Description
IN 1864 PULLMAN DEVELOPED THE RAILROAD SLEEPING CAR, AND IN 1867 HE ADDED THE “HOTEL ON WHEELS”, A SLEEPER WITH AN ATTACHED KITCHEN AND DINNING CAR. THE FOOD RIVALED THE BEST RESTAURANTS OF THE DAY AND THE SERVICE WAS IMPECCABLE. THE COMPANY HIRED AFRICAN-AMERICAN FREEDMEN AS PULLMEN AND AS THEY WERE PAID RELATIVELY WELL AND GOT TO TRAVEL THE COUNTRY, THE POSITIONS BECAME CONSIDERED PRESTIGIOUS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITIES.
GEORGE MORTIMER PULLMAN (1831-1997) PARTIAL LETTER SIGNED, “G. M. Pullman”, on a card mount 4.25 x 3, two parts of a letter written to Hon. L. P. Morton (Levi P. Morton was the then Governor of New York), are mounted on an acid-free card stock: the upper part has the embossed return address “PULLMAN BUILDING Chicago” and dated May 14th, 1896, the lower part has the last line of a letter “examine into the matter and write to you direct. Very truly yours”, by the American engineer and industrialist who built the Pullman sleeping car and founded a company town Pullman, for the workers who manufactured it. The unfair way George Pullman treated the townspeople led to the Pullman workers strike of 1894. The strike was brutally ended by Federal troops, and George Pullman’s reputation was tarnished by the presidential commission that investigated the incident. In 1898, the Supreme Court of Illinois forced the Pullman Company to divest ownership in the town, which was annexed to Chicago. The attractive card is in fine condition, with minor age toning.
$425 #12743
