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Original December 1931 handwritten letter from Ernestine to Alice Tallman of Guthrie, Oklahoma, written during a trip to New Orleans and shortly before Ernestine planned to continue on to Cuba.
The multi-page letter is written on beautiful illustrated stationery from The St. Charles hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a matching illustrated hotel envelope.
Ernestine describes traveling by automobile through Shreveport and Alexandria, Louisiana, including a memorable cold journey during which a courteous driver removed his jacket and wrapped it around her knees to help keep her warm.
She discusses staying at The St. Charles, noting that rooms were advertised at $1.50 and up and that she had obtained a “wonderful room and private bath” for $1.50.
The letter also mentions visiting the United Fruit offices, receiving her ticket, dealing with a radiogram, and her expectation of writing again from Cuba.
Most notably, Ernestine closes with a simple firsthand observation of life in 1931:
“Anyway the depression is on and one must economize.”
An evocative piece of Great Depression-era social and travel history, written while the Depression was unfolding rather than as a later recollection.
The original matching St. Charles envelope is included and is postmarked New Orleans, Louisiana, December 30, 1931, with a cancelled 2-cent Washington stamp.
This letter is part of a larger group of family and personal correspondence spanning a number of years. Other letters may be available separately.
Please review all photographs for handwriting, contents and condition. The envelope shows age-related staining, edge/corner wear and other signs of age. Letter sheets retain their original mailing folds.
