When Americans Could Still Visit Europe
In July 1927 Americans could still visit Europe. Aline Bernstein invited Thomas Wolfe to take a break from his work and go with her for two months. Wolfe had just returned to Manhattan from a three week visit with friend Olin Dow. At the Dow family estate near Rhinebeck, New York, on the Hudson River, Wolfe escaped the summer heat living in the gate keepers lodge while working on his first book. It would be his third trip abroad. Discreetly they took separate ships. Aline departed first and Wolfe purchased second class passage for $136.25 on the SS George Washington and sailed Tuesday, July 12.
The SS George Washington had first launched in 1908. At the time she was reputed to be the largest German-built steamship yet, and the third-largest ship in the world. With a capacity of 2,900 passengers, it was constructed to emphasize comfort over speed. The name George Washington was originally intended to attract immigrants wishing to go to New York. With the coming of WWI, the ship was seized in 1917, and used by the US Navy to transport troops overseas. In 1920 it was retrofitted for a return to transatlantic passenger service. The ship was operated by United States Lines until 1930, when it was docked on the Patuxent River in Maryland until WWII.
When Thomas Wolfe boarded in 1927, despite her age, the steamship was still promoted as a luxury ocean liner, known for the quality of décor, food service, and prestigious clientele. Advertisements for the SS George Washington from 1927 declare “the people who sail on this ship sail abroad in the American way. Their trip is like a week’s stay in a modern American hotel, with refined luxurious surroundings, most delicious cooking, beautifully furnished rooms…” All meals were included with your ticket, and United States Lines claimed passengers would “enjoy a better meal than you’ve tasted for a longtime aship or ashore.” The SS George Washington was touted as “a beautiful colonial ship with three promenade decks that carries you in steady swiftness on a trip of constant pleasure.”
In his notebook on Sunday, July 17, Wolfe wrote about the sweltering summer heat and the calm ocean voyage. He describes several of his fellow passengers, mostly “dull and common,” with the exception of “the old Scotchman: most interesting man I’ve met on the boat.” Wolfe was impressed by this engineer who had been all over the world working for the sugar cane industry. Among other passengers, at his table he mentions a little German girl with flaxen hair, and Mrs. Siegel “who does not know what she wants.” In transit Wolfe received a telegram from Aline and went to the radio room to reply. He notes that everyone on the boat knew about it. Embarrassed, he described “behaving foolish and common.” He wanted to frighten them all by “looking back at people trying to out-stare them.”
While travelling with Aline, Wolfe continued to write in his ledger. He was nearing the last chapters of his book. Later in the summer, he began to recap the trip in his notebook. They had gone sightseeing to numerous museums, and apparently it was not the happiest of vacations. The couple argued in Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. In a letter from Vienna on August 11, 1927 to Homer A. Watts at New York University, Wolfe was concerned about his fall teaching schedule. He shared some details of his visit, expecting to depart Europe about September 10. He stated that he had just come from Munich and the Bavarian Mountains. The trip so far, he said “has been a quiet and very rich little voyage.” He was surprised that in Vienna, only three weeks earlier, 400 people lost their lives in a revolt, adding, “but you could not tell it now from the gaiety of the city’s life.” It was somewhat of an exaggeration. In fact, a major riot had occurred on July 15, 1927 in Vienna and resulted in the police killing 89 protesters. Five policemen died and more than 600 protesters and policemen were injured. On August 25, in his notebook Wolfe described the food at Nuremberg as wonderful “Gansbraten (Leipziger Allerlei splendid) lovely white wine (Riesling).” Wolfe notes by September 2, they were back in Paris where he and Aline soon departed company. Again, they sailed separately, Aline left first, and Wolfe spent the next week alone in Paris before boarding the SS Belgenland at Cherbourg, France, arriving in New York September 18, 1927 to resume his job teaching at NYU.
Thanks to The Letters of Thomas Wolfe, Elizabeth Nowell, ed. (Charles Scribner’s Sons 1956) and The Notebooks of Thomas Wolfe, Richard Kennedy and Pascale Reeves, ed. (UNC Press 1970) for more insight into this journey.
