Irving S. Paull

Irving S. Paull is a largely obscure author whose name survives mainly through Congress Hotel, Home of a Thousand Homes, a 1914 volume prepared with W. S. Goodnaw. The book mixes hotel history, promotional writing, and historic recipes, giving modern readers a lively glimpse of Chicago hospitality in the early twentieth century.

Reliable biographical detail on Paull himself is scarce. Contemporary evidence does show that an Irving S. Paull spoke in 1922 to Harvard's Business School Club on the work of the Joint Agricultural Commission of Inquiry, suggesting he was active in public or business circles beyond his published book.

Because so little firmly documented information is easy to confirm, Paull is best approached through his surviving work: a curious, engaging period piece that preserves the atmosphere, tastes, and self-confidence of a grand hotel era.