1932 Handwritten Trip Diary To France Simpson Bridgeport CT Asbestos Lawsuit
Item History & Price
WELCOMETO SALLY’S DIARIES: Upfor auction today is a 1932 handwritten travel diary that originallybelonged to Louise Vermilya Simpson of Bridgeport Connecticut. Louisewas the wife of Sumner Simpson who was the President of Raybestos orRoyal Equipment Company of Bridgeport. They were a wealthy andprominent family in Bridgeport. Louise was born in 1874 and herhusband in 1878. They had two children: William S. and Mary L. Thereare quite a few historical things concerning this diary a...nd ourauthor. At the time this diary was written some very interestingthings were happening with her husband’s company. There is acollection of documents, now called the Sumner Simpson Papers, whichdate back to the 1930's and 1940's that are proof of the asbestosindustry's efforts to cover-up the known hazards of asbestosexposure. The Sumner Simpson Papers were discovered during anasbestos-related lawsuit filed in New Jersey in the offices ofRaybestos-Manhattan, Inc. Andthen there’s the entry about Louise meeting Alice Foote MacDougallon board the ship while heading home. MacDougall was known as “Queenof the coffee shop” and began her coffee roasting and retailbusiness in 1907. She is definitely worth looking up; such an amazingwoman. The photo I’ve included above (one I scanned off the web) isa picture NOT of our author but a photo of Alice Foote MacDougall.Just wanted to include it here as I found it so interesting that ourauthor spent time with this very interesting woman. What stories bothof these women had to tell at that time. BeforeI get to the diary itself I want to give you the history behind hisour author’s husband’s company as it’s pretty incredible…...“RaybestosPowertrain has been supplying quality parts to the automobileindustry since 1902. First established as the A.H. Raymond Company, the operation began in a tiny shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut withjust four men manufacturing brake lining, clutch facings and theRaymond brake. To improve the performance and safety of automobilebrakes, owner A.H. Raymond pioneered a non-charring asbestos andcopper-wire brake lining, trade-named “Raybestos, ” which improvedbraking capacity.Visionaryleader Sumner Simpson joined the company, now named the RoyalEquipment Company of Bridgeport, and by 1916 became its president.“Raybestos” had become so synonymous with brakes and clutchlining that the company was renamed the Raybestos Company and saleswere soaring over $1 million.Obviouslyoutgrowing their facility, Raybestos built a new manufacturing plantin Stratford, Connecticut in 1919. The automobile was becoming anecessity, rather than a luxury, which increased the demand forRaybestos parts.By1929, Raybestos merged with its competitor, the Manhattan RubberManufacturing Company. President Sumner Simpson saw the merge as away to strengthen the potential of both companies for growth. Whenthe stock market crashed that same year, the value of the company’sassets were nearly nine times that of its liabilities.Raybestos-Manhattan grew stronger through the Great Depression, providing parts to garages, service stations and automobilemanufacturers, as well as supporting its effort to research andimprove the product line.In1938, the Raybestos friction clutch was used in the first futureautomatic transmission. Raybestos-Manhattan soon became an importantsupplier of parts to the Big 3 OE manufacturers and to the U.S. armedforces. After Pearl Harbor, automobile production came to a virtualstandstill, but Raybestos forged ahead producing vital parts thatwere used in nearly every U.S. military vehicle, airplane andsea-going vessel. Every Raybestos division was honored for itscontribution to the war effort.Raybestosexperienced its best year ever in 1950. Sales rose and earningsreached an all-time high. Expansion of the product line andfacilities was to continue throughout the 50’s. The corporationbuilt a new plant in Crawfordsville, Indiana, made plans to expandthe Stratford, Connecticut facility in 1952 and completed the Neenah, Wisconsin plant in 1953. The company’s leader, Sumner Simpson, diedin June, 1953. His management legacies left a very sound, focusedRaybestos-Manhattan.” Asfar as the diary is concerned, there are 36 handwritten pages andsome are full pages and some just a line or two. It also comes withthe original pencil. She travels on board the French Lines ship Ilede France on her way to Europe and on the way home it’s the Homericof the White Star Line. Ibelieve all of her time is spent in France. There are shipboardentries also, both ways. Hereare a few brief examples….1932“May10th, Left N. Y. at 7 o’clock P.M. on Ile de France for Havre.Dad, Bill, Sister, Elwood, Joyce, Emma all came down with me to seeme off. A very pretty sight. Skyline of New York and Statue ofLiberty at sunset. Unpacked and had dinner. Boat very beautiful inall its appointments. Went to bed, slept all night.” “May11th, Clear and smooth sailing. Had deck walk, nap in deck chairs. Tea ondeck. After dinner (beautiful gowns and wraps). Concert in lounge, dancing in salon.” “May12th, Good sleep all night. Beautiful clear and smooth all day. Enjoyed 4meals. Tea every afternoon. Walk deck for exercise. After lunchwatched horse races. Sent wireless to dad 4:45 P.M. Lovely music inlounge where tea was served. Fuse blew out, no movie after dinner.Cabaret show featuring Babe Egan and Red Heads of Hollywood.” “May16th, Beautiful and clear. Arrived Plymouth between 12 and 1 o’clock.Beautiful shore line. Looked like our own USA. Watched unloading mailand trunks. Left about 2:30. Had lunch. Walked deck, wrote letters, saw movie, had dinner. Busy giving tips.”(She doesn’t write from May 17th- 20th.)“May21st, Left Paris 9:30. Wonderful memosa covering hillside. Thru allcultivated country. All the countrylooks so prosperous and used. Spring shrubs make gorgeous showing.Thru St. Germain. Had lunch at Rouen. Spend night at Normandy HotelDeauville.” (Shespends the next several days in France writing a line or two for eachday then on June 5thboards the Homeric and heads home. There are 7days, longer entries, about her trip home on the ship)“June5th, Left Gare Saint-Lazare at 10:51 A.M. Frances and Mr. Sig. cameto see us off. Had good lunch on train. Arrived Cherbourg 4:15 inpouring rain. Boarded tender. Finally boarded Homeric. Foundwonderful box of flowers from Sun. Got under way about 6:45 P.M. A75suite. Very fine.” “May8th, No sun for long at a time. Walked and sat on deck. Talked with Mrs.Alice FooteMacDougal. Passed by the Paris about 1:30. Sat on deck. Movie. Head___ Gala dinner and dance. Had paper caps, noise makers, confetti, favors. Gertrude danced with an old man.” Herdiary entries end on May 11th, almost home. The diary is in great shape and measures about 3 ½ x 53/4”.
