The Costume Collection

Many of you already know about the fabulous collection of gowns and accessories belonging to Bessie Van Wickle McKee that came home to Blithewold last year.  Forty-one dresses with accessories, coats, and hats, had been given to the Colonial Dames in Boston in 1955 by Bessie’s daughter, Marjorie Lyon.  We imagine that Marjorie wanted to make sure the valuable collection was preserved in perpetuity, and occasionally exhibited at their headquarters on Beacon Hill.  When Blithewold found itself in a position to offer state-of-the-art storage, professional assessment, conservation, and interpretation, negotiations began to have the collection returned to Blithewold.  Most of the collection was brought back last spring, and a special committee began the conservation and restoration work immediately.

Imagine our joy when we had an email from the Colonial Dames last November announcing that still more of the Van Wickle/McKee collected pieces had been discovered!  Gioia and I made the trip to Boston, excited to know what further delights awaited us.  We were not disappointed….

burgandy-velvet-jacket

Revealing itself to us, with perfect timing, was a burgundy velvet jacket dating to 1882   which would have been part of Bessie’s wedding trousseau.  It will now be conserved, and exhibited next spring along with the wedding gown and other trousseau dresses.  The style is double-breasted, and has carved shell buttons with the image of a windmill on each one (remember, Bessie was marrying into a family of proud Dutch heritage.)  It could easily be worn today, and our conservators are considering having patterns made for sale to Blithewold members.

Two more silk evening gowns, and a gold lame opera coat, complete the collection.  They have all been measured and assessed, and carefully packed in acid-free boxes.

Anyone interested in donating to a fund to restore and conserve these important pieces can email me at mwhitehead@blithewold.org    I can show you the Costume Collection storage facility, and all the assessment and interpretation documentation.  If you would like to see individual gowns, and see impressive examples of ‘before and after’ work, we can do that too.

Margaret Whitehead, Curator

DECEMBER 1903 – ROME

DECEMBER 1903 – ROME

When Marjorie and Miss Helen arrived back in Rome from Naples, the cool wet weather changed suddenly and they were pleased to see the sun:

“You can imagine how welcome it was! And it was delightfully warm too, almost like spring. It is such a lovely city in the warm sunshine,” wrote Marjorie to her mother. They took the opportunity to drive out into the country, and up into the hills surrounding Rome. But the good weather did not last, and Marjorie commented that Rome can be dreary on a rainy day, “…only there are so many beautiful things in it, and every bit is interesting. There are great sunny piazzas, and scattered all over the city are hundreds of fountains – big and little, adorned with beautiful statues or just tumbling out of a stone barrel. There are bits of old Rome everywhere you look.”

They returned to the Vatican and St. Paul’s again and again. Marjorie particularly loved the Sculpture Gallery where they saw “the wonderful statues of the Emperors, the beautiful Apollo Belvedere, the Loacoon, and the glorious Sleeping Ariadne … and lots of lovely things.”

Apollo Belvedere

Sleeping Ariadne

With Christmas fast approaching, Marjorie and Miss Helen went shopping for Christmas cards to send to people at home, and last-minute gifts for the family. Marjorie had been collecting gifts to send home from her favorite places. There was lace from Jesurum’s in Venice for Bessie, and a calendar from Florence; tortoiseshell brushes from Naples and Venetian cufflinks for Will; and a collection of toys for Augustine – a photograph frame from Venice, vases from Florence, castanettes from Pompeii, a fan and a mandolin from Naples, and a papal guard doll from Rome. She added a small Italian flag to stick out of the top of Augustine’s Christmas stocking, and “…in the afternoon I wrapped up and tied up packages and sent them all off to America.”

Once the weather improved again, they enjoyed taking rides in the Borghese grounds – very close to their hotel:

“Oh they are lovely!! Great avenues of ilex trees, moss grown fountains, rolling lawns and linden trees throwing their long shadows on the grass.” They went up on the Pincian Hill – a fashionable park of Rome – where they loved to spend the afternoon driving around, listening to the bands, and watching the people. Marjorie wrote, “What I liked best were the children, there are thousands of them walking and driving, attended by nurses in pink or blue with such beautiful coral necklaces and long streamers of gay ribbon down their backs.” They took tea every day at Aragno’s on the Corso where Marjorie observed people from many different countries and loved the atmosphere, even though it was “smoky.” In 1893, Baedeker’s travel guide described Aragno’s as “the finest café in Italy.”

By December 13, the streets were full of fascinating “Presepios,” or crèches: “… a little moss-covered grotto with the manger, the ox and the ass and St. Mary and Joseph and the Shepherds and Wisemen all arranged in a group.” They went to the Vatican Etruscan Museum to see the cinerary urns and the lovely vases, and to the Vatican Library to see the precious illustrated manuscripts – among them, curiously, Henry VIII’s love letters to Anne Boleyn. They took drives into the country where Marjorie admired the cypresses and umbrella pines. They walked down to the Piazza di Spagna and bought pansies on the great Spanish Steps. At the Borghese Villa Gallery Marjorie noted her favorite paintings, Correggio’s “Danae,” Titian’s “Sacred and Profane Love” and his “Three Graces,” and Botticelli’s “Madonna and Angels.”

On the morning of the 24th, Marjorie and Miss Helen went to the Spanish Steps again and bought a big branch of holly and other greens with huge red berries, and a beautiful bunch of pansies. “From that time on Christmas really began.” In the evening they were invited to a grand concert and ‘arbre de noel’ festival at the hotel. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes. “The tree was a beauty!” wrote Marjorie. “With lights of the national red white and green, and all shining with pretty things – but oh how homesick it did make me, for Katrina’s trees are always nicest of all.” (Katrina was Bessie’s maid who stayed with the family for almost 50 years.) “After we had got settled down, from behind a thin screen decorated to form a church window, the music began. There were a choir of boys from one of the Roman Churches, and also a quartet of soloists … Later in the evening we had refreshments of every description and then were presented each with a gift “from the tree”. Mine was a very pretty leather card case. We had a beautiful time.”

The next morning Marjorie found a table filled with gifts and letters from home. After opening them, they went to St. Peter’s for the “Gloria in Excelsis”. They had lunch at the hotel (with mincepies) and then set out for the Christmas service at Santa Maria Maggiore where the whole church was lit with candles. From there they went again to Aragno’s, “How gay it was on Christmas night – all Rome seemed to be there.” That evening there was another concert in the Hotel, and when it was all over Marjorie “…wished pretty hard for a good-night kiss from you, Mother dearest.” She ended her last letter of the year, “Well, Mother dear I must close now, with just lots and lots of love and Happy New Year wishes from your little daughter, Marjorie.”

Marjorie had much to look forward to in January. She and Miss Helen had train tickets to Brindisi where they would take a boat to Egypt and spend two months exploring Cairo and sailing down the Nile in the Rameses II Steamer. Notes from the Archives in January will cover their exotic and exciting adventures.

November 1903 – Rome

Marjorie’s European Tour, 1903-1904
Taken from letters to her mother, Bessie

We go back 109 years, and it is November 1903. Twenty-year-old Marjorie was very sorry to be leaving Florence, but madly excited to get to Rome. Miss Helen had asked the hotel in Rome, the Hotel de Russie (still in operation in the heart of the city, between the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo,) to try to secure three tickets to the Consistory at the Vatican that was to take place on November 12. They rushed out to buy black veils and gloves in anticipation, but the day before the event they still had no tickets. However, that evening after dinner “…when we were just giving up thoughts of it…” the tickets arrived. “We fairly shivered in anticipation. It is a great occasion – being the first Consistory,” wrote Marjorie to her mother.

On Thursday the twelfth, at 8:30 a.m. they set of for the Vatican, dressed in an assortment of borrowed long black coats and black taffeta petticoats. On their heads they wore black lace scarves. This was the first public Consistory held by the new Pope Pius X, called to witness the canonization of a new Saint. (Pope Pius was, himself, canonized much later.)

“The scene was a gay one – the whole scheme of coloring being the Papal crimson. The room was a blaze of color, for the black gowns of the ladies only served as a background to set off the gay uniforms of the men. The Papal Guard costume is yellow and black, partly striped, partly plaid, and patched with red. Michael Angelo designed the costume – he wanted it as conspicuous as possible – I think he succeeded! …Then came the Pope himself on foot … he wore a huge silver mitre embroidered with gold and precious gems, a white gown covered with a red gold embroidered cape … a very wonderful sight.”

Following this exciting introduction to Rome, Marjorie spent the next days visiting churches, monasteries, and museums; and the grave sites of Keats and Shelley. They hired an English-speaking guide, Malaspino, who took them to all the famous sites and gave them the history of Rome and its ruins, and then accompanied them along the historic Appian Way to see the villas and the tombs of all the old Patrician families. Malespino took them to the Forum – the political and architectural centre of Old Rome, where the Ancient Romans built beautiful temples to their gods and held feasts in their honor. It was the centre of public life. Marjorie was fascinated to see the rostrum of Julius Caesar where Mark Anthony delivered his famous oration; and the entrance to the Golden House of Nero that was ¾ of a mile long. They visited the prison where St. Peter and St. Paul were imprisoned, and the gravesite of Romulus. The whole Forum area had only been uncovered in 1870, and every few months archeologists were digging up new and fascinating ruins. Marjorie wrote, “I should like to take a spade and dig myself!” They climbed to the very top of the Colosseum and pretended they were slaves watching gladiatorial combats and sham naval battles.

The Colosseum, Rome

Later in the month they returned to the Vatican to see the Sculpture Gallery, and to the Palantine Hill where the wonderful “Circus Maximus,” the gigantic stadium of Ancient Rome, stood. “It all seemed near enough to have been yesterday instead of nearly two thousand years ago!”

A quick trip south to Naples and Pompeii was in order before Marjorie’s friend Gertrude had to return to the United States just before Thanksgiving Day. Marjorie loved Naples and would return to that area many times.

Marjorie’s pastel of The Bay of Naples

“They call the Bay of Naples the loveliest in the world, and I don’t wonder. And oh the climate of Naples is so perfect – the air so soft and gentle and the fresh, sweet breeze from the sea. Every Italian city has its own special charm, and I think Naples’ is its air and its people – the latter are charming! I believe they can cheat you there worse than other places, but they do it in such a sweet coaxing way, and if you find them out they don’t seem to be upset at all, but think it a huge joke just between you and them. And all the time they have the most beautiful manners and an air of doing it all for your best good. Oh they are delightful! I love them one and all.”

A train took them on a day trip along the coast to Pompeii, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii was completely buried in A.D. 79, and the ash-covered ruins were only discovered by accident in 1749. Since then, more and more of the once thriving city has been uncovered. Marjorie wrote to Bessie, “But what is uncovered is SO wonderful.”

Marjorie’s pastel of The Forum, Pompeii

She described the beautiful courtyards filled with statues and arbors, and rooms with their wonderful frescoes, busy little cupids working at various trades – and fruit and animals. They hated to leave it all behind to go back to Naples, but that evening “some really good serenaders came under our windows and sang their pretty soft songs.” They went to the Pompeii Museum, and went shopping. It was Gertrude’s last day, and Marjorie was very sad. Dorothy had left the party several weeks earlier, so the tour would now be only Marjorie and her guide/chaperone, Miss Helen. Later in the week they took a boat to the Island of Capri where the water was beautiful and where they visited the Blue Grotto. They stepped carefully into small cockle shell boats that carried them into the mouth of the cave: “It was heavenly in there, so still and calm and all the water an exquisite silver blue – all shining and rippling. Each boat looked like a glistening fish. The cave is big inside and only lighted from the narrow opening so you can imagine the weird soft coloring. It certainly was a fine experience. The sunset that night was glorious, with the sun dropping down all fiery red beside the hazy blue Capri.”

Thanksgiving Day came and Marjorie and Miss Helen had a special dinner at the hotel, “We had woodcock instead of [turkey] – but otherwise it was quite perfect. We even had nuts at the end, and oh such fascinating preserved grapes – much nicer than raisins – and all done up in a case of grape leaves. We had a beautiful drive this afternoon to celebrate the day and now we are spending the night at charming Sorrento, perched up on a cliff and overlooking the whole Bay of Naples.”

Back in Rome, Marjorie and Miss Helen took advantage of a rainy day to visit the Sistine Chapel. “It is lovelier than ever I dreamt it would be. Oh it is wonderful, every bit of it,” wrote Marjorie.

The next chapter of “Notes from the Archives” (December in Rome), will describe the days leading up to Christmas, Marjorie’s first away from home. There was much excitement in the city, and Marjorie enjoyed the Italian Christmas customs, decorations, and special foods.

October 1903 – Italy

OCTOBER 1903:

​It is now October 1903 and Marjorie has just spent an idyllic month in Venice — visiting churches, art museums, palaces, a glass factory, and a lace factory.  She spent a day at the Lido and took daily walks to St. Mark’s Square where she never tired of gazing at the glorious façade of the Cathedral of San Marco.  She loved exploring the city, getting lost in the narrow, warren-like streets, or gazing awe-struck from a gondola as she lay back on the cushioned seat listening to the “dip…dip” of the oars, and the beautiful arias sung by the gondoliers. At the end of September Marjorie, Dorothy, Gertrude, and Miss Macartnay “…had a most mournful last gondola ride down to the station and took the 2.30 o’clock train for Milan.”

​The train from Venice passed through Padua, Verona, Vicenza, and Brecchia, arriving in Milan in the evening.  The next day was delightfully clear and sunny, so they decided to take a trip to Lake Como while the weather was good.  They arrived at the town of Como just before noon, and immediately boarded a boat to take them up the Lake. The glorious fall weather enhanced the colors of the water, the surrounding hills, and the gardens of the villas along the lakeside:  “The vines that covered the Italian villas had all turned red and shone so exquisitely in the sun.  Each shore of the lake was terraced and crowded with grape vines, gracefully twined —and the grey green of the olive was seen everywhere.  It was a perfect day with the blue sky reflected in the water, and vines so red, and the villas so bright and picturesque in the sunlight,” wrote Marjorie to her mother. Their destination was Bellagio, a charming little town on a point of land between Lakes Como and Secco.  They left the boat and wandered around among the roses and oleanders, walking through the quaint arcade, “where everything imaginable is for sale, from roast chestnuts to real shell combs and brushes.” They climbed the cobble-stone path leading from the town up the hillside to the silk factory where they watched the workers making scarves and blankets.

​Back in Milan they visited the museums and churches, and particularly enjoyed the Cathedral: “It is wonderful.  All white and glistening outside, with hundreds of carved Gothic spires.” They shopped in the famous “Galleria” and had hotchocolate at the celebrated restaurant “Biffis.”

​The next stop was Genoa, a flourishing seaport where the town is built on a semicircle of hills surrounding the harbor, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.  They stayed overnight at the Hotel Savoie, and then took the train to Pisa. They drove straight to the “…wonderful group of buildings —the Cathedral, baptistery, Campo Santo and Leaning Tower.  I am so glad we saw them first by evening —for the marble turned yellow with age was so exquisite against the sunset sky. The great dome of the baptistery with the rose colored clouds behind it, I think I shall never forget.”

The Basilica and Tower, Pisa

​Marjorie was fascinated with the enormous bronze lamp that hangs in the Basilica whose swinging (so slight that you can hardly notice it) gave Galilieo the idea of the pendulum and the earth’s motion.

​On to Siena!  “One of the very red letter days.  Siena is the most fascinating Italian town – the streets so tiny and winding and all up and down hill, and the houses are old and so interesting.  The city is built on three hills, and in the very centre is a square or campo where all three meet.” They studied the della Robbias, commenting on and comparing the work of the father, son, and nephew. They left Siena reluctantly, “…but even on the train we didn’t quite lose our memories of a delightful time for we had one of the famous cakes called ‘Panforte di Siena’ as a delicious reminder.”

​A four-hour train journey took them to Florence, a city Marjorie would return to many times.  They took rooms at the Hotel de la Ville on Piazza Manin with views of the River Arno and its graceful bridges.

Hotel de la Ville, Florence, 1903

Here they studied the Medicis, and visited the Uffizi Gallery several times to see the del Sartos, Botticellis, Peruginos, andFra Angelicos.  They shopped on the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge), “…with shops on each side and a streetway in the middle – the shops are so gay, pinks and blues and yellows, and there’s a lovely open portico in the centre where you can look up and down the river and see the city as if it were in a frame.” At the Pitti Palace they saw Raphaels and Titians, and at the Santa Maria Novella the exquisite Cimabues.  They went to Michael Angelo’s house and saw his desk and chair and many of his great statues; then Dante’s tiny home, (one room full of relics of his life, and the chair he sat in while writing the “Inferno.”) They visited the Convent of San Marco to see the frescoes by Fra Angelico, and the Bella Arti to see Michael Angelo’s famous statue of David.  They rode out into the country – to Fiesole, San Miniato, Prato, and Poggio a Caiano.  Every day, after their exhausting sightseeing, they went toGiacosa’s Tea Room, still in business today on the Via dellaSpada.

Giacosa’s Tea Room, Florence, 1903

​With their time in Florence running out, Marjorie took a quick trip to Perugia, Assisi, and Orvieto.  She would have liked to stay in Florence longer, but by the end of October she was looking forward to the next part of the tour – two months in Rome.  They had applied for tickets to the Vatican to attend the first Consistory on November 12th.  Pope Pius X (who was himself later canonized) had called the assembly of Roman Catholic Cardinals to witness the canonization of a new Saint.

​The November issue of “Notes from the Archives” will be a tour of Rome, through Marjorie’s letters, including the extraordinary experience of attending the Consistory.

SEPTEMBER 1903 – GERMANY AND AUSTRIA

Marjorie’s European Tour, 1903-1904

Taken from letters to her mother, Bessie

In early September, Marjorie’s train steamed into Berlin where the temperature was 100 degrees in the shade.  It was debilitating after the freshness of Norway, and Marjorie wrote that they were all “mighty crochety.”  But, short tempers notwithstanding, they set out immediately to tour Berlin, going through the Brandenburg Gate to the Thiergarten, a fascinating street lined with statues, and ending in the Monument to Victory.

Marjorie’s postcard of the Brandenburg Gate, 1903

Other highlights in Berlin were Kroll’s Theater where they drank beer, (“I’m trying to like the horrid stuff!”) and a day at the Hohenzollern Museum and the Old Museum where they saw paintings by Van Eyck, Velasquez, and Murillo.  Marjorie purchased postcards of all her favorite paintings and sent them home to Bessie.   She celebrated her twentieth birthday in Berlin with cables and letters from home and the promise of a string of pearls that she could choose for herself when they arrived in Italy.

On a day trip to Potsdam they toured the palaces of the different German monarchs.  Their favorite garden was the “Orangerie,”  where they walked up the terraces to the summer palace, past fountains, trees, and arbors, until they came to “Sanssouci”, the preferred palace of Frederick the Great.

 

Marjorie’s postcard of the terraces at Sanssouci, 1903

Next they spent two days in Dresden (“a charming little city”) where they stayed at Weber’s Hotel and attended ‘The Flying Dutchman’ at the Opera House.

     Marjorie’s postcard of the Opera House in Dresden, 1903

They went to the King’s Palace where they saw a collection of “bronze, ivory, amber, coral, shell, silver, gold, and the most wonderful jewels you can imagine, a green diamond weighing 5 ½ ounces!  It is believed to be the richest collection in Europe.”  But the most impressive experience for Marjorie was her visit to the Art Museum in Dresden to see the “Sistine Madonna” painted in 1513 by Raphael:  “She is wonderful, so calm and serene and yet seeming to see and know everything.  And the little cherubs do look so human – mischievous in contrast to the Christ Child.”

 

The Sistine Madonna, Dresden

The next step of the journey was a train ride to Salzburg in Austria where they visited Mozart’s birthplace and saw scores and programs of his operas.  In contrast, the following day they left the city for a tour of a salt mine in the hills outside of Salzburg.  As they drove out of the town in the fresh morning light they said they could see why people called Salzburg one of the three most beautiful cities of Europe.  “As we rose higher and higher we looked at it from the distance, and the rambling old houses clustered so picturesquely below.”  They passed snow capped mountains on their way to Berchtesgaden and the disused salt mine.  At the entrance to the mine they were required to put on “blue and black knitted caps, black alpaca redingotes, and duck trousers!”  The visit began with a walk along a dark underground passageway, carrying wooden lamps in their hands, and getting a good view of the sparkling salt imbedded in the dark rock.  They finally came to a chute where, three or four at a time, they sat down on the smooth, steep plane, and slid with the aid of little leather aprons fastened to their belts.  “It was the most exciting toboggan slide I ever had, and such fun … I had to slide, wildly clutching the man in front of me!  Then we went across a great black lake in an equally black and gruesome rowboat.  Then we went down another slide – this time I hung onto Gertrude!  We ended up with a breathless ride, downhill and around curves and finally out into the open air again – right in the middle of the little town, and all sitting astride of a ‘bob sled’ on wheels!”

 

Marjorie’s postcard of the Salt Mine in Salzburg, 1903

 From there they crossed into Bavaria to see King’s Lake.  They admired the picturesque boats and the people in Tyrolese costumes, and Marjorie was fascinated by the hundreds of shrines along the road where accidents had taken place.  Many of them had pictures of the mishap – “a man flying head downward into a chasm, or lying with a huge stone on top of him.”  They reached their hotel, safely, at 8pm after a long but happy day.

Back in Salzburg, Marjorie and Dorothy were overjoyed to find that they were to have a visit from Dorothy’s father, Frank Pardee.  They proudly took him around Salzburg, and the next day Frank hired a car and driver to take them all to Konigesee.  It was the first time Marjorie had been in an automobile, and she found the experience exhilarating:  “It was great fun.  We simply flew along, and so smoothly.  A fine way to see the country, and the weather was perfect too.  It was an ideal ride – up and down dale with splendid views of the mountains and snow.  Coming home, I never went so fast in all my life – around all the curves on two wheels.  We made the trip in 1 hour and 5 minutes – in a carriage it takes 3 hours!”

            Another day they took a beautiful train ride up mountains and around lakes, to the bathing resort of Ischl, and then a steam boat to Hallstadt.  This was followed by a visit to the “Three Lakes”, Gundlsee, Toplitzsee, and Kammersee, where “The water was clearer than any I have seen and fairly glistening with reflections from the beautiful green mountains around.  It was exquisite.”

 Marjorie’s postcard from Ischl, 1903

             Too soon, their visit to Salzburg came to an end and they took a five-hour train ride to Vienna.  “This is a fine city, great wide streets and so much to see.  It is gay like Paris, only more so, and everything goes with a rush – even the cabs tear around the streets as if on the lookout for excitement,” wrote Marjorie.  Around this time, Bessie began to miss her older daughter and suggested that she should think about returning in November.  However, Marjorie wrote back immediately saying “I have just gotten your letter suggesting that I come home … How I should love to see you and all, but I really think I had better stay.  I think I will stay until March.  I know I shall weep all Christmas day, still I think I would be foolish to come home.”  That settled, she spent the next few days shopping for new clothes.  She found this dull entertainment,  buying hats and gloves from the department stores, and standing for hours for dress and suit fittings at Drecoll’s, the famous Viennese fashion house founded by Baron Christoff von Drecoll in 1896.  After several days, she wrote “Just think how long we have been in beautiful Vienna and seen nothing but stupid suits and things!”  But then they were rewarded for their patience, for they heard that the Czar of Russia was arriving in Vienna to meet the Kaiser.  They witnessed the whole procession from a hotel window.  “Presently the Kaiser came along on his way to the station – dressed in a grey Russian uniform with the cape and round Russian cap, and the band played “Glorious things of Thee are spoken”.  At 11.30 they returned with the Czar in Austrian uniform sitting on Franz Joseph’s right and all the fierce-looking Russian Guards following.  The Royal carriage was very stunning – fine horses, brilliantly caparisoned, and equerries on each of the two near ones. The Kaiser and Czar are both such very handsome men … “

On Thursday the first of October they went to the Historical Museum where they saw specimens of different kinds of stone and marble – one from Rhode Island, and another from Connecticut.  They went to the Kaiser’s Palace where they saw the crown jewels and the richest, most beautiful collection they had seen.  On their last day they visited the beautiful gardens of the Kaiser’s summer house, full of fountains, shady walks, and curious old ruins.  They were to spend the next two months in Italy.

AUGUST 1903 – NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND DENMARK

At the end of July Marjorie left England by boat from Newcastle, sailing overnight to Bergen in Norway.  The party of four – Marjorie, her cousin Dorothy, her friend Gertrude, and their chaperone/guide Helen Macartnay – spent the next few days traveling north and east by train, steamer, and horse-driven carriages called stolk-jaerres, gradually making their way towards the glaciers of northern Norway.  Their first destination was Vaatedaleu where they stayed at the Hotel Egge, “a dear little Hotel where we are treated with almost overwhelming politeness.  I have just finished breakfast – a good sized fish, a boiled egg, a cup of coffee and a rather queer three-cornered flapjack – and I wouldn’t like to say how many pieces of toast!  Doesn’t that speak well for Norway air!  Oh, Mother, I know you would love it here.”   A few days later they were in Stalheim where Marjorie described the views as the finest, most inspiring, and grandest she had even seen.  They set off for beautiful walks past waterfalls with rainbow-tinted spray, and took drives in stolk-jaerres to see the countryside that was covered in harebells, buttercups, daisies, and Johnny jump-ups; and forests full of silver white birches, fir, and juniper.  The lakes were especially beautiful, and Marjorie marveled at the little cottages, their grass roofs with heather or harebells growing in them.

Post-card from Marjorie to Bessie, 1903, showing the stolk-jaerres               

As they traveled north towards the glaciers the weather became much colder.  For the next week they crossed fjords and visited a different glacier every day, each one seemingly more magnificent than the last.

A glacier in Norway

Ten days later, Marjorie wrote to her mother, “We are all so in love with Norway – really I can imagine nothing lovelier than these dear big mountains and beautiful fjords.  One could never tire of it.” After a delightful trip through the Nordfjord they arrived at Olden.  They drove around the lake and then rowed up toward the glacier, “and it was perfectly lovely. The glacier was the most stunning greeny blue you can imagine.”  They were staying at a very plain, but comfortable, hotel in Olden, where they made plans to go to the largest glacier.  The much-anticipated day dawned cold and damp, but they set off on a steam boat, armed with warm shawls, to the head of the lake, and then drove toward the glacier.  As they got closer to the great mass of ice they became colder and colder.  They stopped at a small hotel for “nice hot tea” and then began their walk up to the glacier.  There were “fascinating waterfalls and a dear little tumbling river to look at, to say nothing of the glacier itself, so we didn’t mind the puffing and scrambling.  At a distance, the glacier had seemed quite green, but as we neared it, it became a most gorgeous blue – varying as you looked at it.  And when we got quite close and could look down into the deep blue of the fissures, it was the most beautiful thing you can imagine.”  The snow was illuminated by the blue ice beneath.
One of the much anticipated trips was to the Stryn Road.  They dressed in their very warmest clothing again, and set off with a driver to climb up and up among the mountains, “crossing and re-crossing the dearest little stream – full of waterfalls, until finally we came to the highest point – over 3000 ft. above the fjord!  Then the most beautiful part of all began, for there was snow everywhere in great patches.  We were literally ‘up among the clouds’.  It was cold and misty … it was glorious  Wherever the snow had melted, dear little delicate flowers were growing, hare-bells, wild geraniums, moss pink and lots of others. It made the snow seem almost a dream.”

The Stryn Mountain Road

At the summit they rested, and then started to wind their way down the other side to the town of Merok.  They found themselves looking down into a green fertile valley, with wooded mountains on either side.  Marjorie’s room at the Union Hotel overlooked the Geiranger Fjord, and after their exhausting adventure she slept until 1 pm and rested for the remainder of the day.
The following day they took the boat for Molde and left the rugged scenery behind.

Marjorie’s post-card to Bessie from Molde, 1903

They took several day-trips through sheltered fjords, including a ride in the stolk-jaerres to Eide, north-east of Molde, one of the loveliest drives of all, “winding up among huge green mountains, and suddenly coming upon glorious views of the valley on the other side.  A valley bordered by almost perpendicular rock mountains, and with a splendid waterfall tumbling through it.  It was gorgeous, and we could fairly feel the spray in our faces.”

The Eide Waterfall

The next leg of the trip was to Horre, “a dear little place, and the hotel so nice and comfortable.”  Marjorie was delighted to meet two Norwegian ladies who played the piano for them in the evening after dinner – “Grieg’s music to ‘Peer Gynt’, a drama by Ibsen.  It was specially interesting as both author and composer are of course Norwegian.”
Too soon, their itinerary took them to the big city, Kristiania (now Oslo).  They stayed at the Grand Hotel, so grand that Marjorie felt she hardly knew how to behave after 3 weeks in simple country hotels.  The first morning they set out to see the Viking Ship, 2000 years old, found buried in the ground.

The Viking Ship today

They all agreed that Norway had been a most successful trip:  “This Norway trip has done us all a world of good – we feel like different people….”
They left Norway reluctantly, but more excitement was in store.  They crossed the border into Sweden and reached Stockholm.  “This will always be one of my red letter days, for it is such a charming city.  Here the hotel was even more grand.”  They were staying at the Grand Hotel, built in the 1880s on the waterfront.  They went to the Zoo, the Park, and the Northern Museum, and took a boat trip to see old Drottningholm Palace.

Leaving Stockholm, the travelers took the train to Copenhagen for a short stay at the Hotel Angleterre, Marjorie’s favorite hotel.

Marjorie’s post-card to Bessie from Copenhagen, 1903

They visited the King’s summer palace, and the Art Museum, before leaving Scandinavia for Germany.
In the September issue of “Notes from the Archives” you will be able to read about Marjorie’s four weeks in Berlin, Munich, Vienna, and Salzburg.

JULY 1903 – ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

Marjorie’s European Tour, 1903‐1904
Taken from letters to her mother, Bessie
JULY 1903 – ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
Marjorie arrived in London at the beginning of July, and wrote to her
mother a few days later: “This has been a very happy week in London.” With
her customary enthusiasm, she set out to see all the sights and to savor as many
wonderful experiences as she possibly could. The first day, after collecting their
mail at Cooks, and withdrawing funds from their letters of credit at the bank,
Marjorie and Miss Helen went to buy tickets for the upcoming Gala Performance
of the opera Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Opera House. The tickets were
shockingly expensive, “seventeen‐fifty apiece!!!” (current value $460), but their
seats were perfect – with excellent views of both the stage and the Royal Box.
King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were in attendance, along with the Prince
of Wales. Marjorie described the experience as “the superbest sight I have ever
seen … diamond tiaras sparkled everywhere, and the house itself was one mass
of roses from top to bottom.” Since the invitation stated “evening dress
required,” Marjorie worried that she would be unsuitably dressed, so she took a
pair of scissors in her glove, quite prepared to cut out the neckline of her dress
“…if worse came to worst – but luckily it wasn’t necessary and we got in all
right.”
The next day they went to services at Westminster Abbey, and took a
guided tour. They saw the wax figures that were placed on the top of the hearse
when anyone famous died: “They were rather ghastly, but most interesting, as
the clothes they wore were originals.”

Westminster Abbey

Marjorie then began a round of visits to museums and galleries: the
National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery, The Tate Gallery, and the Wallace Collection
at the British Museum. She was fascinated by the Gainsboroughs, Reynolds, Van
Dycks, Murillos, and Corots.
They took the train to Hampton Court where, “…the gardens were the
really lovely part – such roses and all sorts of dear old fashioned flowers and
nice fountains and terraces. And the delightful Maze where one really gets lost
– it was most exciting.”
Marjorie soon found a perfect place for tea and socializing. A visit to the
Cecil Hotel provided a refreshing, restful interval to their busy schedules.

The Hotel Cecil, London

“We went to the Cecil for tea. It was very amusing and gay.”
They spent a day in Oxford “a quaint city – all spires and domes. We
visited Christ’s College first, and I think I like it best.” At the end of the day,
instead of driving to the station to return to London they went in a “big punt and
were slowly poled down that delightful river, past the colleges and on to the
station. It was perfect!”

Punts on the River at Oxford

tratford was the next stop, “driving over the most beautiful English
country imaginable. We visited Shakespeare’s birthplace and the little museum.
And then found our way through the fields and over a style to Anne Hathaway’s
cottage … one of the dearest places imaginable.” Marjorie was delighted with
Stratford and described it as old‐fashioned and peaceful – “in spite of its
thousands of visitors.”

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Stratford

They took a coach to Warwick — “I feel as if this name ought to be written
in pure gold – it is the loveliest place in all England.” From there they traveled
by train to Chester, where Marjorie walked along the top of the Roman wall and
shopped in the covered “Rows.” Next they traveled to Llandudno in North Wales
where they attended a concert at an open air theatre, and then on to Edinburgh
where they stayed at the Roxburghe Hotel on Charlotte Square where Bessie and
Will McKee had stayed on their honeymoon two years previously. They visited the
Castle, John Knox’s house, and the Royal Scottish Gallery; and shopped for
shortbread and tea at Jenners on Princes Street. “Princes Street is the most
beautiful street I have seen!”

Edinburgh Castle

The next part of the Scottish tour was the most magical of all. It was a day
trip to the Lakes and Trossachs “and it was perfect in every way.” Traveling west
via Glasgow, and then north into the highlands, they arrived at the pier in Balloch
where the Sir Walter Scott steam boat was waiting for them. They sailed up Loch
Lomond admiring the hills covered with brown and purple heather. Even more
notable was the boat trip across Loch Katrin, “the loveliest part of all.”
The Sir Walter Scott steamboat on Loch Katrin today
On the way back to Edinburgh, they stopped at Stirling to see the Castle
and “the statue of Robert the Bruce outlined against the sky.”

Statue of Robert the Bruce at Stirling Castle

In the following days they visited Roslyn Chapel, Melrose Abbey,
Abbotsford House, and Dryburgh Abbey. Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter
Scott, was “…all I had dreamed it would be – only much more. I don’t wonder
Scott loved the Tweed, and that view beyond.”

Abbotsford House and Gardens

At the end of July, Marjorie very reluctantly said goodbye to Scotland. She
traveled south to Newcastle where she would take a boat to Bergen on the west
coast of Norway. Next month, follow Marjorie’s travels in August 1903 through
the ice fields of northern Norway and into Sweden, Denmark and Germany.