[Americana] [Astor, William Vincent] Nourmahal Trans-Atlantic-Mediterranean Cruise. Sailing from Key West March 18th 1929

No place, no date. 4to. 86 ff. A facsimile reproduction of the original manuscript logbook kept aboard Vincent Astor's yacht, Nourmahal, during its trans-Atlantic Ocean and trans-Mediterranean Sea voyage, from March 18-June 25, 1929. Illustrated with two large contemporary folding maps, of the Atlantic Ocean (dated 1929) and the Mediterranean Sea (dated 1925), with manuscript ink notations (in red, green, blue, and in black) showing the voyage's outbound and inbound routes and stops, as well as numerous vernacular photographic reproductions depicting the travelers, the ship, city and country scenes, and more. Finely bound in full navy blue crushed morocco, with red, blue and white morocco onlay in the style of the ship's flags, stamped in gilt, spine faded; by James Macdonald Co., New York City; maps sectioned and laid down on linen; in blue cloth slip case.

The Nourmahal was built in 1928 as a pleasure yacht for American billionaire Vincent Astor (son of American business magnate, John Jacob Astor IV) at the Krupp Iron Works in Kiel, Germany. It was the third--and largest--Astor family yacht to bear the name Nourmahal (in Hindi meaning "Light of the Palace"). On February 6, 1928, it appeared on the cover of Time magazine, who proclaimed it the best yacht of its time. Astor used the ship for pleasure, exploration, and philanthropy, and was known to often entertain President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1940, Astor leased the yacht to the United States Coast Guard as a weather station vessel, and in 1942, it was sold to the United States Navy.

The facsimile logbook comprises over 100 entries (in the various hands of the voyage's party), and recounts the trans-Atlantic and trans-Mediterranean voyages taken by the Nourmahal, from March 18-June 25, 1929, and includes accounts of the weather and sea conditions, as well as details of the travelers daily activities and escapades. The travelers included Vincent Astor and his wife, Helen, as well as Countess Edith Mortimer di Zoppola, James H. Barney, Lytle Hull, Charles D. Draper, and Kenneth P. Budd (others, including, but not limited to, Harriette Wilson and Ethel Russell, joined at later stages of the journey). They departed from Key West, making stops in Havana, Madeira, Casablanca, Tangier, Seville, Majorca, Barcelona, Monaco, Corsica, Naples, Palermo, Venice, Spalato, Athens, Istanbul, etc., before returning via Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

A seemingly unique production, no other facsimiles, nor the original logbook, have been located.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

From the private library of Brooke Astor, New York

[Americana] [Astor, William Vincent] Nourmahal Trans-Atlantic-Mediterranean Cruise. Sailing from Key West March 18th 1929

[Americana] [Astor, William Vincent] Nourmahal Trans-Atlantic-Mediterranean Cruise. Sailing from Key West March 18th 1929