Simonius-Blumer boarded the Titanic at Southampton on Wednesday, April 10, 1912, and occupied first class cabin A-26 for his proposed voyage to New York. He was accompanied on the voyage by Dr. Max Staehelin-Maeglin. He was rescued in Lifeboat 3, along with Staehelin-Maeglin, and they were later rescued by the Carpathia from which they disembarked at New York on April 18, 1912. ALS in German, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, embossed On Board R.M.S. Titanic letterhead, “on the way to Southampton outside Cherbourg,” April 10, 1912. Letter to his wife Alice in Switzerland. In full (translated): “We have been underway for an hour and I am using the calm progress of the ship to give you some more news. Yesterday afternoon I had a rather long conversation with H. Cook, the attorney for the Heine Company that Dr. St. [Dr. Max Staehelin, 1880-1955, Director of the Schweizerische Treuhandgesellschaft, who accompanied Simonius on the trip to New York] & H. Castelli were present at. But not much new came out of it, although he is of the opinion that the course of action proposed by me is the right one, only with regard to Heine he is worried, since he thinks that the latter could see my trip as a weakness and calculates that he might demand more since I am making the effort of going to New York for his sake. I, on the other hand, believe that we can most definitely persuade Heine that we are coming personally in order to, above all, settle the differences of opinion and make determinations with respect to the balance sheets between the Treuhand Gesellschaft and the American Chartered Accountance [sic], so that our prior offer of 250 francs per share will be recognized as a major concession. I could then possibly make a higher offer as an ultimatum, which, if not accepted, would force the Heine Company to initiate legal proceedings against Heine. The difficulty for me will be to determine the price of this ultimatum, and for this I must first confer with Mr. Winterfeld and with Mr. Roos, Director of the Heine Company, and get their views, and weigh them. In any case, I must suggest to Heine that I am in New York on other business matters, and am just taking advantage of the opportunity to negotiate with him on a possible trade in Heine shares. I have written this in order to make it clear to you that the matter is really quite delicate and because out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. I think that we will be in Cherbourg at 6 p.m. and I am very eager to see whether Frölicher with his wife and daughter Marguerite will really appear.
The ship Titanic is completely new and unbelievably big with all possible amenities (halls, lifts, wonderful salons, chandeliers, a gymnasium, games, etc. On the upper promenade deck one is some 7 stories above the water, since there are 7 decks, one on top of the other, in the middle of the ship that are just First Class. I estimate the height above the water at approx. 20 meters, and am eager to see whether it’s possible for waves to hit any higher than that. In my room (cabin) a good, rather wide bed, a washbasin with cold and warm water, a nice sofa, a closet, rug, electric fan, electric oven, 3 electric lamps, full carpeted, and even overhead direct light. The room is about 3 meters wide and 4 meters long, all quite comfortable. The wood still smells of the carpentry shop; which is not unpleasant to me.
Aside from Frölicher, I haven’t read any names I know, but since they are three, we will probably manage a game of bridge or skat. I will try to live entirely according to your regime & to bathe & do gymnastics & get massages & I have no doubt that I will come back in better health than when I set off. But the ship is so big that it cannot even rock & so surely fewer people will be seasick and my own seaworthiness means that I continue to have no such feelings. In the Hotel Metropole I saw Stierlin, who sends regards & says he will visit you soon in Basel. Be well, dear Alice, give regards to all the children, and kisses from your Alfons, who, upon embarking, already feels somewhat homesick.”
In fine condition, with a central horizontal fold, a mild block of toning to first page, and uniform toning to last page. An interesting letter as Simonius-Blumer marvels at the majesty of the Titanic in the first hours of the voyage.
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