ISIDOR AND IDA STRAUS SCRAPBOOK WITH ALS FROM IDA STRAUS

Straus, Ida; Straus, Isidor; Richman, Julia

Verlag: 1912-1915, New York, 1912

A scrapbook and associated ephemera relating to the lives and deaths of Isidor (February 6, 1845-April 15, 1912) and Ida (February 6, 1849-April 15, 1912) Straus, who died aboard the Titanic, including an autograph letter signed by Ida Straus to her granddaughter Beatrice. Isidor was, with his brother Nathan, co-owner of Macy s department store and a U.S. Congressman; both he and his wife were prominent and wealthy members of New York City s Jewish community and philanthropists particularly interested in questions of education. The Strauses took passage aboard the Titanic to travel back to New York following a winter spent largely in southern France, and both died when the ship struck an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Famously, Ida was offered a seat in one of the lifeboats, but refused to be separated from her husband. Their deaths, and particularly Ida s love of and loyalty to her husband, became a subject of numerous newspaper pieces, poems, and songs in the months that followed the Titanic disaster, and the story continues to be regularly depicted in film and other media more than one hundred years later. The scrapbook is debossed with the phrase "News Clippings," the name of Beatrice N. Straus, and the year 1912. It contains the following: An autograph letter signed by Ida Straus to her granddaughter, Beatrice, dated March 18, 1912, and written from a hotel in Menton, France. In full, the letter reads: "March 18th, 1912 Monday morning My dear Beatrice, This morning we received the American Hebrew of March 1st, and the enclosed story, which it contained is so pretty, that I thought you and Jack might care to read it; it is short enough not to take your time from lessons or anything else you may want to do. We are all packed, in fact all our trunks have already gone, and we are ready to leave for Cannes, where Aunt Vivy [Ida and Isidor s daughter, Vivian Straus (1886-1967)] is stopping, but must wait until after lunch because we have invited a lady to share that meal with us, who telephoned she was going to come all the way from Monte Carlo, notwithstanding that it is raining hard all morning. Papa and Mama will remember her name as we wrote having met her at a dinner last week. It is Mrs. Gelberman[?], and she is known hereabout, as the lady with the jewels, because she has such magnificent ones. She formerly lived in America and is a very interesting woman, and that is the [?] reason papa invited her. Aunt Vivy and Uncle Herby with the babies arrived on Saturday morning, and they all look very well. Baby Stuarthas improved very much, he is so much livelier than he was before. We are going to remain with them until Friday morning, and then [?] to Paris. We will soon be home again, as we have taken passage on the steamship Titanic for April 10th. I hope your wrist is all right again, and with lots of love and kisses to you, Jack, and Bobby, whose French letters I enjoyed very much, and regards to mademoiselle, am Devotedly yours Grandma [In another hand, presumably that of Isidor Straus] "Grandpa sends love to all" A letter from Jewish educator Julia Richman (1855-1912), the first female district superintendent of schools for New York City. Richman worked closely with Isidor and Ida Straus on questions of education, and spoke at two memorial services for them on May 11 and 12, 1912. The letter, on Richman s personal stationery, reads: "333 Central Park W. April 27, 1912 My poor, dear friend, Let this note convey to you what a warm hand pressure and moist eyes would have told you had I been able to meet you at any time since one awful calamity overtook a civilized world. No words can do more to give the assurance of loving sympathy, and of partnership in the loss and in the great grief. The whole world shares in this, but you must believe that I, so blessedly privileged in being admitted to a close friendship and to the intimacy of your beautiful family life, must share to a larger degree. My own heart aches with the keenness of. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 1379037

Bibliografische Details

Titel: ISIDOR AND IDA STRAUS SCRAPBOOK WITH ALS ...
Verlag: 1912-1915, New York
Erscheinungsdatum: 1912
Einband: Hardcover
Signiert: Signatur des Verfassers