Travel in a Different Era: The George Foster Collection

George M. Foster (1914-2006) was a distinguished anthropologist and, among his many accomplishments, has been called the founder of medical anthropology. It is somewhat surprising then to walk back into the archives and see three boxes and a full filing cabinet attributed to Dr. Foster. He was clearly a man of many passions, one of which included collecting various documents and ephemera relating to steam liners of the 20^th century. The three archive boxes work together to create a very detailed manifest of the biggest and more popular liners. A large catalogue filled with hundreds of detailed entries is only an introduction to the vast amount of information available in this collection. Working in concert with this book are two scrapbooks of postcards, newspaper clippings and reproduced pictures. These images often relate to an entry in the book full of liners, providing more detailed or even color pictures of the numerous ships. All of these books are extremely informative and begin to tell a story of an era when the traveling was an experience in and of itself – a phenomenon that is becoming less and less the case.

Brochures for S.S. Ile de France, moving away from numbered classes.

              Further illustrating this time period in travel is the extensive amount of documents – brochures, menus, deck plans and other ephemera – related to ship lines and occasionally to individual ships. This is a hefty percentage of the collection – there are more than 300 folders filled with these artifacts, spanning the 20^th century and from all around the globe. Ship brochures advertised travel in a way that would, today, only be reserved for a website about a cruise line. These colorful and image-filled documents give the reader a feeling of the atmosphere on a ship as well as a sense of familiarity – the detailed deck plans are sometimes even printed into the brochure booklet. It is often the case in this day and age that one doesn’t spend more than about five minutes choosing their seat on an airline’s website, but it is clear that the process of choosing and purchasing a cabin on a ship was much closer to buying a house or leasing an apartment than it is to modern travel. Advertisers understood this, too. Many of the brochures and pamphlets in this collection refer to one’s “personal palace,” as with the S.S. Empress of Britain, or “making the Ile your home,” in the case of the S.S. Ile de France. Luxury and prestige was key, second only to comfort.

Grouping of items from Foster's voyage on the RMS Queen Mary.

            There is no indication in this collection that George Foster personally traveled on all of the lines and ships for which he collected a file, but there are some to which he did have a personal connection. The R.M.S. Queen Mary (Cunard Line) was one such vessel. The file on this ship is particularly interesting as there are documents from an actual voyage – one on which George Foster and his family traveled in 1961. There is a daily itinerary, including information on specific events, announcements, and puzzles such as one would find in a daily newspaper. Menus from lunch and dinner also indicate restaurant-level quality not only on a daily basis, but also multiple times a day. These menus are for the 2^nd class travelers – which by this time many lines had begun calling “Tourist Class” – and with no 1^st class information, it is difficult to fully know the difference between the two in this case. Despite the fact that Dr. Foster did not travel on every ship about which he has information, there is a personal touch throughout this collection. Notes on specifics of ships throughout the catalogue and handwritten tidbits of information throughout speak to the care and attention to detail these artifacts possess, making these artifacts a critical – and colorful – addition to this museum.

For more information on George Foster, visit: http://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/inmemoriam/georgemfosterjr.htm

The Mystery of the Ethie

Finding extra materials in a donation is not uncommon; frequently of little consequence, such items can be anything from a piece of forgotten scrap paper to a small folded napkin. Occasionally, however, a piece is found that only adds to the mystery of an already somewhat mysterious collection.

Found portrait of mystery woman. LA2010.032

It was almost like something out of a movie: after removing the back of a frame, it became clear that there were several things in the way of the backing and the item being framed. After freeing these pieces of discolored card stock, there was a thicker board attached to the back of yet another piece of card stock. After detaching this unknown piece, it became clear that this was not just the usual kind of material used to fill a frame. In fact, this was what appeared to be a hand sketched and colored original piece of art! It was a portrait of a woman in a dress, looking serenely off to the side of the drawing. Upon further investigation of this piece it became clear that the image was the only thing on the board. There was no signature, no name, no date – only this picture. So, the questions became: Who is this woman? Where did this picture come from? Well, the second question was easily answered; this framed document was from the pleasure yacht Ethie, a vessel which traveled from England to San Diego with her crew of 5 in the late 1930’s. Could this woman be the namesake of the ship? Could she be someone who made that long voyage?

The next stop for this investigation was in the museum’s archives within the Kiralfy collection. A.E. Kiralfy was the captain of the Ethie when she made her voyage to San Diego, and his family donated many of the documents relating to this voyage and the yacht itself to the museum. These documents were full of information: bills of health from a number of ports, including London, Lisbon, Puerto Rico and the Panama Canal. There is a captain’s log book containing detailed information on positions and weather conditions that the yacht encountered. Various certificates show where the ship went from 1938-1939 as it crossed the Atlantic and traveled to California. In all of this, however, a crucial thing was missing that might indicate who this woman was: pictures. There were no images available to cross reference this image of a woman with any of the extensive documents in the collection. Finally, one document shed a small amount of light on the possible identity of this woman: a bill of sale from 1929 at Cowes Port, London. This document indicated that A.E. Kiralfy was not the first owner of this yacht, and that a Robert H.W. Mander owned it before him. These new answers only led to more questions. Could this image have been on the Ethie before 1929? Could she have simply been forgotten over time?

Bill of Sale for the Ethie, c. 1929. LA2010.032

This led to an extensive, but ultimately fruitless, search to find any records held by Cowes Port of yachts or even sales made in 1929. Robert Mander was also nowhere to be found in any available English records. This was a frustrating moment of what seemed like failure, but there was one more possible avenue to explore. The woman in the image itself was wearing a very specific style of dress, and one could also clearly see the way in which her hair was styled. If there were not external indications to this woman’s identity, possibly more information about her could be discerned from within. After looking at primary sources from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the form of plates and images, it became clear that this woman was likely drawn within the decade of the 1920s, meaning that her identity could very well be the namesake of the Ethie. However, it is likely lost and will remain unknown.

The Ethie herself is a ship that will also only live on in the memory of the museum. The last known document relating to the ship is one from the 1940s – it is a report of the condition of the ship after what would seem to be damage to her hull. Shortly after this, record stops and it is unclear what happened to her. It is possible that she was renamed and moved, or that she met her demise at sea. Whatever the case may be, the Ethie remains a piece of the museum – both displayed in miniature form and recorded in her documents. The spirit of this vessel will be preserved along with all of her mysteries, including this mystery woman.

Sailor Desmond’s Tattoo Parlor

Wood with metal handles on both ends, 9 x 23 x 12 inches

Gest Collection

1968.149

Tattooing in the early 20^th Century was not very common in America. Compared to Europe and Asia, sailors were normally the only people to have them. This would soon change when more people started entering the United States with tattoos on their skin. Most people considered these tattooed people freaks, which then led them to be put on display in freak shows and circus acts. People would come from all over to see this displaying of artwork on the skin of people.[1]

After the decline of these shows, tattoos were associated with the dirtier areas of town. With the invention of the electric tattoo machine  around the same time, tattooing became popular for ordinary people as well as sailors. This type of tattooing was known as flash tattooing. The artists would hang up their drawings for people to pick from. Most of the flash tattooing designs were very similar. The “mom” tattoos, as well as pin up girls were featured in flash design.[2] The example of flash is displayed with the object in this collection. It was during this time that many tattoo shops started appearing in port towns and featuring military flash designs particularly designed for the marines and navy soldiers in that area.

Different tattoos on sailors represented certain things that they had accomplished during their time served, and it was also a way to show all the places they had traveled to. A turtle on the back of the legs indicated that he had been to the equator. A rope around the wrist meant that he was a dock hand.   A cross on the bottom of each foot was supposed to help keep the sharks away. It is thought that a rooster and a pig on the ankles would prevent the sailor from drowning. An anchor most likely meant the sailor spent time in the Atlantic or they were a merchant marine. The very popular Hula girl came from the World War II era after the sailor spent time in Hawaii. The sight of a swallow while at sea was a great sight to many of the sailors, as this meant land was close. The swallow is known for always returning home, therefore the sailor would return home as well. Another meaning behind the swallow is that a sailor would get this after he had traveled 5,000 nautical miles. This was normally placed on the chest. The more swallows a sailor had on his chest, the more respect he earned. Finally, the words “Hold Fast” tattooed on knuckles meant the sailor would not drop a line or fall overboard.[3]

For more information about this history of tattoos and the use of early machines, visit The National Tattoo Museum.

Blog Entry Prepared by Leslin Ossoff, Collections Intern 

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[1] http://www.randomhistory.com/2008/07/26_tattoo.html

[2] http://blog.nyhistory.org/a-short-incomplete-history-of-american-traditional-tattooing/ 

[3] http://www.military-history.org/articles/war-culture-maritime-tattoos.htm

Whats in our Collection? Tea Leaf Pattern China

Did you know that the Maritime Museum of San Diego has one of the largest collections of the Tea Leaf Pattern Royal Ironstone China any where?

We have 130 different Tea Leaf decorated items in our collection and many are on display aboard our prize sailing ship The Star of India.

The study of ceramics is important because it can tell us about the lifestyles of those who used the items.  Full dinner and tea service items like those in this collection would have been reserved for the first class passengers and the captain. These type of wares were considered a luxury and the most fashionable pieces were and are still highly sought after.

Most of the collection here at the museum is from a single potter, Alfred Meakin, but we also have pieces from several other potters including Enoch Wedgwood, Anthony Shaw, and Thomas Furnival. Pieces in our collection range in date from 1839 to 1910. 

Tea Leaf Pattern China is actually not a tea leaf at all, but a Sprig.[1] The copper color, or lustre, is made using pigments derived from metallic oxides. This gives the design both color and shine.

 

The name “tea leaf” began to be associated with this design in the 20^th century when it experienced a renewed popularity.  Also known as tea-berry, cinquefoil or coral design, this pattern was manufactured by several different English and American potters starting in 1850 through the early 1900s, and was brought back into production in the 1960s.[2]

This pattern is commonly called tea leaf because of the similarities to an actual tea leaf but also because of the fortune telling practice of reading tea leaves. Some believe that the tea leaves left in the bottom of a cup by the drinker can lend insight into the future. The dark clumps left at the bottom of a cup are reminiscent of the solid tea leaf design and its brown copper color.[3]

For more information about Tea Leaf Pattern china and its history visit the Tea Leaf Club International website..

Thank you to the Star of India Auxiliary for the donation of many of the pieces, particularly those pictured here.

Further Reading :

“Handbook of Tea Leaf body styles : a compendium of bodystyles decorated with traditional and variant Tea Leaf motifs and copper lustretreatments”

Tea Leaf Ironstone China - AnOverview

Blog Entry Prepared by Jessica Glickman, Collections Intern

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[1] Upchurch, Nancy. “Handbook of Tea Leaf Body Styles”. 1995

[2] Abrams, Dale “Tea Leaf Ironstone China - An Overview”. 2000

[3] http://www.readingtealeaves.info/practice_method.html