About this Item
7.25" x 10.25" green cloth bound photo album with a handwritten diary entries from a cruise from New York to London, and travel to Europe thereafter. There are about 50 photos inside on 25 leaves/37 pages, with the last few pages unused. The inside cover has a folded map attached (partially detached) of an Atlantic Transport Line Map and written on the map is "July 4th, 1899, S/S Mesaba, S. Layland, Master." There is a passenger list for the SS Mesaba with several x marks next to names, and the next page lists names of the party on the journey. It reads: James Herbert Morse Lucy Gibbons Morse Rose Morse William G. Morse Sarah H. Emerson Margaret Gibbons Townsend (Ethelbert W. Brown: joins us in Paris) A letter signed "Bert" which is loose in the album, has a drawing on the letter. This was a creative group. James Herbert Morse was an author and poet, Lucy Gibbons Morse, his wife, was an illustrator and paper-cut artist, Elthelbert W. Brown was a listed artist, Sarah H. Emerson was married to the son of William Emerson, brother of Ralph Waldo Emerson and there is a poem from her inside this album. This looks to have been put together by Miss Margaret Gibbons Townsend, whose sister was Lucy Gibbons Morse. A few diary entries include: June 24th: Sailed from N.Y. Many friends to see us off. Milton Hopkins, W. McMulleln Dibley, Ethel Smith, W. Curtis appeared introducing a friend, Miss Hopkins, travelling alone. Steamer chairs arranged thus. June 28th: Days all alike. Talked over plans yesterday. Rosie is to be our courier general, but plans are still vague. Wales and Switzerland emerge and only Paris in France. July 2nd: Rosie in her berth all day, Lucy also feeling bad. Church at 11 in dining room. Captain reading service. Choir made up of the actors and opera singers, everybody joining in heartily. Much rougher in afternoon. Splendid clouds. S.H.E. is getting bored with so much ocean and breaks out into verse: "Roll on great ocean, roll, but not on me! One little leaf of any English tree Hungry old thing! I'd gladly change for thee While for one twig of our dear country's elm I'd give the whole Mesaba, stern and helm!" July 4, 1899: Landed in the morning . Custom house train to London. At station were met by Will and Frances Sharpton, Hansom to Hammonds.Hammond's hotel, Covent Gard - We found it quaint, dirty and impossible, and decided it was not for us, so spent but one night. Rose looked up other lodgings and we went finally after many adventures to the Arundel Hotel on the Victoria Embankment. Sept. 6: The Spaarndam - sailing for home. A dirty ship with poor service. A rough passage. Considerable fog, horn blowing often. (A picture of people on the lower deck is captioned:) Emigrants on lower deck waiting for their quarters to be washed out with hose. Ephemera inside includes a program from Edinburgh of the First Gordon Highlanders, pressed and loose flowers, hotel receipts, map of Koln, a baggage label, etc. A few items are missing from the pages, and there are several loose items, including letters, one with a beautiful drawing. A few pages appear to have been torn out. Several pages are detached. This album has seen better days, but it documents several people of importance on a trip together in the last year of the 19thcentury.
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