H. A. Kanzler travel journal

Title: H. A. Kanzler travel journal

Dates: 1915

Collection Number: MS 798

Creator/Collector: Kanzler, H. A.

Extent: 1 scrapbook

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: Journal generated by H. A. Kanzler documenting his trip to the West in 1915.

Language of Material: English

This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives staff to arrange for access.

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

H. A. Kanzler travel journal. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Brad Joseph, 2018

H. A. Kanzler is a passenger who toured from St. Louis, Missouri to California and the West by railroad in 1915.

The journal consists of roughly 300 pages of cursive writing detailing a trip to the West seen through the eyes of an American tourist. The journal is adorned with postcards, clippings, and ephemera collected throughout the excursion, as well as an itinerary and train schedule, which includes dates of travel and railroad routes taken. It is an historical snapshot of what rail travel was like in the early 1900s – at a time when passenger trains flourished and the West was marketed by railroad companies and cities to capture the interests of tourists who had never visited that part of the country. Among some of the sites visited, Kanzler describes in great detail his attendance at the expositions in San Diego and San Francisco celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal. The journal also provides insight into what conditions were like inside passenger trains in the early 20th century. Due to its age and fragile condition, the physical journal is only available under certain conditions with advance notice; however, it will be digitized and accessible online for all researchers in the future.