Collection of American Aristocratic Family’s Grand Hotel Invoices.
Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, New York, and Washington, D.C. 1887-1907.
Printed handbills, in a range of sizes 21 x 13 to 34 x 22.5 cm. Texts in English, French, and German. Seventy Grand Hotel and restaurant invoices for various tours of Europe and Great Britain completed by Edward B. Livingston, Esq., Miss C.H. Livingston, and John L. Livingston, and family. From The Old England Lake House at Bowness-on-Windmere, on to The Royal Hotel in Edinburgh, the Livingstons traveled throughout the United Kingdom and onto the continent, finding accommodations at places like the Hôtel et Bains de la Cour de Zæhringen in Baden-Baden, Germany, the Grand Hôtel du Lac in Vevey, Switzerland, the Grand Magasins du Louvre in Paris, and Bellini's Hôtel Terminus in Milan. The collection includes a range of invoices from laundry bills to general hotel invoices; each is a printed template annotated with specific charges in a hand and many include affixed stamps indicating status of payment. Alone each invoice offers a glimpse into a comfortable quotidian existence through an itemized inventory of accommodations, luxury food items, maid services, carriages and excursions but together these documents trace the itinerary of multi-month travel tours and illuminate the charmed nature of an upper-class lifestyle. From the late 17th century to the early 19th century, the Livingston family was one of America’s most aristocratic families, with acreage comparable to that of Rhode Island in the Hudson River Valley of New York. Members of the Livingston family are notable for a variety of roles in the early republic, including as the administrator of the oath of office to George Washington, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and early Supreme Court Justice. This collection provides a glimpse into the continued wealth and prosperity of the American aristocracy of the Livingston legacy. In a variety of conditions, some with small tears and some water staining or light foxing, all with fold-marks, otherwise very good. [Detailed list of billheads is available upon request].
Price: $1,200.00