Ocean Travel in Victorian and Edwardian Times

One of the luxuries that wealth could bring to people at the turn of the 20th century was the opportunity to travel and vacation in Europe and other overseas destinations. Today, we don’t give a European vacation much thought, except for booking our flights and determining our itinerary.

For the wealthy families of the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods, travel was certainly a way to claim status and it catered to the elite. It was expensive and it required an extended leave of absence from home, sometimes as much as a month or more.

Elizabeth and A.R. Beardsley in front of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy

A.R. and Elizabeth Beardsley were among the families who enjoyed traveling across the Atlantic ocean to take in the wonders of Europe. For the Beardsleys their favorite destination was Italy’s lake region, located in the northern part of the country, in an area with several fresh water lakes fed by glacial runoff from the Alps. Visitors have been coming to this region of Italy for centuries and the 21st century traveler is likely coming for the same scenery and peaceful surroundings that the Beardsleys so enjoyed.

The fastest mode of oceanic travel in the late 1800s and early 1900s was the steam ship liner. The first steam ship, the Great Western, was built in 1838 and it would remain the mainstay of all passenger transports across the Atlantic until the mid-1930s. These early versions were wooden boats with paddle wheels and sails used as back-up. Passenger capacity was limited to 200 people, and it took about 15 days to cross the ocean.

The SS Great Western, 1838 - from Wikipedia

Ocean liners underwent a massive upgrade when iron was put into use for the ships’ hulls. Steam powered engines and screw propulsion reduced the crossing time to almost half, about 8 to 9 days. The size of the vessels also increased, carrying 1,500 passengers at a time. As time went on and technology improved, the steamships would be and bigger and more elaborate. Now, these bigger ships could carry up to 2,000 passengers and the time it took to cross the Atlantic was reduced to 5 days.

The most well-known of the ocean liners that debuted in the early 20th century was the Titanic. At its departure from England in 1912, it was the largest ship constructed, as well as the designation of being the largest moving object constructed by humans. Lavish accommodations appealed to the wealth of the Gilded Age. Touted as “unsinkable,” the Titanic disaster illustrated the perils of the oceanic crossing.

The RMS Titanic, 1912 - from Wikipedia

The Lusitania sinking by a German submarine in 1915 is another widely known tragedy that, like news of airplane crashes today, may have tempered the enthusiasm for steamship travel.

3rd Class Cabin on the Lusitania - from Flickr

A travel guide written in 1910 by Ernest Louis Lessieux provides an insight on what a European holiday might be comprised of – travel wise. In planning a trip, voyagers would write away for information, he wrote. “A note to the different steamship companies, whose boats sail from all the great Atlantic seaports, will bring by return mail an immense amount of literature, wherein the advantages of each particular route are fully set forth, with accommodations and rates suited to all tastes and purses. The second class in some ships is fully equal to the first of others, and there are a few lines which carry only one or two classes.”

1st Class cabin on the Lusitania - from Flickr

Regarding the choosing of accommodations, Lessieux wrote, “…individual idiosyncrasies and tastes must be studied to insure as much comfort as possible. Midship there is the least pitching motion; aft the tremor from the screws is greatest, but usually the odours from the machinery and kitchen are more remote. Outside cabins are more desirable only if the portholes can be opened, height above the water and weather permitting, otherwise the ventilation is exactly the same as for all other cabins, namely, through the ventilating funnels on deck.”

Travel to the various European ports-of-call were seasonal, Lessieux said. Traveling from April to October, the most popular itineraries took passengers to Switzerland, the northwest coast of France, inland France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Between September and June, passengers most often visited The French and Italian Rivieras, Algiers, Egypt, Sicily, Spain, North Italy, Greece, Palestine, Canaries and Madeira, and parts of Switzerland.

Steamer trunks in A.R.’s closet at Ruthmere - these belonged to Walter Beardsley, A.R.’s great nephew.

When planning to take a European vacation, there was no such thing as packing light. Trunks would be packed with all the needed necessities – clothing, hats, jewelry, and other trappings of wealth and status. Music, art and books were packed away, as were dresses, coats, men’s collars and cuffs, and of course, ladies’ bonnets.

In the closet in A.R Beardsley’s bedroom at Ruthmere, there are several steamer trunks stored away. Elizabeth and A.R would have used ones like these to bring on their journeys to Italy.

Steamer trunks were designed to be sturdy to handle the rigors of long-distance travel. The body was typically made of thick wood or metal, with metal or leather bands to increase its sturdiness. An interior frame ensured that it could support the weight of other trunks stacked on top of it. Inside, the trunk was lined in leather, fabric or paper, festooned with a decorative design.  Two handles were attached to both sides of the trunk and exterior latches and locks kept the contents safe inside. Sizes varied as did the exterior embellishments.

The interior of a steamer trunk from Ruthmere’s collection. It contains hangers for hanging clothes and drawers, including a locked drawer at the top for items that need extra security.

A.R. and especially Elizabeth enjoyed their vacations in Europe. The photo of Elizabeth and A.R. outside St. Mark’s cathedral in Venice is one of the mementos of the Beardsleys travels. The trips were also a source of inspiration at home, with many of the features inside Ruthmere reminiscent of the Italian Lake Country scenery. While there is no written record of their travels, the only way they could have experienced Europe was by traveling on a steamship bound for the European ports-of-call. We can only wonder if A.R. and Elizabeth kept up with the latest travel news or the Paris fashions. And, perhaps, they considered another voyage in 1912 on that brand new luxury liner, the RMS Titanic.

One of the painted windows in Ruthmere’s Game Room with imagery from the lake district of Northern Italy.