If I Had My Own Blue Box:

Appleton’s Illustrated Hand-book of American Travel, by T. Addison Richards (New York: Appleton, 1860) which is actually from the 1857 edition originally, not only gives an over view of how to travel in the mid-century but also the embellishment of the luxury of travel found in some guides of the era. It reminds us read with a critical eye.

To the Traveller: Some Parting Words of Explanation and Advice.

In a journey over so vast a country as the United States, occupying nearly half a continent, and measuring its length and breadth by thousands, and it routes of travel by tens of thousands of miles, one may very readily be pardoned if he sometimes stumbles by the way. May we not beg the benefit of this consideration, if, in our present laborious itineraire, we have occasionally chanced, despite all our watchfulness, to only half look at points of interest or to overlook them altogether; or if, amidst the intricate riticulation of the roads, we may have momently lost our way? We hope, however, that we have not been thus unlucky in any considerable degree, for we have made very honest effort to guide our traveller truly and surely; to show him – hastily, to be sure, as needs must be, yet intelligently – the past and the present, the physique and the morale, of the great country through which we have led him; its differing peoples and places, from the mountains to the prairies – from the cities and palaces of the East to the wildernesses and wigwams of the West.

Though we have thus done our best for the present, we hope to do still better hearafter, as we revise and extend our volume year after year, with the benefit of enlarged personal observations and of the good counsels of others; for we trust that those who follow our guidance will do us the kindness to advise us of any and all errors and omissions they may discover in our pages. To assist them in rendering us this generous service, we have placed some leaves for memoranda, at the end of our book.

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The Plan of this Book

We have thought it best to follow the familiar geographical order of the various divisions of the country, and thus to begin at Canada on the extreme north-east, and, continuing along the shores of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, end upon the Pacific, westward. With rare exceptions, we have instead of selecting a particular route and seeing all it offers of attraction, jumped at once to our especial destination, and then imtimated the way by which it is reached. Thus, if the traveller happens to be in New York or Boston, and desires to go to New Orleans, he will, be turning to “New Orleans,” find the routes thither. The chief cities are taken as starting points for all other and lesser places in their neighborhood. It has not, of course, been possible to mention every village or town in the Union, in the narrow limits of a pocket volume, like this.

General Remarks

The foreign tourist will soon observe, to his satisfaction, (and the citizen might remember it oftener, with thanks to his stars,) the great convenience of the total absence in the United States, of all annoying demands for passports – of scowling fortifications and draw-bridges, of jealous gates, closed at a fixed hour of the evening and not to be reopened before another fixed hour of the morning; of custom-housed between the several States, and of all rummaging of baggage by gens d’armes for the octroi; and yet nevertheless, of as perfect a feeling of security, everywhere, as in the most vigilantly policed kingdoms of Europe.

He may or may not like the table d’hote system of our hotels – the uniform fare and the unvarying price; that, excepting in the few metropolitan cities, where the habits of all nations obtain, we must submit to.

From the social equality every where and without exception, he will not suffer, however high his rank at home; and if it be not the highest, he will surely gain in consideration. To win attention and care, both the lofty and the lowly have, and have only, to dispense good will and kind manners as they pass along.

Money

Gold and silver, it should be remembered, are always and every where current, while bank-notes, and especially of distant States, very often are not. Change, too, will save trouble; especially half-dollars, generally the fare of omnibuses and hacks, and invariably the price of meals. Twenty-five cent pieces, too, are useful, as fees for little services by the way. In travelling through the settled districts by the railways and steamboats, and at the best hotels, the daily expenses should be estimated at not less than five or six dollars per day for each person.

Baggage

As little baggage as possible is always a good rule, though a very liberal supply is permitted on the railways and almost any quantity of the steamboats. On the stages, the prescribed limit of sixty or eighty pounds cannot be exceeded without extra charge.

The regular carriages of his hotel will convey the traveller securely and in season, to the railway station of the steamboat landing, where his first care must be to deposit his trunks in the keeping of the baggage-master, and receive a check for each one – corresponding marks will be attached to the baggage, and it will be delivered at the end of the route only to the holder of the checks. It is best to get baggage checked for the entire journey, or for the longest possible stage thereof, and thus save one’s self the trouble of looking our for it more frequently than is necessary.

Before arriving at his destination, the traveller will, on the principal routes, receive a call from an express agent, to whom he may safely resign his check and his address, confidant that his baggage will be duly delivered, and at the fixed tariff  of twenty-five cents for each piece or trunk. On arriving at the end of his journey, he should put himself in one of the carriages marked as in the particular service of the hotel to which he is going. If he employs other vehicles, it will be well to learn the fare beforehand particularly in the city of New York, where hackmen pay but little attention when they can help it, to the law in the case.

tickets

Tickets on the railways should be purchased at the office before starting, otherwise a small additional charge will be made. If a long journey over various roads is intended, it is cheaper and more convenient to buy a through ticket to the end of the route, or for as long a distance as possible. On the steamboats, the tickets for passage and for meals will be purchased at leisure, after starting, at the captain’s office.

Hotels

The hotels of the United States are famous all the world over, for their extent, convenience, comfort and elegance. They are often truly palatial in their sumptuousness, with means and appliances for the prompt gratification of every want and whim. The universal price of board, from one end of the country to the other, is $2 50 or $2 00 per day at the most fashionable, and indeed at all the principal houses. Private parlors and extra rooms involve an additional charge, according to their position. Wines are always extra and always dear enough.

Waiters or Servants

It is not the general custom in America, as in Europe, to fee waiters at the hotels, though it may very properly be done for especial personal service. It is often done by those who like hot dinners better than cold or who may have a fancy for some rare dish when it unluckily happens to be “all out.”

Costume

At the watering places, the same resources of toilette are needed as in the city salon; but though you be thus provided, do not be unprovided with a travelling suit equal to rude usage. If the color be a gray or a brown, so much the better in the dust of  railway or stage routes. Don a felt hat, – it does not crush itself or your head in car or carriage, or blow overboard on steamboats. Leave thin boots (this especially to the ladies) at home, and be well, and comfortably, and safely shod, in stout calf skin. It is a pity to be kept in doors by the fear of spoiling one’s gaiters or wetting one’s feet, when the meadows and hills and brooks are waiting to be explored. In mountain tramps, a generous sized flask, filled with most excellent brandy, may be swung over the shoulder with very picturesque effect.