Colonel Robert M. Thompson Family Travelogue Featuring Photographs of the American South & Cuba, 1904-1907 

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American History

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Nov 21, 2014 - Nov 22, 2014

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• Lot Description
  Colonel Robert M. Thompson Family Travelogue Featuring Photographs of the American South & Cuba, 1904-1907 
  
  Album with leather-covered boards, 15.25 x 16 in., containing 750+ photographs, most on printing-out paper, documenting the 1904-1907 houseboat travels of Colonel Robert M. Thompson and his family and friends. The majority of the photographs measure between 3.25 x 4 in. and 3.25 x 5.5 in., with approx. 18 larger format photographs measuring between 4.5 x 6.5 in. and 7.5 x 9.25 in. The photos are mounted in corner holders, between two and seven per album page, and many are accompanied by written captions or numbers. Approx. 40 postcards, invitations, and menus from Thompson's travels are also housed in the album. With an additional 13pp of typed text taken from Judge Wallace Nesbitt's journal, recounting a portion of the trip pictured in the album. Nesbitt was one of Thompson's business partners, and is pictured multiple times throughout the album. 
   
  Robert Means Thompson (1849-1930), born in Corsica, PA, was appointed to the US Naval Academy in July 1864, and graduated tenth in his class of 1868, before going on to serve in the West Indian Squadron aboard the Contoocook, as well as in the Mediterranean Squadron on the Franklin, Richmond, and Guard. He also served aboard the USS Wachusett and at the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, RI. After being commissioned ensign in April 1869, Thompson was promoted to master in July 1870 but retired from the Navy in November 1871 to study law at Harvard. He practiced law in Boston between 1876-1878, but then went on to engage in mining and smelting enterprises, which were quite lucrative. He served as president of Orford Copper, which subsequently merged into the International Nickel Company of Canada. Among his many accomplishments, Thompson was twice president of the American Olympic Association (1912, 1924), president of the New York Athletic Club (1912), and president of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers as well as the Navy League. 
   
  The hundreds of snapshots housed within this travelogue capture various elements of Thompson's adventures aboard his houseboat, referred to as "The Everglades." A November 1904 invitation to a reception held right before Thompson departed from St. Louis, MO, is mounted at the front of the album. The photos document the wide range of people, including African Americans, and places that Thompson encountered throughout Memphis, TN, Helena and Arkansas City, AR, Vicksburg and Natchez, MS, Montgomery, AL, New Orleans and Madisonville, LA, Pensacola, Apalachicola, Cedar Key, Punta Rassa, Tampa, Fort Meyers, Miami, and Palm Beach, FL, among many other areas. The album also includes numerous views of boats along the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, the Suwanee River, and more, plus several images of a New York Yacht Club cruise in 1905. The snapshots also capture activities aboard the "Everglades," such as fishing and putting, as well as hunting excursions that took place on land. A journey to Havana, Cuba, is documented through views of the city, some laborers, and Havana harbor, including some shots of the USS Maine. 

  Condition

  Leather covers are extremely worn, with substantial loss along spine. Although some of the pages include some light staining, the photographs are in very good condition to near excellent condition overall.
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