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PULLMAN AT YOUR SERVICE                                                            undeniable racism behind Pullman’s employment
                                                                                                 practices, he ended up giving opportunities to
               After President Lincoln was assassinated                                            people who desperately needed them. In the
            on April 15, 1865, Pullman made his new                                                  early 1900s—a time when many other busi-
            luxury sleeper, the Pioneer, available to the                                             nesses would not hire African Americans—
            Lincoln family for the funeral cortège that                                            the Pullman Company became the largest single
            took Lincoln’s body from Washington D.C.                                            employer of black men in the country.
            to Springfield, Illinois for burial. A genius for                                    These more comfortable, luxurious sleeper cars
            public relations and a shrewd businessman,                                       and the experience of riding the rails on a Pullman
            Pullman knew the gesture would catch                                            were an instant hit, affording wealthier passengers the
            America’s attention as hundreds of thousands                                  amenities they were accustomed to at home and allowing
            turned out along the route to see the Lonesome Train                          middle-class travelers to enjoy a taste of the good life. 
            and pay their respects.                                                           Bruce White, Pullman and transportation lead at
               Orders for his new cars soon began to pour in and                            Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, notes that “Over
            Pullman saw his opportunity: railway sleeper cars that                          time, the company was shipping cars all over the
            provided “luxury for the middle class” and the “height of                      country—and internationally. At the turn of the 20th
            luxury” for the wealthy. The business was booming in                               century, Pullman was the largest manufacturing
            the post-Civil War economy, and it was time to                                     company, of any kind, in the world.” At its peak,
            expand, not only his company but his vision for what   Vintage circa 1929 heavy silver plated   Pullman sleeper cars accommodated 26 million
            rail travel could be and offer the discerning traveler.      4oz. lidded creamer from a pullman   people riding the rails each year. In effect, Pullman
               In 1867, Pullman organized the original Pullman   company train car. Marked on the   operated “the largest hotel in the world,” his name
            Palace Car Co. in Chicago, which introduced his first   base as made for the pullman company   synonymous with the height of luxury rail travel.
                                                                    in 1929. Selling for $78 at
            “hotel on wheels,” the President – a sleeper car with an     Rubylane.com
            attached kitchen and dining car. Pullman’s new luxury
            sleeper cars were decorated with carpeting, draperies, upholstered                 PULLMAN MEETS HIS MATCH
            chairs, libraries, and card tables, and offered food that rivaled the best   In 1880, in a move to expand his production facilities to
            restaurants of the day.                                           accommodate demand, Pullman purchased 4,000 acres of land near
               Another feature of traveling on this new Pullman was its impeccable   Lake Calumet, 14 miles south of Chicago on the Illinois Central
            customer service provided by an all-African American staff of “Pullman   Railroad, for $800,000. Trying to solve the issue of labor unrest and
            Porters” whose job it was to lug baggage, shine shoes, set up, and clean
            the sleeping berths and serve the needs of its white passengers. Many of
            these Pullman porters were former slaves. Pullman reasoned that former
            slaves would know best how to cater to his customers’ every whim, and
            they would work long hours for cheap wages. He also thought that
            black porters (especially those with darker skin) would be more
            invisible to his white upper- and middle-class passengers, making it
            easier for them to feel comfortable during their journey. Despite the




















                Rare vintage Ives Railway Lines # 72 Washington Pullman 1 gauge B21    Lionel Pre-war O gauge #2642 and #2643 Pullman and observation passenger cars
                                  selling for $495 on eBay                                    are currently selling on eBay for $99.95.






















                                         In 2018, Pook & Pook sold a model of the Flying Dutchman parlor rail car for $5,600.

               Exceptional handmade wooden model of the Flying Dutchman Pullman Parlor Car, exhibiting an amazing level of detail from the intricately painted exterior
              to the finely carpeted and wallpapered interior, furnished with velvet upholstered swivel seats, spittoons, and a convenient lavatory visible through glazed windows
                       and removable roof, 30 1/2” l. Pullman, who was more famous for sleeping cars, produced parlor cars from the 1880’s through the 1960’s.
                                                   This model exemplifies their production from the Gilded Age.
            18                Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
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