Irving S. Paull

Irving S. Paull is credited with Congress Hotel, Home of a Thousand Homes; Rare and Piquant Dishes of Historic Interest, a 1914 work tied to Chicago’s famous Congress Hotel. Surviving catalog records and digitized editions identify him with that book, sometimes alongside W. S. Goodnow, and describe it as a blend of hotel promotion, food writing, and culinary anecdote.

The book offers more than recipes: it presents elaborate dishes, bits of food history, and a polished portrait of luxury hospitality in early 1900s Chicago. That makes Paull interesting less as a widely documented literary figure than as a guide to a very specific world—one where menus, storytelling, and marketing all met at the hotel table.

Biographical details about Paull himself are scarce in the sources I could confirm, so very little personal background can be stated with confidence. What does remain clear is that his name endures through this unusual historical volume, which still attracts readers interested in vintage cookbooks, hotel history, and the culture of American dining.