A sealed motor conveyance awaited him, and he was translated as if by supernatural agency to the majestic establishment defined by State, Monroe, and Wabash.
* * * * * * * * * *
"A sealed motor conveyance"
I don't know exactly what this might have been in 1893, especially considering the "sealed" portion. How sealed does it mean? I imagine if it were just covered, it would say covered. It's not necessarily a car, and probably not since Pynchon didn't use the word car or automobile. But even in the timeline of cars, 1893 was the center of the start of the automobile. In 1893, the Duryea brothers built the first American gasoline powered car.
Before the Duryea brothers, there were certainly many steam-powered automobiles but, again, if Pynchon meant a steam engine, he probably would have said steam-powered.
For a second, I considered "sealed" modified "motor" but if that were so, Pynchon would have connected them with a hyphen. He's much better about the proper rules of grammar than I am (when he's not writing dialogue). If Pynchon fucks up grammar outside of dialogue, there's probably a secret subtextual reason why that explains the entire meaning of the book.
Ultimately, I'm sure the "sealed motor conveyance" was some kind of evil genius turbo rocket on wheels.
"he was translated as if by supernatural agency"
This almost sounds like he was beamed to the hotel. I suppose it's expressing the fact that the motor vehicle in question, in 1893, was ridiculously ahead of its time. So much so that it seemed occult or other worldly.
"the majestic establishment defined by State, Monroe, and Wabash"
I'm not looking this up but I imagine State, Monroe, and Wabash are the streets that define the block on which the Palmer House resides.
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