C. 1890'S COLOR DIECUT TICKET PALACE STEAM SHIP PHILADELPHIA TO CAPE MAY, NJ

Description

Offered is a diecut c.1890’s color lithographed ticket or souvenir advertisement for ship travel on the Palace Steamer Republic from Philadelphia to Cape May, New Jersey. One side of this circle-shaped ticket features a detailed, color depiction of the steamboat with several flags. It mentions that the Republic leaves Pace St. Wharf at 7:30 A.M. This embarking site in Philadelphia is where the Ben Franklin Bridge is now located. The other side is in the shape of a nautical lifebuoy with a ship’s wheel in its center. It proclaims that the fare for round trip to the Cape is .00 and each spoke of the wheel touts its pleasures: music, dancing, refreshments, theatricals, and bathing.
The Republic was known as “the Palace Steamer” because she had luxury amenities and could accommodate 3,000 passengers of various classes. “
Between 1878 to 1904 she brought travelers to Philadelphia to Cape May on a 7 hour excursion down the Delaware River and Bay. In July of 1878, her first month of operation, she brought 45,324 passengers to Cape May. By way of comparison, the 1880 census listed the entire population of Cape May County at
9,765
The
Republic
departed Philadelphia on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. She was 270 feet long and 67 feet at her widest. She had three decks where travelers could enjoy
breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as live entertainment from a brass and string band on their journey. A round trip ticket was .00.
The lower deck had the dining room and restaurant as well as smoking rooms, refreshment stands, and other accommodations. The second deck had a grand carpeted saloon accessed by two broad stairways and was stylishly furnished. There were also 18 staterooms. The third deck had the pilot house and enclosed seating area. It made for a quite an enjoyable journey passing the sights along the river and into the bay.
Travelers would disembark at Sunset Beach in Cape May Point. A 395 foot long T-shaped wharf with a 100 foot long landing had been built to accommodate
The Republic.
From there they could take a carriage or short trolley ride into the main town of Cape May.
The arrival of the ship at Sunset Beach became a social event unto itself with locals coming out to great the ship at the pier, much like residents do today when the Cape May-Lewes arrives at the terminal.
By the turn on of the 20th century, the must faster railroads had replaced steamboats as the preferred means of travel to Cape May.” Source: traveltocapemay dot omega dot net 1903 was the last year of the Republic’s operation and by that date she had been renamed the Cape May.
Size: 3.25" diameter
Very good, with a two inch diagonal crease at the bottom left on the ship side (visible on both sides) and slight paper loss in the blank area of the extreme left edge, visible only on the front. We do not know if the ribbon is original to the piece. There are two tiny pin prick holes on the right edge.
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Returns accepted within 7 days of delivery if item does not match description or expectations.