In 1856 , William Rand opened a printing shop in Chicago and two years later hired a newly arrived Irish immigrant , Andrew McNally , to work in his shop . The shop did big business with the forerunner of the '' Chicago Tribune '' , and in 1859 Rand and McNally were hired to run the Tribune 's entire printing operation . In 1868 , the two men , along with Rand 's nephew George Amos Poole , established Rand McNally & Co. and bought the Tribune 's printing business . The company initially focused on printing tickets and timetables for Chicago 's booming railroad industry , and the following year supplemented that business by publishing complete railroad guides . In 1870 , the company expanded into printing business directories and an illustrated newspaper , the '' People 's Weekly '' . According to company lore , during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 , Rand McNally quickly had two of the company 's printing machines buried in a sandy beach of Lake Michigan , and the company was up and running again only a few days later
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Rand McNally