1935 SUPER, ORIGINAL SCANDINAVIA THROUGH RUSSIA MANUSCRIPT TRAVEL DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A KEEN EYED, ERUDITE BROOKLYNITE
On offer is a super, original and unique 1935 travel diary handwritten by an unidentified Brooklyn woman who left New York July 3rd onboard the steamship "Stavaugerfjiord" to Norwa y, Sweden and Russia. The 7 x 5 inch journal has about 100 double sided handwritten pages with entries through Aug 30, 1935. She does a wonderful job describing interactions with passengers and crew, mentions her state room receiving a welcome and national anthems played landing in Norway, than crossing the border from Finland to Russia. She writes about visiting a Lapp Community in Sweden. Some of the most interesting entries are descriptions of Leningrad & Moscow. She visits the hermitage listens to a factory choir of boys and girls, takes a sleeper train to Moscow visits a Russian mining town and much more. Here are some snippets: July 4, 1935 At sea board the S.S."Stavaugerfjiord" A beautiful bright day the room was trimmed with American flags and bunting we had a fourth of July celebration on deck the tourist and third class people coming for it. We were awakened at eight by the ships orchestra playing patriotic airs. At 10:45 there was a parade on deck, led by the band and participated in by all the passengers each of whom had been given an American flag. Them there was the hymn God of our fathers and address by Rev. S.G. Hauge the hymn God bless our native land remarks by the Captain the hauling down of the Norwegian flag and hoisting of the American flag which flew all day a fourth of July speech by Dr. J.N. Brown and the music patriotic airs. Later on there were Olympic games while we were at the dinner table Mr. lars Esmark. Introduced himself to us. July 15, 1935 - Norway Left Oslo at 9:10 this morning and went by train to Lillehammer reaching there about one. the ride was through beautiful fertile country hay was drying on the fences women were turning it in the fields flowers were blooming. July 19,1935 Beautiful day to day clear & sunny we went out on deck all day and were perfectly comfortable with a coat. We sailed by many snow capped mountains first bare 7 barren rocks & everyone in a while we would come to a little settlement the houses nearly always red & the church white. July 27, 1935 Costal waters- Norway Today we stopped at Barentsburg on Green or Greenfijord It is a Russian mining town we called at 7:30 had an early breakfast and went ashore. The Dane the Pole, the German Mr, Falch the Norwegian lady and I. It was raining and everything was very muddy and desolate looking at he wharf. A building with pictures of Lenin and Stalin with red decorations below them greeting us. The houses were well built - better looking than those at Long Year City. Some of the men spoke to us but none of the women did. They were as well dressed as men and emcee in any mining town on a rainy day would be but no one looks happy and smiling. The only women who was dressed in a coat pants going to the mine who stopped for the German to take her picture. Every building that we went in had pictures of Lenin and Stalin. We went to the children's home or day nursery. We saw two women feeding babies at the breast in that little bit of an alcove. In the larger room were little beds children lay in bed or playing on the floor and several attendants. A statue of Lenin stood on the table. These women smiled and spoke to us. We went to the dining hall where men with their hats on and women were eating than into the recreation hall were men were playing billiards with wooden balls about the size of a croquet ball and one man was playing the piano. Then we went o the fire engine house and to see the cows & pigs. A Mr. Felch said the stables and pens were clean nearly white washed the cleanest things we saw. Everywhere we saw pictures of Stalin and Lenin the red flag and pictures of Russian activities. July 20, 1935 Finland Beautiful snow capped mountains with green patches and little villages in open spaces the inevitable red houses & white churches. The air was almost balmy to hot in the sun. Five of us two men and three women went ashore we started to see the Meridian Stone, The Polish Naval officer had taken the town's taxi to go. We were walking he overtook us all and took us all in. We were a truly International party. Two Americans a Swedish woman , three men a Norwegian and German and Pole. Aug 8, 1935 Finish/ Russian boarder - Leningrad. Left Helsinki at 11:20 pm in a comfortable sleeper for Leningrad. At 10:30 we reached the last Finish station where we had breakfast. Then we went a short distance till we came to the small station separating Russia & Finland. On the Finish side is a white building on the Russian side a red one. Half of the bridge over the stream is painted white and half red. At the Russian size Russian officials came on & examined our money counted our express checks and gave us a signed paper with our declaration of money. The baggage examination was very simple the train is made up almost entirely of medical people going to Leningrad to the convention. An intertourist girl guide met us and took us to the Moscow Hotel. It apparently had been a fine hotel in former times and is still very elegant in a shabby way. We have very large rooms electric light telephone private bathing furniture which had once been fine although now rather threadbare. The dining room is a magnificent large room with four large glass chandeliers a high vaulted window and alcove with stained glass window and a platform orchestra which played in the evening. The waiters are dressed in white there is a pathetic air of trying to do things in the right way by the people who do not know how. At noon another shabby & wilted bouquet was at the table but in the evening fresh white flowers where there. At 4:30 we took a sight seeing drive we two a chaffer a girl guide in a broken down car. Leningrad must have been a magnificent city with wide streets fine large buildings, parks monuments. We saw the fine square on which the Winter Palace now a museum is located. One the opposite side is the large building built by Catherine the Great. We saw Alexander the III monument with the insulting inscription written there by the communist- the statue of Peter the Great placed by Catherine the Great.We visited a beautiful park near the palace where victims of the revolution were buried. Aug , 10 1935- Moscow We left Leningrad last night by sleeper for Moscow, very comfortable compartment only the two of us. Reached Moscow in the morning and went to Savoy Hotel where we had single rooms took a sight seeing trip around the city a most magnificent city in the afternoon we drove pas the Kremlin but it was closed and we could see it only distance. We saw the coronation church with its golden domes - the church where the Czar worshiped and the church where many czars are buried but we could nor go in. Lenin's tomb was also closed but we saw the great magnificent square where a red funeral was to be held but we could not go we went into a cemetery and saw Stalin's wife's grave. In the evening we went to a great cinema of the great parade held in the square on June 30 celebrating fourteen or seventeen years of physical advancement before going upstairs to cinema we heard a concert given by boys and girl factory workers.; Manuscript; 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF; TRAVEL, RUSSIA, FINLAND, NORWAY, AMERICAN FEMALE, REMOTE RUSSIAN MINNIG CAMP, SWEDISH LAPP VILLAGE, MOSCOW, STAVAUGERFJIORD, LAPLAND, SCANDINAVIA, LENINGRAD, GULF OF BOTHNIA, BALTIC SEA, BARENTSBURG ON GREEN, GREENFIJORD, INTERTOURIST, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, DIARY, DIARIES, JOURNALS, PERSONAL HISTORY, SOCIAL HISTORY, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, ANTIQUITÉ, CONTRAT, VÉLIN, DOCUMENT, MANUSCRIT, PAPIER ANTIKE, BRIEF, PERGAMENT, DOKUMENT, MANUSKRIPT, PAPIER OGGETTO D'ANTIQUARIATO, ATTO, VELINA, DOCUMENTO, MANOSCRITTO, CARTA ANTIGÜEDAD, HECHO, VITELA, DOCUMENTO, MANUSCRITO, PAPEL
