Everywhere West

California Excursions of the Burlington Route.
Chicago: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, 1886
Rare Book & Special Collections Division (133.16)

By 1886 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy had forged an operating system of 4,000 miles of rail track connecting Chicago to the Pacific coast via the Burlington Route. Earnings from passenger service increased, due in part to growing interest in train travel. The CB&Q Passenger Department's publication program of promotional literature and tourist guidebooks capitalized on contemporary fascination with the Orient. This travel advertisement utilizes traditional Japanese themes to tempt travelers to choose a California excursion as the initial link to the Far East. The reference to the Mikado's uncle may have been inspired by the popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Mikado, which premiered in London in 1885.