … Continue reading
By 1932, the Reiss calendars used a design of simple geometric shapes. I believe that Winold Reiss himself designed the background. Note that the letters are each individually drawn to fit in the space available. Click image to download a … Continue reading
