Here's to making falling asleep on the bus look classy.

Here's to making falling asleep on the bus look classy.

This ca. 1930s photograph of the inaugural run of the New York City to Chicago sleeping coach operated by the Great Lakes Stages company is from Hagley Library's collection of Chamber of Commerce of the United States photographs and audiovisual materials (Accession 1993.230). The Chamber of Commerce of the United States is the world’s largest business organization, representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. Chamber members range from small businesses and local chambers to leading industry associations and large corporations.

The Chamber traces its origins to an April 22, 1912, conference of commercial and trade organizations called by President William Howard Taft. The goal was to form a national group to advise the government on issues facing industry and business throughout the country.​​

In March 1989, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States deposited their historical archive with Hagley Museum and Library, making us their official records repository. That deposit included a series of more than 15,000 original photographs (including this one!) that were taken for publication in Nation's Business, a monthly magazine published by the Chamber to inform the business community about commercial trends and to solidify political support around key positions on government policies regarding business and economic life.

Nation's Business is call number f HF1.N38;in the Hagley Library's Published Collections Department; our holdings cover all the years of its publication (1912 to 1999), with most volumes included in their entirety. All of the issues in our collection of Nation's Business from 1915 on have been digitized - you can view them online now by clicking here or view a digital collection of selections from our collections of Chamber of Commerce of the United States photographs, videos, and publications by clicking here.