[Photo Album] "Trip To The Orient Steamer Nann Smith -

San Francisco, Japan, China, Hawaii, 1916. Hardcover. Near Fine. Oblong quarto measuring 12" x 8". String-tied black cloth over stiff paper boards with "photographs" stamped in gilt on the front board. Contains 86 sepia-toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 2.5" x 3.5" and 5.5" x 8" with captions. Near fine album with faint spotting and near fine photographs.

A photo album documenting a "trip to the orient" from San Francisco between April 9th and June 27th of 1916 on the Steamship Nann Smith. They travel from California to Japan, China, and Hawaii. They photograph scenes on board the ship as well as views from the passing scenery such as Seal Rocks, Cliff House, and the Pacific as they left San Francisco Bay. As they approach Japan they photograph fishing boats, the coast line, and a sunset. In May they land at Kobe, Japan and unload a cargo of cotton and gasoline. They disembark and spend time in Kobe and Kyoto photographing street scenes in both cities, Kobe Falls, and the Heian Shrine. The Chinese leg of the trip begins in Hong Kong with a caption reading "First introduction to China." One image taken in Hong Kong harbor reads, "wireless station Hong Kong May 15, 1916." A photo from on board the ship shows the aftermath of a wave crashing on deck with a caption reading "And Great was the Fall" with women laughing at the camera. Another photo shows the U. S. Army Transport "Sherman" in the distance on June 1st, 1916. The final leg of the trip is a stop in Hawaii which features Diamond Head in Honolulu, the "Palace of the Ex Queen," and street scenes.

The Nann Smith was a cargo ship built in Virginia in 1907. This trip seems to have been a combination of business and pleasure with the passengers unloading cargo at the Japanese stop and also visiting tourist destinations at each leg. A year after this voyage the steamer left Montreal with a shipment of iron ore and was torpedoed by a German ship on May 22, 1917.

A wonderful collection of travel photographs on a ship that would eventually be a casualty during World War I.