Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Porter, Horace (1837-1921) to George C. Pullman

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02879 Author/Creator: Porter, Horace (1837-1921) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Letter signed Date: 9 July 1878 Pagination: 4 p. ; 28 x 21 cm. Order a Copy

Written as Vice President of the Pullman Company to the President. Discusses revenues through the previous day. Mentions that night travel has remained unchanged and daytime usage has fallen off due to the warm weather. Reports on fuel usage and conservation and employee numbers. Lists the new board members of the Metropolitan Company, of which both Pullman and Porter are members. Reports on the stockholders' meeting, of which the issue of noise pollution was mentioned. Porter writes that Thomas Edison can fix the problem with little expense. Written on Pullman's Palace Car Company letterhead.

Pullman was the originator of the sleeping car enterprise.

Porter, Horace, 1837-1921
Pullman, George Mortimer, 1831-1897

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources