the story
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 10:13AM The four ladies from the post below are at the very least best of friends. I have no proof that any are sisters, what I do know is that I have a large photo album dated 1900 from a trip they took through Europe and the Middle East. Photos from Germany, England, Italy, Greece, Jerusalem... it is fabulous! There were six ladies that went on what must have been the journey of a lifetime, the other two weren't in this portrait, but it seems to have been taken quite a few years before the trip. I have the album, although it'll be a very complicated mess to get the images on my PC. My scanner is up high and the images can't be removed from the 5 pound album. I'll figure it out some day when I am bored and I'll show you more glimpses of their excursion. Absolutely marvelous.. I can't even imagine how excited they were to strike out, by boat, for Europe. The images here I took with my camera... these are for PERSONAL use ONLY. Thank you.
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The above, left image is from the day they left port.. June 2nd, 1900. The boat image was taken June 11th.
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A large photo postcard from Naples, Italy. When I lived there as a child, the laundry still hung between the buildings like that (and I'm sure it still does today).
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Above is Conway Castle, North Wales..
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The last image is of the six of them at the Custom House in New York.. there was no return date, but the last recorded date was August 30th, and there were many pictures of England after that in the album, so I am assuming sometime late September.
xoxo~
Abbie
Reader Comments (14)
What a wonderful treasure to have......to look back and see how they went about their travels years ago. Looking forward to seeing more of them.
What a great story! I frequent a store in Pt. Pleasant Beach that had a box of photos from an estate. Inside were great photos a young man took on his "grand tour"--the ones I love are of his mother and aunt in their great big hats, the sister reading a book while sitting on a long set of stairs...just great images. I would love to know more about what my young man saw and thought. Thanks for sharing your great find! -Meredith moonlightcourt.com
What a great find!! Enjoyed your photos of the photo album, especially the one of laundry hanging in Naples. I also lived there as a child when my dad was stationed there in the early 1950s and the image of laundry hanging between the buildings has remained in my mind ever since.
Such a marvelous story! These glimpses into the history travel at that time is wonderful. I love stories told by photo albums. You have a grand adventure ahead of you! I can't wait for you to share with us. ") sharon
These are so beautiful, what fun they must have had when it was safe for ladies to travel.
If you have a date on the NY Customs House photo and at least one name you could check the Ellis Island web site for their arrival and departure and maybe get their other names, and prior to that is the Castle Gardens website with immigrations and ship arrivals.
Good Luck.
One of the photos says Sturage (?), Kaiser Wilhem II pm June 2, 1900. I would check the passenger list of the Kaiser Wilhelm II for that date and see if you can pick up the group of like aged women traveling together.
This may predate Ellis Island, but may be in Castle Gardens website.
This is marvellous. What a treat to view and read!
What an amazing treasure! Where do you find great stuff like this? (if you don't mind my asking...)
What a treasure!
I found a wonderful album recently - the story is here: http://tinkerverve.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/bittersweet-turned-sweet/ -with the follow-up here: http://tinkerverve.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/the-rightful-owner/
I can't wait to see more of your photos!
I have no idea where you could have found this treasure, but I want to shop there. I've created an entire family and many stories around these ladies. I wonder, were they American or English?
I think htey travelled with my grandmother. Her travels through Europe look very similar.
If you do lots of images from bound sources get a non-reflective glass plate, and a tripod for a digtital camera (one that has a macro setting in it as well). Then you can get photos without endangering the bound item. (I have another life as an archivist/librarian, but mainly my greatest loves are art and photography). It is also often possible to insert support within the binding, if it is that kind that leaves a space when you open the book and try to lay it flat...this helps get undistorted photos.
Apart from the tips I want to say how I love your blog and pictures. I haven't got a blog yet but it's on the list!
Fi Jay
Wow, how interesting! I am so curious how you got this album. Did you live in Naples? Super!
I think old albums are great, and to find one that actually tells a story is marvelous.
Thanks for sharing.