In 1915, journalist Emily Post set out from New York
to investigate whether it was possible to drive comfortably across the country
to San Francisco in an automobile. This is a reprint of Post's only travel book,
originally published by
Colliers' Magazine
seven years before she became
famous for her book on etiquette. It describes her travels with her cousin Alice
and her Harvard undergraduate son as they played the American tourists from
Niagara Falls to cave dwellings near Santa Fe. A first-hand account of elite
automotive travel before the process was democratized after World War I, it also
shows the history of the southwest, particularly in the myths that made towns
such as Santa Fe "authentic" tourist destinations, and provides contemporary
comments on class and ethnicity.
The work's introduction includes a
biographical sketch of Post and explains the context of her journey in the
heroic age of motoring. It includes many original black-and-white photographs,
sketch maps showing the route, and Post's meticulous daily lists of expenditure,
a valuable historical document showing the price of everything from car repairs
to tips. The work is accompanied by explanatory footnotes and an appendix giving
the miles she traveled each day, noting the cities of departure and destination
and the hotel for each night.
About the Author:
Award winning historian
Jane Lancaster
lives in Providence, Rhode Island.