The Farmington Historical Society was very fortunate to receive a donation recently from a Farmington resident. The donation not only retrieved obscured history and a unique item, but the item and history are tied to a well known Farmington figure, Mary Cloutman!
 |
| Mary Cloutman Red Star Line World Cruise Log Book 1929-1930 |
The item is a Red Star Line, World Cruise, binder bound, log book, which is dated from 1929-1930. From personal accounts and other items in the historical record we knew Mary and her husband, John Cloutman, went on a worldwide journey, aboard the S. S. Belgenland, to celebrate, shortly after their wedding. The cruise was one hundred and thirty one days.
The log book has a textured cover with a heavily raised, embossed, cover plate lettering. The log book contains over 225 paper pages. They are printed with page numbers, a title page, ship staff information, and itinerary. Cruise general information, a list of common nautical terms, shipboard bell times, alphabetized passenger list, 
and a calendar are also included. The page decorations are simple, but do exist throughout the log book, as headers footers and section decoration.
Personal log pages are included which often have notes, observations, and trip details, which are handwritten, in ink, by Mary and also by her husband. The personal thoughts are more plentiful at the beginning of the trip and stop completely by the end of the trip. Each entry is printed with a date and lists whether the ship was in port, embarking, or at sea.
Over land trip pages at many ports are included. They appear to have been arranged by the International Mercantile Marine Company and American Express, as that endorsement appears with every over land trip. They list times, activities, meals plans, and when general sightseeing was planned.
Forty-fourth Day—Sunday, February 2
Kyoto
CAPITAL of Japan, after Nara, for more than a
thousand years (until 1868). It is to Japanese what
Paris is to the French, or Florence to Italians. Fourth
in size of the Empire's cities. When the residence of the
Emperor was moved to "Ycdo" in 1868, the latter was
renamed Tok-yo (Kyoto's syllables transposed).Kyoto is the art centre of one of the world's most artistic
peoples. Its parks, shops, temples, festivals arc dreams
of quiet beauty. Many travelers acclaim it the most
important art centre outside Europe. It is two hours'
train ride from Kobe; an hour from Osaka; and lies on
the Yokohama-Shimonoseki railway trunk line.
signatures. Finally, although not part of the log book itself, numerous items were tucked into pages of the log book. Mainly advertisements, but also several obituaries and a few news clippings were found.
The society is very thankful to Crystal Penak for donating this very interesting, significant item to the Museum of Farmington History. I'm very happy to add it, and the information it holds, into the collection.
No comments