Monday, April 5, 2010

F. Missler Bremen Advertisement and Linen Wallet



The F. Missler is one of the more famous "ghost" ships in emigration/immigration lore. No ship by that name existed.

The confusion stems from the fact that Freidrich Missler was a 19th century travel agent. He was the biggest ticket agent in Bremen who made an offer of passage to emigrants from Germany to America, Canada, South America, and South Africa in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Missler established a good working relationship with the North German Lloyd shipping line.

Missler's ad at left (which I found on the internet) is an interesting piece of immigration history. It is from the Pecirkuv Narodni kalendar - 1900, published in Prague, and appeared on the back page of the almanac and calendar.

In the early 1900's there was a wave of immigration from what is now the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic to America and other destinations throughout the world. Missler's advertisements promoted this immigration. This particular ad features passage to America, Africa, and Australia from the Port of Bremen, Germany.

By 1903 the Austro-Hungarian government was making a serious effort to stem the tide of emigration and passed the Hungarian Emigration Law of 1903. The Emigration Law contained some pretty strong measures to slow the immigration from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Ads like the one above were banned throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It became illegal to even bring information like this ad into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Article 46 of the law states, "Any one who encourages emigration at a public meeting by speeches, or by distributing printed matter or pamphlets, or by exhibiting these publicly, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than two months, and by a fine not exceeding 600 crowns." In Austria-Hungary, taking Missler's brochure to an inn, meeting place or church and showing it to other people could land you in jail!

A similar ad may have helped my Bohemian ancestors make their decision to emigrate to America or other countries at the turn of the century -- and given them information about making that voyage.

Below is the F. Missler Bremen linen folding ticket and document wallet, given to either Grandfather Jan (John) Zvolanek in 1911, or to his brother Waclav (Jim) in 1914 as they left Bremen, Germany for New York City. I have scanned the front and inside (2 pockets!) of this wallet.
Translation of Polish phrases on inside wallet:
Line 1: "Taking passengers"
Line 2: "Fast steamships to America"
Line 3: "House Banking and Money Exchange"
My thanks to my Aunt Belle and cousins Gale Zuest and Darrell Zvolanek - the wife and children of John's oldest son, my Uncle Edward Zvolanek, who were kind enough to loan all of Grandfather's papers for me to scan and share on this blog.

14 comments:

  1. I have this same wallet! Just found after many years in storage.

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  2. I just read this after googling "F. Missler". I have the EXACT same passport wallet from my great-grandfather, except it is in German! He was a Hungarian citizen of Austrian ethnicity and the passport was issued in 1902. Seeing this made me so happy...

    -Courtney

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  3. Yo tengo una de estas carteras y dice: F.Misser, Buenos-Aires y lo que me llama la atencion es que en el interior, escrito a mano, dice TITANIK.

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  4. I also have the wallet - My grandmother emigrated to the US from Slovakia ~1910 god bless her soul - she even brought five of her children with her.

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  5. I have tin cup with the picture of the ship. It say's Bremen- Amerika above the ships picture. On the other side it has a picture of a bearded man with the words F. Missler in red then under that in black Bremen, and finally under that it say's Bahnhofstrasse No 30. It is very colorful and has designs all around the pictures and words. It has been in my family for at least 3 generations. Not sure of the exact age though.

    Mike.

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    Replies
    1. I believe that would have been July 9th 1913.

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  6. Mike, I would love to see a photo of that! Maybe I'll Google it and see if one has been posted on-line. Thanks.

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  7. Jestem w posiadaniu takiego portfela..jesli ktos ma informacje na temat samego statku zdjecia ,opisy itd prosze o przesłanie..
    mysliwy19@op.pl

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    1. translation from Polish:
      I am in possession of such a portfolio .. If anyone has information on the same vessel images, descriptions, etc. please send me ..
      mysliwy19@op.pl

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  8. We also are in possession of such a portfolio and are trying to find information that might lead us to identifying the ship my grandmother came here on. She came from czechoslovakia in 1910 but I don't know where to go for more informaion

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  9. A few years ago I purchased my childhood home and moved in. Just this Summer I cleaned out the basement of 43 years worth of stuff so I could convert my oil heat to gas heat. In the process, I found a box of documents that my father had saved. Inside was this same cloth F Missler Bremen holder and inside is what appears to be a passport of my grandfathers travels. He was from Russia so the cloth folder was deceiving because it appears, based on what I am reading, that the folder came from Germany but not sure how he got from Russia to Germany and if that is in fact where he got the folder. I am now off to contact the Jewish Museum of History in Oregon to see if they can tell me what the inside of the passport says- in hopes I can trace his travels to America. The last date stamp is 1907. If anyone has comments or additional information/ideas, please contact me at sheila.a.matthews@baml.com

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    1. My family, the Steinmetz took missler bremen ship f in 1913. They also originated in Russia but were a German family by origin. We also ended up in Oregon but went via Nova Scotia, to Alberta to the Northwest.

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  10. Here is a coincedence. My father's father also had this passport holder which my father's sister had in her possession until recently. My aunt gave it to me because I married a Missler 40 years ago. Talk about 6 degrees of separation.

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  11. I'm researching a similar wallet. I'm helping a HS friend (1975) clear out her mother's house which was HER mother's house. Two generations of pack rats ....

    One or both grandparents immigrated here, anthracite coal country, in that era. Her mother was adopted, so it isn't bloodline, but it's fascinating all the same.

    Thanks for being here!

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