Guide to the Julius Hesper Collection , 1920-1972

Steamship Historical Society of America, Archives
Steamship Historical Society of America
2500 Post Road
Warwick, RI 02886
Tel: 401-463-3570
E-mail: info@sshsa.org

Published in 2023

Collection Overview

Title:	Julius Hesper Collection
Date range:	1920-1972
Creator:	Hesper, Julius
Extent:	2 linear feet
Abstract:	Cruise line ephemera collected during Hesper’s career working for various passenger shipping companies.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Steamship Historical Society of America, Archives
Collection number:	1993.03

Scope & content

Collection of cruise line ephemera, memorabilia and passenger lists, collected by Hesper while he worked for passenger shipping companies. Companies represented in the collection include Hamburg America Line, North German Lloyd (Norddeutscher Lloyd), and to a lesser extent, the German Atlantic Line, Cunard, and the Orient Overseas Line. Many objects reflect Hesper’s work, and include working copies of shore excursion programs, shipboard newsletters and communications, and passenger lists that are frequently marked with his notes and corrections.

Access Points

Subject Organizations

• Norddeutscher Lloyd
• Hamburg Amerika Linie

Subject Topics

• Steamboat lines--Passenger lists
• Ships, Cruise
• Cruise Lines

Subject Topics

• Maritime

Document Types

• Ephemera
• Brochures

Arrangement

Series 1: Affiliated Lines and Regional Ephemera

• This series comprises brochures and informational pamphlets for a variety of companies connected to cruise travel. They include material for the German Atlantic Line, Cunard, and Orient Overseas Line, as well as material for railroad companies in India, and a promotional booklet for Cairo, Egypt.

Series 2: Hamburg America Line

• This series is divided into three sub-series: General, Ships and Cruises, and Passenger Lists. It comprises promotional booklets, brochures and memorabilia from Hamburg America Line collected from cruises largely during the 1920's and 1930's. Documented cruises went to various points of the world and round-the-world cruises. Generally, material is separated out by respective vessels, which include RELIANCE, RESOLUTE, NEW YORK, HAMBURG, ST. LOUIS, and MILWAUKEE.

Series 3: North German Lloyd

• This series is divided into three sub-series: Joint Promotional Material, Ships and Cruises, and Passenger Lists. It comprises promotional booklets, brochures and memorabilia, primarily representing cruises from the 1950's to the 1970's. There are several items from earlier years in the 1930's. Material is generally separated by vessel aside from the joint material, which includes the vessels BERLIN, BREMEN, EUROPA, and COLUMBUS.

Biographical note

Julius Hesper (1902-1992) spent his life in the tourism industry, working for various shipping and airline companies. From 1922-1939, Hesper served on various ships of the Hamburg America Line, including the RESOLUTE and the RELIANCE, as an Assistant Purser, Purser, Cruise Director, and Cruise Tour Director. On these ships he made 6 round the world cruises, 10 North Cape cruises, 3 Mediterranean cruises, dozens of West Indies cruises, and at least 100 Trans-Atlantic cruises. From roughly 1945-1958, Hesper worked for Pan American Airways as an Agency Sales Manager. Hesper would return to the passenger shipping industry in 1958, working for North German Lloyd as a Passenger Traffic Manager and Company Representative for the next 13 years.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	This collection is available to the public by appointment at the Steamship Historical Society. Objects that are fragile, significant, or require additional tools to access may require archivist assistance.
Use of the materials:	Use, reproduction, and/or publication of archival material is prohibited without prior approval of the Steamship Historical Society. Fees and/or restrictions may apply. Please contact the SSHSA archivist, Astrid Drew, at adrew@sshsa.org for more information.
Preferred citation:	Julius Hesper Collection, Steamship Historical Society of America Archives, www.sshsa.org.
Contact information:	Steamship Historical Society of America, Archives Steamship Historical Society of America 2500 Post Road Warwick, RI 02886 Tel: 401-463-3570 E-mail: info@sshsa.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Correspondence indicates that this collection was donated to the SSHSA in August of 1993 by Julius Hesper’s widow, Alice D. Hesper. A deed of gift was signed by Mrs. Hesper on October 28, 1993. The Julius Hesper Collection was accessioned by the SSHSA in 2017 by Astrid Drew with an accession number of 1993.03.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Astrid Drew, Tessa Mediano.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Astrid Drew, Heather Kisilywicz, Tessa Mediano 2023 April 24
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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