author

W. S. Goodnaw

A little-known early 20th-century coauthor whose surviving work opens a window onto grand hotel life, historic dishes, and the promotional flair of old Chicago. The record is sparse, but the book linked to this name has endured as a curious blend of hospitality history and culinary nostalgia.

1 Audiobook

Congress Hotel, Home of a Thousand Homes Rare and Piquant Dishes of Historic Interest

Congress Hotel, Home of a Thousand Homes Rare and Piquant Dishes of Historic Interest

by Irving S. Paull, W. S. Goodnaw

About the author

W. S. Goodnaw is a notably elusive figure in the historical record. The clearest, well-supported detail is that the name appears as joint author of Congress Hotel, Home of a Thousand Homes; Rare and Piquant Dishes of Historic Interest, a book published in Chicago in 1914 with Irving S. Paull.

That book has survived through sources such as the Library of Congress, Project Gutenberg, and the Online Books Page, which together suggest that Goodnaw's known legacy rests mainly on this collaborative volume. The work mixes hotel promotion, local color, and food history, giving modern readers a glimpse of the Congress Hotel's image and the era's taste for storytelling through menus and memorable dishes.

Because reliable biographical information about Goodnaw beyond this publication is hard to confirm, it is best to treat the author as a shadowy literary presence rather than attach uncertain personal details. In that sense, the mystery is part of the appeal: the name remains tied to a single surviving book that captures a very specific slice of American urban and culinary history.