The Pullman Company maids have long been overshadowed by the more well-known Pullman porters. Handmaidens for Travelers, which was on view in the Newberry galleries June 3 through September 16, 2022, helped to tell their stories.
For many Americans, riding on a Pullman train gave them access to unparalleled service, style, and luxury. For the Pullman Company’s Black employees, the same train compartment offered stable employment while presenting formidable risks and challenges.
Billed as “handmaidens for travelers,” Pullman maids navigated the demands of white passengers and the watchful eye of the Pullman Company itself every time they boarded the train.
Drawing on extensive research in the Pullman Company Records at the Newberry, Handmaidens for Travelers highlighted the complexity of the maids’ experiences. Visitors saw a range of archival materials, including several that have never before been presented to the public: applications and employee cards, an instruction manual for maids, advertisements, photographs, and one maid’s handwritten account of her work history.
Handmaidens for Travelers: The Pulllman Company Maids was curated by Miriam Thaggert, Assocate Professor of English at the University of Buffalo. Thaggert is also the author of Riding Jane Crow: African American Women on the American Railroad.
Digital Resources
- Handmaidens for Travelers Digital Tour - In this photo gallery in our digital collections, you can view the exhibition as it was displayed.
- Working on the Railroad: An Interview with Miriam Thaggert - We interviewed Miriam Thaggert about her research and the significance of telling the stories of the Pullman Company maids.
- Black Travel and the Pullman Company Maid - In this event that was part of the exhibition's programming, Miriam Thaggert spoke with Mia Bay about the pleasures and perils of Black women train travelers with a focus on the unique experiences of the Pullman Company maid.