Description

P. G. FOSCOLO.

[A Journey from Constantinople to America, Canada, Mexico, and the West Indies]

Istanbul: J. Pallamary 1888.

8°, 304 pp., bound in contemporary binding with speckled boards, red linen corners and brown goat spine with gold tooling and lettering (minor age-toning and foxing, sporadic white margins with small tears and loss of paper, binding rubbed and scuffed on the edges and with small losses of paper, old annotations and price on the pasted endpapers).

P. G. Foscolo, the author, belonged to an extensive family of Italian descent who first relocated to the Greek Islands and subsequently established the successful shipping enterprise Foscolo Mango in Istanbul during the late nineteenth century. The family maintained significant associations with England.

In this travelogue, P. G. Foscolo recounts his journey to North America and the Caribbean, written in French. His travels commenced in Istanbul and proceeded through Vienna, Munich, and Paris to Liverpool, where he embarked on a vessel on October 21. The voyage included stops in Cobh, Ireland, before reaching New York. Foscolo then visited notable destinations such as Niagara Falls, Chicago, Montreal, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the Oil Region, Washington, Savannah, Charleston, Atlanta, Birmingham, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City, Great Salt Lake, Reno (Nevada), Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, El Paso (Texas), Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Leon, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico City, Orizaba, Veracruz, and Mérida.

Foscolo traveled from Mexico to Cuba, where he visited Havana, Matanzas, and Cienfuegos. From Cuba, he continued his journey to Jamaica, Haiti/Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, Barbados, St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. He also visited Guadeloupe and Martinique before making his way back home to Istanbul via Plymouth. His trip lasted for 108 days, and in his final remarks, he promised to visit Australia next time.

In this highly informative work, Foscolo describes various aspects of his travels, including modes of transportation, travel costs, duration of trips, and the habits of different people. He also highlights regional expressions, recent history, notable buildings, restaurants, hotels, factories, newspapers, and agriculture. Additionally, Foscolo addresses the experiences of immigrants, the status of Black individuals, Mormons, and Chinese people in San Francisco. Throughout his narrative, he pays special attention to the women, their looks and habits.

The book is dedicated to Mrs. E. H. Watts from London, likely Martha Watts (née Roberts), who married Edmund Hannay Watts in 1882. He was the owner of a large shipping company based in London that was rapidly expanding into North America and Asia. According to the author, Mrs. Watts was instrumental in inviting him and encouraging him to travel. Foscolo was welcomed warmly by her family and associates at the company.

We could trace examples in the following libraries: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, AECID. Biblioteca – Madrid, National Library of Israel, Yale University Library, University of Cincinnati – Langsam Library, University of Arizona and Stanford University.

References: OCLC 10250284.