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MRS. MARTHA DICKOFF : 1939 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT EUROPEAN TRAVEL DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A SWISS BORN CALIFORNIA WOMAN CAUGHT UP IN THE DESPERATION OF THE ONCOMING WORLD WAR

24mo - over 5" - 5¾" tall. On offer is a very interesting original 1939 manuscript travel diary handwritten by a Swiss-born American named Martha Dickoff who visited her homeland in the summer of 1939. She lived in Lodi, California and left from Stockton California on May 5th, 1939. She wrote of her cross-country trip to New York, where she left for Europe aboard the Queen Mary on May 10th. Mrs Dickoff was married, but traveled alone to visit her family in Switzerland. She wrote several pages about her days aboard the Queen Mary, apparently traveling 2nd class. She described the ship, her roommates, and the people she met. On her second day on the ship, Mrs Dickoff became ill with food poisoning which the ship's doctor blamed on the train food she had eaten. She soon was better and enjoyed the rest of the crossing. Upon her arrival in Europe, she wrote of her travel across various countries until she reached Switzerland. She dearly loved the country of her birth, and was overjoyed to see her sister and other relatives. Superbly placed to witness the beginnings of the war, during this very dangerous time in history to be traveling to Europe she keenly observes the immediate problems and is desperately afraid for her relatives in Switzerland. Once in Switzerland she did not write but began again in July as she started her long trek home, through Italy. Europe was on the cusp of war, and Mrs Dickoff noted the soldiers and wrote of fear about the war in Europe. When she said goodbye to her sister, she wrote that she would probably never see her again: Sept 15, 1939 "The parting with my sister makes me feel very sad as she is not feeling well and I don't think I'll ever see her again and yet I'm happy to have her with me 'till the ocean parts us...." While aboard the ship on her return to the United States, she wrote of the many people on board escaping the war in Europe. In one entry she wrote: "Sept 18, 1939 We are about 3500 people on board of all descriptions and nationalities. Some have no cabins but sleep on a cot in the cabin on deck. They put up with anything rather than stay in Europe which might at any moment be involved in another World War." The 6" x 4" diary has, altogether, 50 handwritten pages with some names and addresses written in the back. Overall VG.. Book Condition: Very Good

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