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Invitation to the Voyage Illustrated Books From Around 1900 as Tourist Souvenirs

Among the oft-heard observations during the COVID-19 pandemic, one important realization is that the ability to travel is a luxury many of us have been taking for granted. Fondly remembering past trips, we found ourselves with time to reflect on the environmental impact of our travel habits. In newspaper op-eds we were urged to make new resolutions: to travel less by airplane, to appreciate our own surroundings. While many things have changed since mass tourism first developed, travel is still a luxury which requires disposable income, leisure time, sound health, and the right to cross borders.

Luckily, for the reader or bibliophile, a voyage is always within arm's reach. Whether by immersing oneself in fiction, reading a travel book, or through this digital journey: admiring faraway destinations on paper.

This exhibition features illustrated books that served as souvenirs for travellers. Most of the books, from the Rotterdamsch Leeskabinet collection, date from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Travel is as old as humanity. Historically, it was often associated with trade. Until mass tourism developed in the second half of the twentieth century, travelling to remote destinations to learn about other cultures, art, architecture and landscapes was reserved for affluent and (especially) adventurous travellers. From the seventeenth century onwards, it was customary for young members of the wealthy nobility to go on a ‘Grand Tour’. They travelled to Italy and, later, Greece to visit the places where ancient Greek and Roman authors had lived and to admire the physical remains of their cultures.

On the left: F.J. Deseine [et al.], Beschryving van oud en nieuw Rome, verdeelt in drie deelen, Amsterdam (François Halma) 1704. Vol. 1. UL N 175 W 77

People travelled by boat, by horse and carriage, or on foot. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the introduction of railways and steamships increased travellers’ radius of action and reduced their travel time. Members of the nouveau riche followed in the footsteps of the aristocratic Grand Tourists and began to visit beautiful cities, monuments, and the museums that were rapidly being established throughout Europe. They also made enthusiastic use of new forms of leisure, such as going to the beach or visiting hot springs. But the height of luxury was taking a cruise.

Until the nineteenth century, the act of travelling itself had been primarily an uncomfortable and dangerous experience; the destination had been the reward for enduring these discomforts. Now, the journey itself became the goal. And just as today we have backpacking trips and all-inclusive holiday packages existing side by side, people developed an interest in not just travelling to the increasingly crowded and polluted cities, but also to the unspoilt beauty of the countryside and traditional rural life.

Back when tourists could not yet capture everything in photographs themselves, they looked back on their trips with the aid of books and booklets with illustrations of cityscapes, monuments and landscapes (as well as a touch of local colour). These books also stimulated the desire to travel and experience new things.

The books could be found among other tourist souvenirs or in bookshops, so they would catch the eye of potential buyers. Several publishers produced series of books of uniform appearance. A notable feature is the frequent use of a horizontal or ‘landscape’ format – the perfect way to present a cityscape or, of course, a landscape.

...The height of luxury was taking a cruise...

Overview of the Voyage to the Mediterranean Sea With the SS "Jonge Elisabeth", [Rotterdam] 1931.

In 1931, Mrs. Veder organised a Mediterranean cruise for a small group of family and friends. She made a small guidebook for her fellow travellers, especially for this cruise. In the descriptions of the cities, the ports are always described first and in most detail. The Veder family was one of the most prominent shipping families in the city of Rotterdam.

The books had to look attractive to potential buyers, with covers that evoked a certain mood and followed the aesthetic trends of the time. Of special note are the beautiful Art Nouveau or ‘Jugendstil’ covers of the German books that date from around 1900. Also worthy of note is the cloth cover of Edinburgh with its tartan pattern.

This book about New York shows the Statue of Liberty as if through a porthole – the first view of the city that would be seen by a traveller approaching it by boat.

The booklet about Monte Carlo served a dual purpose: it was both a material reminder of one’s travels and a set of illustrations that could be removed individually and sent as postcards.

Exhibited Books

F.J. Deseine [et al.], Beschryving van oud en nieuw Rome, verdeelt in drie deelen, Amsterdam (François Halma) 1704. Vol. 1. UL N 175 W 77

Ricordo di Roma: 40 vedute artistiche, Venezia (Scrocchi), 19--. RLK B VII 10:151

Ricordo di Venezia: 20 vedute artistiche, Venezia, 19--. RLK B VII 10:148

Ricordo di Venezia, 19--. RLK ZZB 850

Ricordo di Genova: 20 vedute, Genova 19--. RLK B VII 10:149

Roma: 30 vedute, Roma, 19--

Ricordo di Torino: 32 vedute, Torino 19--

Mon voyage en Italie/Meine Reise in Italien. Prachtalbum von 800 Photographien, Neuchatel (Comptoir de phototypie) 1900. RLK ZZA 193

A trip to Italy: 600 photographic illustrations of the principal objects of interest, Leipzig (Schumanns Verlag), ca 1900. RLK ZZA 194

Paris, Paris (Jules Hautecoeur) 19--. RLK B VII 10:138

Fontainebleau, Paris (Librairie Ancienne Édouard Champion) 19--. RLK B VII 10:140

Musée du Louvre, Paris (Jules Hautecoeur) 1925. RLK B VII 10:139

Vues de Paris, Paris (Ancne M. Martinet) 19--. RLK B VII 10:143

Pierre Auradon, Versailles (Jules Hautecoeur) 19--. RLK B VII 10: 141

Glott av Norge, Oslo (Damm) 1936. RLK ZZB 2471

Norge: billeder fra vort lands vakreste turist-trakter, Kristiana (Mittett) 1907. RLK ZZA 0112

Through the Canadian Rockies: a series of views ill. the chief points of interest and the glorious mountain scenery seen in a journey through the Rocky and Selkirk Mountains, Montreal (Canadian Pacific Railway News Serv) 19--. RLK ZZB 2944

Roma: das alte Rom mit dem Triumphzuge Kaiser Constantin's im Jahre 312 n. Chr, München (Franz Hanfstaengl Kunstverlag) 1890. RLK B VII 10:120

J. Elchlepp, O Schwarzwald, o Heimat, wie bist du so schön!, Freiburg ca 1900. RLK ZZB 858

The Wonder of the Pharaohs: 24 artistic pictures in heliogravure, [S.l.] ca 1900. RLK ZZB 890

Mittelmeer-Fahrten: Hamburg-Amerika Linie, Hamburg (Hamburg Amerika Linie) ca 19--. RLK ZZB 2945

Mevr. Veder, Overzicht van de reis naar de Middellandsche Zee met het s.s. "Jonge Elisabeth", Rotterdam (eigen beheer) 1931. RLK KN 505

Nieuw Amsterdam: 1626-1938, Rotterdam (Nijgh & Van Ditmar) 1938. RLK ZZB 1352

Handbuch für Passagiere: Deutsche Afrika-Linien, Woermann-Linie, Deutsche Ost-Afrika-Linie, Hamburg-Bremer Afrika-Linie, [Hamburg] 1935. RLK B IV 1947

Southampton en omstreken: beknopte beschrijving ten dienste van passagiers van de "Rotterdamsche Lloyd", Rotterdam 1913. RLK B IV 1949

Naar Noorwegen - Noordkaap en Spitsbergen, Rotterdam (Rotterdamsche Lloyd) 1925. RLK B X 15 : 356

G.J.J. de Jongh, Route-atlas van den Rotterdamschen Lloyd, Rotterdam (Rotterdamsche Lloyd) 1929. RLK B VII 10:205

Album von Berlin, Charlottenburg und Potsdam: 5 grosse Panoramen, darunter ein farbiges, und 124 Ansichten nach Naturaufnahmen in Photographiedruck, Berlin (Globus) 1910. RLK ZZB 874

G. Wolf, An den Ufern des Rheins vom Bodensee bis zu den Niederlanden: mit 550 Ansichten nach photographischen Aufnahmen, Berlin (Werner) 1910. RLK ZZA 196

Braunschweig in 12 Bildern nach der Natur aufgenommen, Darmstadt (Zedler & Vogel) ca 1900. RLK B VII 3:153

Hannover in 29 Bildern, Darmstadt (Zedler & Vogel) 19--. RLK B VII 10:161

Edinburgh and its environs, Edinburgh ca. 1910. RLK B VII 10:103

New York, Brooklyn, NY (A. Witteman) 1916. RLK ZZB 884

Monaco, Monte Carlo: 20 cartes postales coloriees, Nice (Ed. d'Art) 19--

Round the world from London Bridge to Charing Cross, via Yokohama and Chicago: an album of pictures from photographs of the chief places of interest in all parts of the world, London (George Newnes) 1895. RLK ZZB 859

Round London: an album of pictures from photographs of the chief places of interest in and round London, London (George Newnes) 1896. RLK ZZB 2948

Neurdein frères, L. Baschet, Le panorama: merveilles de France, Belgique, Suisse, Algérie et Tunisie, Paris (Librarie d'Art) ca 1900. RLK ZZB 2456

Credits:

All photos by Arie Kers