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VIRGINIA MONTGOMERY : 1923 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A YOUNG AMERICAN WOMAN ON A EUROPEAN TOUR AND MAYHAPS AN INNOCENT ABROAD OR EARLY VERSION OF AN 'UGLY' STEREOTYPE

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is a fascinating, original manuscript travel journal of a young woman's ocean cruise from New York to Europe and a month-long tour of the continent. What makes this journal particularly interesting for the reader should they be researchers or historians of America's post World War I ascendancy is the specific regard the author has for America's social construct in the era of the Roaring 20s. The author is Virginia L. Montgomery writes very well though with a certain air of haughtiness or arrogance to her writing as examples below will illustrate. In some respects, it is an unabashed cry of American exceptionalism exemplifying the term 'Ugly American'. In the 19th century, Mark Twain wrote about The Innocents Abroad and perhaps it is no coincidence that Montgomery refers to herself and her 2 travelling companions as "the Innocents' " [p. 8] Montgomery travels with her sister Maude and a girlfriend, Vergue Criswell. They are referred to in the journal as M and V but are identified from the passenger manifest included within. From the very limited information available about Criswell, we may suppose that they are in their mid-to-late 20's and living in the Providence RI area. In her opening 'Introduction' she maintains that they will have a right to "crow over our less fortunate neighbours". In the 2nd paragraph, she states "There is more Tradition behind the rising curtain of civilization in America, than in any other country in the world. .... Was there not more Tradition in the valiant little band of Pilgrims ... than in the mighty efforts of Alexander.' She ends the Introduction with this exclamation: Tradition backed by the principles of right and justice has made America the greatest country in the world. No wonder it will be hard to judge Europe by American eyes and morals. And so the perspective of this journal is cast. She describes in detail their journey across the Atlantic on board S.S. Mongolia. Their descriptions are colourful and include a significant amount of commentary (not flattering) about crew and other passengers. Our especial cabin steward, a little sawed off wizened she-man named Pierre or Harry was most solicitous. [p. 6] The Captain appeared today and I wasn't particularly impressed. So did the ship's doctor, a broken down rummy effect and the purser, a sissy looking fellow as full of conceit as the ocean is swells. Germans and English! Ye Gods What a mixture! Thank God I was born in America! With the American complex [p. 13] Although her language gets rather florid in many places, her descriptions of countryside in Europe are quite colourful: The fields were a riot of color. Poppies added their crimson splashes to the gold of ripened wheat ... [p.26] Descriptions of museums, palaces, cathedrals and other points of interest are well described and can leave the reader with a sense of what conditions were like there, 5 years after the WWI. This is especially so when she describes the lingering destruction from that conflict. From mid-July through mid-Aug, their travels took them through France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and finally England.. The exact itinerary is included in the handwritten notes. A historian would find this an excellent first-hand account of sights and scenes in the immediate postwar years. It also gives an insight into one particular aspect of the American character, especially vis-avis new or unusual people, incidents or experiences. There is a typed transcription secured in a 2-ring binder. The handwritten notes are 8" by 5 inches and secured by a lace. They number 142 handwritten pages. The typed notes are secured in a hard cover, 2-ring binder and amount to 85 pages. The journal is in good condition although the spine is cracked. Most pages are completely attached. The pages are 100% complete.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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