Object Details
Description
The National Railway Publication Company in New York issued this Travelers’ Official Guide, a monthly periodical listing passenger timetables for railroads and steamships, in December 1883. The cover showed the new zoned times that would govern railway travel, and inside were new standardized time tables.
On November 18, 1883, local times across North America – determined by the position of the sun overhead – were consolidated into standardized time zones. Each zone had a uniform time within its boundaries. At the request of the railroads, William F. Allen, publisher of the Guide, devised the plan. The railroads implemented the change for their own benefit and to avoid government intervention in operations. But gradually, despite scattered resistance, standard time became the way just about everyone kept time.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
National Railway Co.
date made
1883
ID Number
1984.0472.01
accession number
1984.0472
catalog number
1984.0472.01
Object Name
book
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 10 3/8 in x 7 1/8 in x 7/8 in; 26.3525 cm x 18.0975 cm x 2.2352 cm
place made
United States
location of prior holder
United States: New York
See more items in
Work and Industry: Mechanisms
Measuring & Mapping
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_856667