1933 – Letter from a 29-year-old woman living in Shanghai as a travelling companion for a wealthy older couple
Shanghai, China: 1933. Envelope or Cover. This two-page typed letterfrom China was sent by Velma V. Ritter to her sister, Mrs. A. N. Steigerwald in Portland, Oregon. Its mailing envelope bears a 15-cent blue Sun Yat Sen stamp canceled by a circular Shanghai dated 10 August 1933. In nice shape with short closed tear to the mailing envelope.
In this letter Velma, who had been an accountant in San Francisco, describes her life as a travelling companion with a wealthy older couple. It reads in part:
“I am long away from home. . .. However, I am in good hands with some very lovely English people who have lots of money and I don’t have a thing to do or worry about. We have a nice house here, seven servants, a chauffeur, and everything one could want. I don’t know how long we will be here, or if we will be going on to Europe or if I will go home. The lady has been in the hospital for five weeks but is out now and feeling fine . . . so I rather imagine that she will want to leave as soon as she is stronger and is entirely recovered. She would send me home or any place I wanted to go any time I said the word, but she told me yesterday she hopes I will stick with her, as we do get along so well together, and they are both so good to me. I think that if I have such a marvelous chance to go traveling with well-to-do-influential people like that I would be very foolish not to stick, don’t you? I know I might not get another opportunity to do it in the same way and have the same advantages, so I intend to make the most of it while I am young.
“After Honolulu, Shanghai is a nightmare. Everything is so dirty and unkempt, the weather is so hot, the odors are so unpleasant, and there is no place one could go for a nice drive. . .. There are some rather wash-boardish roads for about 50 miles East of Shanghai, but there is always the danger of bandits and especially dangerous as it is a bit far. They have a Lincoln. . ..
“The weather has been extremely hot for a week, so that one doesn’t have the ambition to do much of anything. There is a breeze this evening which is such a relief that it makes Shanghai almost bearable. They say that winters are extremely cold and I am hoping that I can have moved on . . . before that starts. . ..
“There isn’t a thing interesting to do here in the day time. There are several theatres, but all have very poor sound equipment, so it is rather a waste of time to go. There are plenty of dance halls and cabarets, but they do not open until 10, and one gets tired of going to the same places all the time. If there is a bunch of young people along who are well acquainted . . . they can manage to make it their own fun. . .. I do so much miss Hawaii. . .. I suppose that some day I shall go back. . ..”
. Very good. Item #010776Genealogical records at ancestry.com show that Velma did travel to England and that she did make it back to Hawaii before returning the United States in 1936.
An interesting take on life from a young woman who gave up an accounting position to live a boring life of ease with an older couple in a place she couldn’t stand to be.
.Price: $100.00