Chessie the Railroad Kitten

CHESSIE, The Railroad Kitten, was a popular feline character used as a symbol by the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway.

Derived from an etching by Viennese artist Guido Grünewald, the image first appeared in a black and white ad in the September 1933 issue of Fortune magazine with the slogan “Sleep Like a Kitten.”

The C&O Railroad Company’s Vice President, Lionel C. Probert, noticed the picture and wondered if he could use the sleeping kitten to promote the railroad’s new air cooling system. And that’s how Chessie became one of the most endearing and successful corporate symbols in American history.

Read more about Chessie from the Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society HERE

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