German by birth, passport-carrying resident of Russia, naturalized citizen of the U.S.A., and Athenian by choice: that was Heinrich Schliemann. In 1846-47, he made his first grand tour of western Europe, traveling to many cities, including London, Paris, and Berlin. In 1851, having become a St. Petersburg entrepreneur, he journeyed to the United States because his brother, Louis, had died in California and Schliemann wanted to make the necessary arrangements and claim the estate, but also to explore new business opportunities. He arrived in New York, visited Washington DC, then went to San Francisco but decided to settle down in Sacramento and establish a bank, exchanging cash for gold dust during the Gold Rush. This lucrative American adventure lasted for almost two years. Back in St. Petersburg, in 1852, he continued to expand his business and travel around the Mediterranean.
In 1864, he embarked on a yet another long trip, going first to Carthage in North Africa, then Egypt and India. From Ceylon and Java (now Sri Lanka and Indonesia), his next stop was China, where, he toured for two months, visiting Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and many other places. The last highlight of his journey was Japan. His first effort as an author recorded those travel impressions in a book, under the title Le Chine et le Japon au temps présent (1867). Throughout his life, Schliemann never missed an opportunity to spend time on the road, whether to visit a place of archaeological interest or a city not seen before. He was a true cosmopolitan and a traveler par excellence.
Schliemann visited London during his first big European trip (1846-47) and fell immediately under its spell. The British Museum impressed him enormously; he was particularly fascinated by the displays of Egyptian mummies and sarcophagi.
The British Museum: the Egyptian Room, with visitors. Wood engraving, 1847. Public domain, retrieved from the Wellcome Collection
"The irresistible desire to travel and to see the world, prompted me to leave St. Petersburg again on the 10 December 1850." Schliemann describing the beginning of his first trip to America.
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A2
"...New York is a very regularly built, nice, and clean town and has many many elegant and even colossal buildings; but as a new city it can of course in no way be compared in architectural point of view to any of the grand European capitals. The houses are generally of brick and not paved covered with chalk. Of the streets, which are all pretty very regular and well paved, the broadest and most elegant is the Broad-way, which is abt 3 ½ miles long and passes the whole town. There are 4 theaters, all of which are small, and badly decorated, and little attended to, for the bustling busy spirit of the Americans does not permit them to think of theaters. The only place of public amusement most attended to is Barnum’s museum..."
[Click here to listen to the excerpt]
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A2
Broadway, commended by Schliemann for its breadth and elegance, with Barnum’s American Museum, which offered attractions and performances both strange and educational (“all sorts of ludicrous humbug,” so Schliemann) from 1841 to 1865.
William England, photographer. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City. Public domain, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons
Schliemann settled in Sacramento, where he established a banking house at the peak of the California Gold Rush. He lived and worked in the States for almost two years.
Schliemann, while enjoying the profits made in Sacramento, reminisced about life in St. Petersburg in his diary:
"…My business is now on an enormous scale and my profits are large. If in former years I had known that I should one day gain only one quarter of what I earn now, I should have thought myself the happiest of men, but now I feel myself very unfortunate, since I am seperated [sic] by a distance of 18/m versts from St Petersburg where all my hopes, all my desires are concentrated… Whilst here in Sacramento I can every moment expect to be murdered or robbed, I can in Russia sleep tranquilly in my bed without any fear for my life or property, for thousand eyes of justice watch there over the peaceful inhabitant."
[Click here to listen to the excerpt]
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A2
The trip from Jerusalem to Petra was not an easy one. Schliemann and his fellow traveler W. Marshall penned a letter to the editor of the London Times, published May 27, 1859, with advice for aspiring visitors to the site, concluding: "…with an experienced and discreet dragoman, and with some forbearance and judgment on the part of travelers themselves, there need be no obstacles in the way of enjoying the glorious scenery and unique grandeur and beauties of Petra." Schliemann describing his trip to Petra in May 1859, with sketches of the site. ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A3
Schliemann visited India during his great trip of 1864-65. While staying in Delhi, he saw the Jama Masjid mosque there, and described it in his diary:
"I went up to the Juma-Mosque [sic] which is the largest and most beautiful in the city and was founded in 1630 by Shah Jehan, the same who founded the city..."
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A5
Some of Schliemann’s diary entries, describing his arrival in the Japanese city of Yokohama and first impressions. The travel experiences from his tour of China and Japan were the subject of his first book, La Chine et le Japon.
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A6
Schliemann had visited Egypt many times. For his trip in 1886-87, he planned to travel with his family, but Sophia changed her mind at the last minute. He sailed up the Nile and again visited all the major archaeological sites. He wrote:
"In going up to the top of the great pyramid of Cheops, as well as in penetrating into its interior chambers, I got convinced that you and mama had better not try the experiment, the high jumps on or from gigantic blocks, or the crawling in the low corridors being too fatiguing and enervating. The great Sphinx is now being excavated and its colossal paws have already come to light; but no discovery of any particular interest has as yet been made in the excavation."
Heinrich Schliemann, letter to his daughter Andromache from Cairo, December 8, 1886
View of the Sphinx and the nearby pyramids, with several local people and their camels. Visible between the Sphinx's paws is the Dreme Stele of Thutmose IV, partially excavated.
Schliemann visited London during his first big European trip (1846-47) and fell immediately under its spell. The British Museum impressed him enormously; he was particularly fascinated by the displays of Egyptian mummies and sarcophagi.
The British Museum: the Egyptian Room, with visitors. Wood engraving, 1847. Public domain, retrieved from the Wellcome Collection
"The irresistible desire to travel and to see the world, prompted me to leave St. Petersburg again on the 10 December 1850." Schliemann describing the beginning of his first trip to America.
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A2
Schliemann arrived in New York on February 15, 1851, and stayed at the Astor House on Broadway and Vesey Street.
Astor House Broadway, Society of Iconophiles, 1909 / etched by S.L. Smith, from a photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress
"...New York is a very regularly built, nice, and clean town and has many many elegant and even colossal buildings; but as a new city it can of course in no way be compared in architectural point of view to any of the grand European capitals. The houses are generally of brick and not paved covered with chalk. Of the streets, which are all pretty very regular and well paved, the broadest and most elegant is the Broad-way, which is abt 3 ½ miles long and passes the whole town. There are 4 theaters, all of which are small, and badly decorated, and little attended to, for the bustling busy spirit of the Americans does not permit them to think of theaters. The only place of public amusement most attended to is Barnum’s museum..."
[Click here to listen to the excerpt]
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A2
Heinrich Schliemann in New York, 1851-1852 ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers
Broadway, commended by Schliemann for its breadth and elegance, with Barnum’s American Museum, which offered attractions and performances both strange and educational (“all sorts of ludicrous humbug,” so Schliemann) from 1841 to 1865.
William England, photographer. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City. Public domain, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons
Schliemann settled in Sacramento, where he established a banking house at the peak of the California Gold Rush. He lived and worked in the States for almost two years.
Schliemann, while enjoying the profits made in Sacramento, reminisced about life in St. Petersburg in his diary:
"…My business is now on an enormous scale and my profits are large. If in former years I had known that I should one day gain only one quarter of what I earn now, I should have thought myself the happiest of men, but now I feel myself very unfortunate, since I am seperated [sic] by a distance of 18/m versts from St Petersburg where all my hopes, all my desires are concentrated… Whilst here in Sacramento I can every moment expect to be murdered or robbed, I can in Russia sleep tranquilly in my bed without any fear for my life or property, for thousand eyes of justice watch there over the peaceful inhabitant."
[Click here to listen to the excerpt]
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A2
Photo of Heinrich Schliemann ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers
The trip from Jerusalem to Petra was not an easy one. Schliemann and his fellow traveler W. Marshall penned a letter to the editor of the London Times, published May 27, 1859, with advice for aspiring visitors to the site, concluding: "…with an experienced and discreet dragoman, and with some forbearance and judgment on the part of travelers themselves, there need be no obstacles in the way of enjoying the glorious scenery and unique grandeur and beauties of Petra." Schliemann describing his trip to Petra in May 1859, with sketches of the site. ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A3
Petra d'Juokune Maison Bonfils, photographer, (Beirut, Lebanon). Petra d' Juokune [between 1867 and 1899]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress
Schliemann visited India during his great trip of 1864-65. While staying in Delhi, he saw the Jama Masjid mosque there, and described it in his diary:
"I went up to the Juma-Mosque [sic] which is the largest and most beautiful in the city and was founded in 1630 by Shah Jehan, the same who founded the city..."
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A5
Panoramic view of Delhi including the entrance to the Jama Masjid. ca. 1858. Felice Beato, photographer. Retrieved from the Wellcome Collection
Some of Schliemann’s diary entries, describing his arrival in the Japanese city of Yokohama and first impressions. The travel experiences from his tour of China and Japan were the subject of his first book, La Chine et le Japon.
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers, Diary A6
View of the city of Yokohama, c.1870 - c. 1900. Retrieved from the Rijksmuseum
Schliemann had visited Egypt many times. For his trip in 1886-87, he planned to travel with his family, but Sophia changed her mind at the last minute. He sailed up the Nile and again visited all the major archaeological sites. He wrote:
"In going up to the top of the great pyramid of Cheops, as well as in penetrating into its interior chambers, I got convinced that you and mama had better not try the experiment, the high jumps on or from gigantic blocks, or the crawling in the low corridors being too fatiguing and enervating. The great Sphinx is now being excavated and its colossal paws have already come to light; but no discovery of any particular interest has as yet been made in the excavation."
Heinrich Schliemann, letter to his daughter Andromache from Cairo, December 8, 1886
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers
View of the Sphinx and the nearby pyramids, with several local people and their camels. Visible between the Sphinx's paws is the Dreme Stele of Thutmose IV, partially excavated.
