(Buffalo, New York’s Central Library has one of the finest archives available for items showcasing the history of our greater Niagara region. With that in mind, Niagara At Large is posting the following media release from that library, featuring an exhibit we may all enjoy.)
Travel diaries, posters, photographs and postcards on display
Colorful travel posters, postcards, photographs, diaries and other travel ephemera from the 1920s and 30s are now on display in the Rare Book Room of the Central Library, 1 Lafayette Square, through May 28, 2011.
One of the many vintage images featured at library exhibit.
Travelers and Cosmopolitans: the Tourist is the Other Fellow explores the golden age of travel through the eyes of 2 prominent locals: Hamilton Phelps Clawson (1892 – 1975) and Geneva Thompson Porter (c. 1883 – 1971).
The 1920s marked a significant change in travel habits. More people had more time and more discretionary spending for tourism. Likewise, automobiles, trains, ocean liners, and even zeppelins offered reliable, comfortable, and luxurious methods for transport.
Throughout his life, Hamilton Phelps Clawson traveled the world. Archaeological pursuits brought him to Egypt and Sudan. He cruised on the luxury liner Empress of Britain, departing from Quebec, to Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and France. A 300-mile walking tour of the South of France and trips to Ireland and Brazil followed. The common thread through all of these journeys was the extensive photographs Clawson took to record his experiences. His collection of diaries, photographs and mementos was donated to the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library by a generous donor shortly after Clawson’s death in 1975.
Geneva Thompson Porter was born to the prominent Thompson family of North Tonawanda.
An only child, she inherited her family’s wealth, and in 1907, she married Peter A. Porter, Jr.
Geneva and Peter spent much of the 1920s on ocean liners, traveling throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. The Rare Book Room holds three of Geneva’s diaries, describing her 1922, 1927, and 1929 European and North African excursions, covering some 81 cities in 15 countries. Her 1929 diary is distinguished by her description of her fortuitous meeting with F. Scott Fitzgerald on the ocean liner Conte Biancamano. Fitzgerald later wrote about this particular ocean trip in one of his published short stories.
The Travelers exhibit is free and open to the public during regular Central Library hours. Visit http://www.thetourististheotherfellow.blogspot.com to view additional photos, read diary entries, and learn more about H. Phelps Clawson and Geneva Thompson Porter. The Library System’s website is www.buffalolib.org.
(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater Niagara region and beyond.)
Niagara At Large 
H Phelps Clawson’s archaeology “tool kit” made by Solingen turned up on EBay; I’m researching “Phelps” through his writing and poetry, after buying the item and finding his name and all the places he visited written on the leather case. I’m a researcher and writer on archaeology (subjects of the Southwest) and would like to know more. Lorna LaDage
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