Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Werner von Boltenstern Travel Records Collection
- Dates:
- 1929-1975
- Abstract:
- The Werner von Boltenstern Travel Records Collection chiefly consists of government travel documents and the personal record-keeping that von Boltenstern maintained during his world-wide travels.
- Extent:
- 2.1 Linear Feet (2 half legal boxes; 1 oversize box)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Box and Folder number, Werner von Boltenstern Travel Records Collection, MS119, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Werner von Boltenstern Travel Records Collection consists of government identity and travel documents, letters of reference for Werner von Boltenstern, his travel logs, and some personal items. A German citizen born in Berlin in 1904, Werner von Boltenstern undertook his world travel in 1929, travelling through Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and China. In 1939 he reached Shanghai, where he lived until 1949. Perhaps caused by the Chinese Communist takeover of Shanghai in 1949, he left the city that same year and eventually came to the United States in 1950, where he settled in Los Angeles. His identity documents always list his occupation as photographer, and he probably earned money through this means, on his travels. It was true for his ten-year residence in Shanghai, which resulted in a large number of photographs of the Jewish refugee community there. The collection is now part of the holdings of the Department of Archives and Special Collections. To consult the collection guide, select this title: Collection 50, Shanghai Photograph and Negative Collection.
The ledger found in Box 2, Folder 1, served as a travel log for his world journey from 1929 to 1939. It contains governmental stamps and written notices of von Boltenstern's stay at places along his travels. He probably secured such official notices to receive authorization for his stay in a locale, as well as to document his travels.
Of particular interest are the letters of reference that von Boltenstern obtained from persons in Shanghai, including members of the Jewish refugee community there. The letters testify to his good relations with the community and his anti-Nazi sentiments. As such the letters stand as a source for understanding life in that important Jewish refugee community, composed of Jewish exiles from Nazi-ruled Germany and Europe.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Werner von Boltenstern (1904-1978) was born in Berlin, Germany, and supposedly earned two doctorates. He also developed a keen interest in photography and postcards. A world traveler beginning in 1929, von Boltenstern travelled through Africa, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and China.
Von Boltenstern moved to the United States by 1950 (Los Angeles). Von Boltenstern was a keen collector of postcards, and his passion for them was realized here. He became the program director of the Southern California Postcard Club and authored numerous pieces on postcards, including the pamphlet "An Introduction to Postcard Collecting," a fine guide to this pursuit. His own collecting was prodigious, as evidenced by his million postcard collection, which he donated to Loyola Marymount University in 1967, where it is now the "Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection."
Chronology
•1904: Birth of Werner von Boltenstern in Berlin, Germany.
•1929: Werner von Boltenstern begins his world-wide travels, arriving in Portugal.
•1929-1935: Von Boltenstern reaches Africa. Travels to all parts of the continent over the next six years.
•1935: Von Boltenstern arrives in Ramadi, Iraq.
•1935: Von Boltenstern travels through the Middle East, reaching India (Jodhpur).
•1937: After spending two years in India, von Boltenstern moves on to Burma (Myanmar) and then proceeds to Thailand and next to Vietnam. He also probably travels through Cambodia.
•1938: Von Boltenstern arrives in the Philippines.
•1939: Von Boltenstern travels to China, reaching Shanghai, where he will live for the next ten years.
•1949: Von Boltenstern leaves Shanghai for Taiwan.
•1949: Von Boltenstern arrives in Hong Kong.
•1950: Von Boltenstern immigrates to the United States, where he lives (Los Angeles) until his death in 1978.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Erica von Boltenstern, 2014. Accession number: 2014.49.
- Arrangement:
-
This small collection came with no original order. Too small for series, the materials have been grouped in the box and folder list by subject, eg, passports are found in folders 1 and 2 of Box 1.
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-10 10:56:37 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University.
- Terms of access:
-
Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or executors.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Box and Folder number, Werner von Boltenstern Travel Records Collection, MS119, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.
- Location of this collection:
-
1 LMU DriveLos Angeles, CA 90045-2659, US
- Contact:
- (310) 338-5710