1915 Philip G. Peabody Autograph Letter from the White Star Line S.S. Canopic, with Wartime Atlantic Blackout and Torpedo Reports, by Boston Lawyer, Social Reformer and Early NAACP Supporter

On offer is a letter written by Philip G. Peabody (1857-1934), a world traveller and a significant person in the drive for equal rights for black Americans in the early days of the 20th century. This letter was written to his adopted daughter, Olive Whipple Peabody (later Beardwood) (1886-1969). 

Written on ship's stationary, the letter describes several days at sea. From a notation on the letter, it is the 5th such letter mailed.

The S.S. Canopic was a British-flagged passenger liner that sailed for the White Star Line.  His letter covers a 7 day period from Mar 18th to Mar 24th, 1915.

He talks about life on board and some of the people he met:

"Had a wakeful but comfortable night ... only just found at table the first pass. list. It contains 50 first cabins and 59 second cabin passengers. The sea is not rough but there is a perceptible motion which would probably send you to bed."

In one of several oblique references to the war that was raging, he notes that the ship is running blacked out at night. The Captain (R.W. James) also confides in him that ships have been lost: "I sat alone with the Captain and he told me that 2 more vessels were torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel last night. This is the only thing I have heard since sailing".

He met a couple returning to their home in France: "I had a conversation with Mr. Souli ...who later introduced me to his wife. They have lived in Paris for many years and know all the 'Yankee' Colony there. They were advised by the authorities to leave a few weeks after the war began and are now, after an absence of five months on their way back, confident that all danger of the enemy ever getting there is past."

His letter ends on the 24th with the Canopic anchoring in heavy seas in the Azores. This is an interesting piece of correspondence from a a recognized world traveller and wealthy social reformer of the time. A historian would note that the letter conveys a sense of being apart from the world war that is engulfing the world - perhaps based on a sense of being 'above the fray' or confident that the war will not touch them as the United States was still a neutral country.

Condition: The letter contains 8 pages and is 100% complete. The envelope bears the postmark. The letters are in excellent condition and the handwriting is quite legible.

BIO NOTES:

Olive Whipple Peabody Beardwood (1886-1969) born Hamilton, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA,. She married James Beardwood (1884-1968) of Lancashire, England in 1920. They had one child, Jamie W. Beardwood (1930-2003). Olive was the adopted daughter of Philip G Peabody.

Philip G Peabody (1857-1934) was a noted American financier and philanthropist who lived in Boston in the early years of the 20th century. He was the son of a Justice of the NY Supreme Court of the United States and was himself an attorney by profession. He also was involved with several social campaigns of his day. In particular, he was active in the anti-vivisectionist movement and a supporter of a major project of the nascent NAACP. Peabody had adopted Olive in 1904 when she was 18 years old. Their friendship was somewhat unusual. They had met on a local train when she was 14. He was an avid world traveller and in his lifetime, he crossed the Atlantic an astounding 145 times and visited 43 different countries. He told her stories of his adventures and a friendship ensued. Over the years, he gave her gifts and money, took her places, and showed her the world he lived in.