Mt. Gothic Tomes & Reliquary

MT. GOTHIC TOMES and RELIQUARY

Western Americana, Literary First Editions,

Rare Books, Old Maps, Antique Photographs,

Original Artwork, and Historic Artifacts

MAY 2012

Brian Levine

P.O. Box 3048, Crested Butte, Colorado 81224-3048  USA

mtgothic69@rocketmail.com or call (970) 349-7079

© 2012 Mt. Gothic Tomes and Reliquary, LLC

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." from The Great Gatsby, 1925, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Steamship Pass No. 400, issued 1897, to John Warwick; countersigned by W.S. Ball on back.  Bay Line Steamers between Baltimore, Old Point Comfort and Norfolk.

Condition: near fine.

In addition to regularly calling on Baltimore and Norfolk, the Baltimore Steam Packet Company also provided freight, passenger and vehicle transport to Washington, D.C., Old Point Comfort, and Richmond, Virginia, at various times during its history. The Old Bay Line, as it came to be known by the 1860s, was acclaimed for its genteel service and fine dining, serving Chesapeake Bay specialties. Walter Lord, famed author of A Night to Remember (and whose grandfather had been the packet line's president from 1893 to 1899), mused that its reputation for excellent service was attributable to "... some magical blending of the best in the North and the South, made possible by the Company's unique role in 'bridging' the two sections ... the North contributed its tradition of mechanical proficiency, making the ships so reliable; while the South contributed its gracious ease".[2]

One of the Old Bay Line's steamers, the former President Warfield, later became famous as the Exodus ship of book and movie fame, when Jewish refugees from war-torn Europe sailed aboard her in 1947 in an unsuccessful attempt to emigrate to Palestine.

Steamship Pass No. ___, issued 1892, to T.J. Moss, countersigned by R. Moore, president.

Condition: front of pass is near fine; back has some tape-removal damage.

Steamship Pass No. 566, issued to John Warwick, 1911, signed by Warwick on back.

Condition: near fine.

Steamship Pass No. 1412, issued 1892, to T.J. Moss; countersigned by G. Van Sautomil (?).

Condition: front of pass is near fine; back shows evidence of tape removal.

Pass No. M 65, issued 1895, to John Warwick.  

Condition: near fine.

The Mann's Boudoir Car Company was incorporated in New York in 1883 – some 11 years after William D’Alton Mann obtained a patent to produce what he called a “boudoir” car. Problem was George Pullman had obtained a similar patent some 13 years earlier!! To avoid a dispute, Mann moved his production overseas to Europe under the name Compagnie Internationale de Wagons-Lits. In 1882 he sold his stake in the company to a Belgian interest, returned to the United States and worked to get Mann’s Boudoir Car Company off the ground to compete against Pullman. Over a six-year period, the company produced 41 lavish cars. The asking price for each of these wonderful units was a minimum $18,000 each – an unheard of expense at the time. One of their more famous clients was Miss Lily Langtry. The car produced for Miss Langtry was considered to be the most luxurious means of transportation since Cleopatra’s barge!! In 1889 the company was acquired by Pullman after losing a patent dispute over the company’s vestibule production – the same dispute he had originally hoped to avoid by moving his operation to Europe.

Steamship Pass No. A 433, issued 1913, to John Warwick; countersigned by E.F. De Grandpre.  Condition: near fine.

Special Baggage Frank No. 186, issued 1907, to J. Warwick; signed by C. C. Tildey, president.  This frank is issued as a personal compliment, and is accepted on condition that the holder assumes all risk of damage to or loss of property while being transported by The Pacific Transfer Company.  Not good beyond Central Avenue or Twenty-Sixth Street.  Not good for special wagons.  Ferry Building, San Francisco, California.

Condition: near fine.

Steamship Pass No. 525, issued 1892, to J.T. Moss, countersigned by J.W.S. Miller as manager.

Condition: front is near fine; back is good plus, having experienced tape-removal.

Between 1873 and 1934, Red Star Line steamers transported more than two million European emigrants to America, sailing from Antwerp, Belgium to New York.