SS Brittania & SS Normandie Passage Contract - 6 September 1939

 

SS Brittania & SS Normandie Passage Ticket, Rotterdam to Southampton & Southampton to New York, departing 6 September 1939.

SS Brittania & SS Normandie Passage Ticket, Rotterdam to Southampton & Southampton to New York, departing 6 September 1939, issued to Mrs. Agnes de Linia (or de Lina). GGA Image ID # 1fa55cbf18

 

Summary of Passage Contract

  • Date of Purchase / Voyage: 6 September 1939
  • Steamship Line: CGT French Line
  • Steamship: SS Brittania / SS Normandie
  • Route: Rotterdam to Southampton / Southampton to New York
  • Ticket Type: Passage Contract
  • Voyage Class: Cabin
  • Name on Contract: Mrs. Agnes de Lina
  • Etnicity of Passenger(s): American
  • Contract Terms: Transcribed
  • Cost of Ticket: $114.93 / $2,140.00 USD in 2020

 

Passage Contract Details

On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

Ticket No. 20082

First portion of journey was Rotterdam to Southampton on 1 September 1939 aboard the Brittania. Mrs. Lina transferrred to the Normandie for the voyage across the Atlantic.

Cost of Passage: 215.00 (Currency assumed to be in Dutch Guilder)

The Receipt Section states: Received the sum of $7.00 les 7 1/2% ($0.52)= $6.48 at exchange of $4.72 = £1 7s. 5d.

The reverse side was blank.

Ticket was discovered tucked away in a voyage scrapbook. Mrs. de Lina had visited Norway, Denmark, Holland, and England, just before war broke out.

 

Arriving Passenger Record New York

  • Name: Agnes De Lima
  • Gender: Female
  • Marital status: Divorced
  • Age: 52
  • Birth Date: abt 1887
  • Birth Place: New Jersey
  • Other Birth Place: Holywood
  • Departure Port: Le Havre, France
  • Ship Name: Ile de France
  • Arrival Date: 9 Sep 1939
  • Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA

Source Citation
Year: 1939; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 26; Page Number: 43

Source Information

Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Original data:

Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897. Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C.

Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957. Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls. NAI: 300346. Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives at Washington, D.C.

Supplemental Manifests of Alien Passengers and Crew Members Who Arrived on Vessels at New York, New York, Who Were Inspected for Admission, and Related Index, compiled 1887-1952. Microfilm Publication A3461, 21 rolls. NAI: 3887372. RG 85, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted at New York, New York, May 1917-Nov. 1957. Microfilm Publication A3417. NAI: 4497925. National Archives at Washington, D.C.

Passenger Lists, 1962-1972, and Crew Lists, 1943-1972, of Vessels Arriving at Oswego, New York. Microfilm Publication A3426. NAI: 4441521. National Archives at Washington, D.C.

 

Relative Cost of Passage Ticket in Today's Currency Value

215 Dutch guilder [1660-2015] in year 1939 could buy the same amount of consumer goods and services in Sweden as 114.93358979520787 US dollar [1791-2015] could buy in Sweden in year 1939. This comparison should be used if the purpose of the analysis is to compare absolute worth over time rather than relative worth. Historical currency converter

In 2020, the relative values of $114.93 from 1939 ranges from $1,710.00 to $25,700.00.

simple Purchasing Power Calculator would say the relative value is $2,140.00. This answer is obtained by multiplying $114.93 by the percentage increase in the CPI from 1939 to 2020.

This may not be the best answer.

The best measure of the relative value over time depends on if you are interested in comparing the cost or value of a Commodity, Income or Wealth, or a Project.

If you want to compare the value of a $114.93 Commodity in 1939 there are four choices. In 2020 the relative:

  • real price of that commodity is $2,140.00
  • real value in consumption of that commodity is $4,620.00
  • labor value of that commodity is $5,130.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $5,840.00 (using production worker compensation)
  • income value of that commodity is $10,200.00
  • economic share of that commodity is $25,700.00

If you want to compare the value of a $114.93 Income or Wealth, in 1939 there are five choices. In 2020 the relative:

  • real wage or real wealth value of that income or wealth is $2,140.00
  • household purchasing power value of that income or wealth is $4,620.00
  • relative labor earnings of that commodity are $5,130.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $5,840.00 (using production worker compensation)
  • relative income value of that income or wealth is $10,200.00
  • relative output value of that income or wealth is $25,700.00

If you want to compare the value of a $114.93 Project in 1939 there are four choices. In 2020 the relative:

  • real cost of that project is $1,710.00
  • household cost of that project is $4,620.00
  • labor cost of that project is $5,130.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $5,840.00 (using production worker compensation)
  • relative cost of that project is $10,200.00
  • economy cost of that project is $25,700.00

Source: www.measuringworth.com Samuel H. Williamson, "Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to present," MeasuringWorth, 2022.

 

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