Suez-Tripoli Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of thirteen postcards illustrating Suez, Egypt, the Suez Canal, and Tripoli.
Collection
Creation Date
Unknown
Your TR Source
Charles C. Myers Collection
The Charles C. Myers collection consists primarily of more than 900 postcards gathered by Myers in the course of his duty as a sailor in the Great White Fleet, as well as in personal travels throughout his life. It also includes other souvenirs, such as tickets and handkerchiefs, as well as some of his personal effects, such as his sailors’ hat and his personal bible. In 2024, Myers’ granddaughter Melody Keane reached out to the TR Center and generously donated the collection to us.
Charles Cleveland Myers was born in Novelty, Missouri in 1879. He initially planned to be a teacher and obtained a certification from a normal school. However, he felt for personal reasons that he did not make a good teacher, and soon joined the US Navy. At the time he was sent on duty with the Great White Fleet, he was an electrician, holding the rank of Chief Petty Officer. One of his eardrums was damaged in a searchlight explosion, and he was honorably discharged in 1910. For three years after, he toured the country giving lectures about his travels. In 1913, he married and settled in Altadena, California, where he raised his family. Myers died in 1942, aged 63, of a brain tumor.
View items from the collection below.
Gibraltar Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of eleven postcards illustrating his visit to Gibraltar.
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Creation Date
Unknown
Cuba Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of thirteen postcards depicting areas of Cuba and its inhabitants.
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Creation Date
Unknown
England Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of fifteen postcards depicting areas of England.
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Unknown
London Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of 35 postcards illustrating his visit to London, England.
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Unknown
British Coronation Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of thirty-three postcards illustrating his visit to England at the time of the coronation of King of Great Britain George V in June 1911.
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Creation Date
Unknown
Cherbourg Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of seven postcards depicting the port of Cherbourg, France, its people, and its surroundings.
Collection
Creation Date
Unknown
Paris– Versailles Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of fifty-one postcards illustrating his visit to Paris and Versailles.
Collection
Creation Date
Unknown
Philippines Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of nineteen postcards illustrating his visit to the Philippines.
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Unknown
Albany, Australia Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of five postcards illustrating Albany, Australia.
Collection
Creation Date
1908
Washington Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of twenty-four postcards illustrating Washington D. C.
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Creation Date
Unknown
Provincetown, Boston, Beverly and Salem Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of 16 postcards illustrating his visit to several areas in Massachusetts, including Provincetown, Boston, Beverly, and Salem.
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Creation Date
Unknown
Algiers Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of eight postcards illustrating his visit to Algiers, Algeria.
Collection
Creation Date
Unknown
Yosemite Narrative
Charles C. Myers describes a series of twenty-two postcards depicting Yosemite National Park and Yosemite Valley in California.
Comments and Context
Some postcards described in Myers’s narrative are missing from the collection, while others are duplicated.
Collection
The “Wisconsin” in a typhoon, China Sea
Postcard showing the smokestacks and top of the battleship Wisconsin above the waves of the China Sea.
Comments and Context
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “I assure you that a storm at sea is no pleasant experience when the ocean’s surface is like high mountains and deep valleys all traveling with the speed of the wind and the ship is tossed up and down and around like a small cork in a large tank of water, first on one side and then the other till you are sure that the ship is going to turn clear over and the next instant it seems to be standing nearly on the end and you are thrown against one wall and then the other whenever you attempt to walk across the room. At one instant the ship is on the summit of the mountain of water and then it goes down like an elevator with lightening speed as the mountain glides out from under it and then up again as it rides the surface of the next mountain coming along.
The China sea well deserves its reputation as being the roughest body of water on the globe and seldom may a ship cross this sea without seeing something of a storm. We are now with the Battleship Fleet and crossing the China Sea enroute from Philipine [sic] Islands to Japan, a seven days trip, and on the third day out from Manilla [sic] a typhoon crossed before us and we had the full experience of the rough water. This shows one of the great swells or ocean mountains with the battleship Wisconsin just beyond the summit, the next instant from this same location we would be looking down upon the ship while it was way down in the deep valley.”
The “Virginia” going into a heavy swell
Postcard showing the conning tower of the USS Virginia above the waves of the China Sea.
Comments and Context
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This shows one of the great ocean swells going toward the battleship Virginia and that ship will be almost completely under water before it can rise up and be on top of the mountain. Now a battleship is made so that it could hardly sink. It has hundreds of rooms or compartmrnts [sic] with steel walls and air tight. These rooms are kept closed when at sea so that they are filled with air and water cannot get in. Now if you take a rubber bag and fill it with air and then plunge it beneath the water it will at once come to the top. Just so with a battleship, it has hundreds of these large rooms air tight, so if the ship be plunged beneath the water it will instantly come to the top. Now when that large wave or mountain hits the ship it will look…” [annotation continued on next postcard].
Collection
U.S.S. “Georgia” Foc’sle in heavy storm
Postcard showing the bow of the U.S.S. Georgia being assaulted by waves and spray in a heavy storm.
Comments and Context
In Charles C. Myers’s own words [annotation continued from previous post card] “…like this. It will appear as if the ship was plunging right into the mountain side and the front end of the ship will be completely under water before the ship can gradually rise up and be on top again.”
Collection
Storm scene, showing U.S.S. “Nebraska”
Postcard showing the very top of the battleship U.S.S. Nebraska above the stormy waves of the China Sea.
Comments and Context
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “The masts on these battleships are 100ft high. Now you see here is one of the ocean waves between here and the Battleship Nebraska, so high that you can only see the top of the masts.”
Collection
A rough weather scene taken from U.S.S. “Louisiana”
Postcard showing the U.S.S. Louisiana among the waves of the China Sea.
Comments and Context
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This shows another one of the battleships as it is riding on the side of one of the swells of the ocean.”
Collection
U.S.S. “Rhode Island” in a storm
Postcard showing the tops of the U.S.S. Rhode Island’s masts above the stormy waves of the China Sea.
Comments and Context
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Another one showing the Rhode Island beyond the mountain. Sometimes accidents occur in these storms and men are swept overboard by the mighty waves coming over the ship. One accident which ended remarkably fortunate and like no other case on record was when a man fell overboard during this storm, from one of the battleships and the waves carried him back and threw him on board the ship behind, he was saved and uninjured.
This storm lasted three days and then began to quiet down so that the last day of our trip to Japan was an enjoyable day and our visit to Japan was indeed one of pleasure. The Japanese as you see them in their home country are as hospitable and courteous people as you will find in the whole world and the welcome that they gave the American Fleet in 1908 has never been surpassed. We were treated with respect and courtesy and a welcome as if we were to be President the next day. Their homes were open to us and they spared no pains to make us feel welcome and enjoy our visit to their country.”