As taken from "The Scientific American Handbook of Travel," 1910 A. Hopkins ed.
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Before embarking on the Steamer:
In the Matter of Dogs
Dogs are not admitted into Great Britain without a license from the Board of Agriculture, and will not be received on board any steamer without such permission. The companies will give detailed information to interested parties. The expense of transporting dogs is usually from $10.00 to $25.00. They are taken care of by the butcher, who should receive a fee for the same. Dogs are not allowed at large on the decks, although on some boats they can be exercised with a leash. Page 92
Seasons for Travel to Italy
Rome can be visited with impunity at any season of the year, but at night walks near the Tiber or Coliseum should be avoided. Venice is not always as pleasant as it might be in the summer, as the motion of the tide in the canals is not always sufficient to render them entirely odorless. From "The Scientific American Handbook of Travel," 1910 A. Hopkins ed. Page 1
Travel Requisites
Go abroad with shoes in perfect condition. Repairs are apt to be astonishing, and soles made of paper instead of leather are not unknown. Remember that rain is always to be expected in England. You are safe in carrying an umbrella everywhere. English umbrellas are expensive and heavy. Do not buy them as presents to take home. Page 4
What to Bring
Bath slippers and a bathrobe should be packed, as occasionally the distance to the bathrooms is quite considerable. Page 65
Those who are desirous of taking fur wraps should obtain a Custom House certificate before sailing, as otherwise duty will be levied on the return. Page 62
Ladies’ List of Things Not to be Forgotten:
Gowns, bathrobe, shirt waists, Ulster, cap (not a yachting cap), Extra shoes, and rubbers, umbrella, rug, steamer chair pillow. Brush, hairpins, tooth brush, tooth powder, cold cream, cologne, powder, pins, safety pins, collar buttons and cuff studs, needles and thread, tape, buttons, hooks and eyes, manicure articles, fancywork, fountain pen, writing material, address book, and hot water bag.Gentlemen’s List of Things Not to be Forgotten:
Dress suit, dinner coat, white waistcoats, dress shirt, dress ties, dress collars, cuffs, cuff studs, shirt studs, patent leather shoes, opera hat, silk hat, white gloves, and suspenders.List Common to Both:
All papers, letters of credit, travelers’ checks, visiting cards, keys, passport, medicines, etc., handkerchiefs, duplicate prescriptions, duplicate eyeglasses, duplicate Oculist’s prescriptions, outing shirts, flannel shirts, suit, suit underwear, bath robe, bath slippers, pajamas, duck pants (southern trips), hose, suspenders, belt, shoestrings, cane (?), umbrella, brush broom, fountain pen, paper cutter, and films. Page 66
While Onboard the Steamer:
Well-wishers and Visits to the Pier
It is a mistake to suppose that your friends can come on to the pier to meet you on arrival in New York, although it is true that they can meet you at the exit of the pier.
In order to go on a pier and be present while the baggage is being examined requires a permit from the Collector of the Port, countersigned by the Surveyor of the Port. Such permits can be secured by sending a letter to the Collector of the Port stating the name of the steamer which it is desired to meet, and the probable day of arrival; stamps* should accompany this application. According to rule, only two permits are given to each passenger, but there is usually great latitude in the enforcement of the rule…
While it is quite a good deal of trouble to get one of these permits, the advantage of meeting dear friends fully an hour before they will see them otherwise always makes the effort worth the while.
Permits to meet the incoming vessel at Quarantine are given only in extreme cases, and should not be asked for except in such extraordinary emergency as fatal illness, etc. Page 40
It is usually possible to visit a steamer the day before sailing, and it is always possible to go on board an hour or so before sailing to say good-by to friends. It is the practice of some companies to issue a permit to visit a ship any time when she is in port. Page 61
*Stamps being included for return postage to prevent the request from being neglected.
On the Distinction between Steerage and 3rd Class
The Third Class is a new form of accommodation and is provided only on certain vessels of certain lines, which may be looked upon as a kind of “improved” Steerage. The rate is somewhat higher that the Steerage and costs a good deal less than Second Cabin.
Accommodations in Steerage today are almost as good as Second Class accommodations of twenty years ago. All of the stories of overcrowding, unsanitary surroundings, etc., are not true as regards the principal lines, and the Government inspection both here and abroad is most rigid.
These improvements in accommodations not withstanding, neither Third Class nor Steerage is recommended for the use of American tourists, and those who cannot afford accommodations on the second class should postpone their visit until such time as they can afford to travel comfortably. Page 50
First class passengers are not allowed to enter second or third class compartments, and vice versa, as complications might arise under the quarantine regulations. Visits to the steerage can only be made by special permission. The modern steerage is an entirely different place from that which fiction has penned, and on a modern liner it need not offend anyone. Page 98
Monies Onboard Ship
Remember that the purser only carries a limited supply of foreign currency and that he can only exchange money for passengers to a limited amount. Do not calculate to do any more than pay your ship’s account with steamship checks if you use them. Page 36
Where additional passage money is paid for extra accommodations, chair hire, freight, etc., the payments should be made in cash as the purser is not authorized to receive checks. A purser has a limited amount of money to cash circular notes, etc., of his own line.
It is not safe, however, to depend o this. At least $25.00 should be carried in American money and foreign money, preferably English gold: the largest sums will be carried in the form of five-pound notes. American money is also accepted on steamships.
Do not try to use American money in England outside the principal seaports, as even banks view it with suspicion, or rather the dense ignorance of the clerks leads them to refuse our paper money, although it will be accepted “for collection” in London, which is of no avail to travelers who need the money for immediate use. Page 61
Steamer Rugs
On some steamers rugs (deckchair blankets) can be hired from the purser at a charge of $1.00 for the voyage. Rugs (blankets) are very cheap abroad and make acceptable presents. Silk rugs have little warmth. Page 66
Dark Room
On many trans-Atlantic steamers a photographer is carried to take groups at sea and also to develop the films and plates of passengers. The work is done at moderate rates and is a great convenience and passengers can arrange with the photographer to obtain the use of the dark room at all reasonable times. Give a moderate fee, say 50 cents for the voyage. Page 67
Special note on Telegrams
Messages to Turkey must not be in secret language.
Messages relating to crimes of anarchists will not be translated or delivered in Portugal.**The censorship was due to the extremely volatile political situation in Portugal at the time. The King of Portugal had been assassinated in 1908, and the country underwent a Republican coup in February of 1910.
Regarding Inside Cabins
The inside rooms are usually by far the cheapest, are apt to be very much warmer in winter, and also preferred by those who do not like to be reminded of the sea and the motion of the vessel.
Regarding Port-holes and Electric Heaters:
It must not be supposed that because a room as a port-hole, this porthole can be kept open at all times; they are usually closed by the stewards at night except in very fair weather, as a change in the course of the vessel might result in the shipping go water to a considerable extent which might damage the personal property, or endanger the safely of the ship. Page 97
Electric heating is very insidious. The heat is intense, and care must be exercised that nothing in the way of clothing should be placed on or near the heater. Steamer rugs are apt to become wet with ocean spray and should not be placed on electric radiators, as this is apt to char them. Page 98 & 101
Shipboard Laundry Work
Laundry services for passenger’s use have not been adopted on any trans-Atlantic steamer as yet, although a limited amount of washing can usually be provided for by the stewardess, but the practice is not recommended. Page 113
Death of Passengers
It is a mistaken notion to believe that first of second class passengers who die at sea are consigned to the deep. In fact, every first-class steamer carries caskets, and the surgeon will embalm the body. He is entitled to a fee of twenty pounds for doing so. Deaths at sea are few, and bad health should not deter any one from making the voyage. Page 129
On Arrival in Europe:
Foreign Customs: Page 132
There are a number of articles which must not be imported into some countries:
France: Foreign matches and playing cards, matches being a national monopoly.
England: Reprints of English copyrighted books: they are liable to be confiscated if found. Passengers landing in England are allowed to bring in a pint of drinkable spirits, or a half pound of cigars or tobacco, providing they are declared to the Customs inspector.
Italy: Tobacco must be declared under penalty of a heavy fine.
Germany: The German Government does not permit the landing of living plants in the German Empire. Passengers carrying such plans render themselves liable to fines and penalties. Page 92
Allowances customarily made for travelers:
Medicines in general: Importation of medicines is prohibited, with an allotment made for a sufficient quantity for the journey.
Tobacco: On the Continent, enough cigars are usually made for a railway journey, say a cigar case full.
Guns: Guns must pay duty in Germany, Belgium and Portugal. Special permits are required for the importation of guns in Spain.
Dogs: There are no importation fees levied on dogs in most countries, however, Great Britain does have restrictions already alluded to.In the Matter of Timekeeping
A number of European countries have not accepted Standard Time based on the meridian of Greenwich, but base their time on a meridian of their own.
France, for instance, uses the local mean time of Paris, which is 9 minutes and 21 seconds faster than Greenwich Time. This is the time that appears outside of railroad stations, but the clocks inside by which the trains are operated are five minutes slower. Page 12
Travel in England
Laundry in England is about as bad as the food: the clothes are apt co come back only fairly clean and their life is very much shortened after being entrusted to an English laundry, even for a short time. Page 368
Photographic Cameras in Europe
Travelers will find a hand camera extremely useful in retaining and fixing strange sights and views on the trip abroad. Cameras are particularly useful at sea, and many of the groups which are taken are treasured after the return. Films are easily carried, not likely to be broken, and can be had anywhere in Europe, while with plates it is sometimes difficult to obtain the right sizes. Usually cameras must be checked in museums, galleries, etc. It should be remembered that in Europe, and particularly on the Continent, it is forbidden to take pictures or make sketches of fortresses, arsenals, dock-yards, etc., and the visitor should be extremely cautions in this matter as the trouble is apt to be serious. The United States Consul should be communicated with at once in case of trouble. Page 66
Notes on the Quality of Cigars:
Cigars are good and cheap in Holland, fair in Germany and England, and are extremely bad in France, and the Italian cigars, particularly the so-called “Virginias”, with a straw and broom corn to assist the drawing of the smoke, are beyond the pale.
Those who do not enjoy the smell of tobacco smoke should seek compartments labeled, “For non-smokers,” but where the universal custom is to smoke, as in Holland, the visitor has no guarantee that this is a safeguard, but if a passenger objects to smoking while seated in a non-smoking compartment, he can compel the officials of the train to sop the offender.
Ladies traveling alone should occupy the special compartments reserved for them, usually marked “Dames,” or “Damen,” on the Continent, as this is the only guarantee that they will not have to endure smoking. Page 132
Copyright © 2009 Bill Sauder 4/09.2