1934 Hand-Written Christmas Letter & Cut Cover SS Excambrion Pier 7 Jersey City For Sale

Approximately 7.25” by 5”

Item Details

• Type: Personal Handwritten Letter & Partial Cover/Envelope Cut

• Date: December 26, 1934

• Writer: Edith (5139 Cedar Avenue, Philadelphia)

• Recipient: Miss Dorothy George, SS Excambrion, Pier 7, Exchange Place, Jersey City, New Jersey

• Content Highlights: 2-page handwritten Christmas letter on 5139 Cedar Avenue stationery detailing holiday preparation, a late-night tea party (\"sandwich and cocktail at four stayed til 1am and eggs\"), home-made jellies (orange, quince, lemon butter), \"grippe\" (flu) in the house, and sending travel/bon voyage wishes for an upcoming ship voyage.

The vessel referenced in historical records is the SS Excambion (often misspelled Excambrion or Excambion II in informal logs and mail cuts). Built by the New York Shipbuilding Company in Camden, New Jersey, and launched in 1931, the combination passenger-and-cargo liner was operated by American Export Lines (originally the Export Steamship Corporation).

• The \"Four Aces\" Fleet: The Excambion was one of four identical sister ships—along with the Excalibur, Exeter, and Exochorda—collectively marketed as the \"Four Aces\". They operated out of the Port of New York / Jersey City terminals to Mediterranean ports, offering both transatlantic liner service and popular 40-day luxury cruises stopping at ports in Gibraltar, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Palestine.

• Wartime Refugee Rescue: In late 1940 and 1941, prior to the U.S. entry into World War II, the Excambion played a key role running voyages out of neutral Lisbon, Portugal, rescuing American diplomats and European refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe.

• World War II Naval Service: On January 8, 1942, the ship was acquired by the U.S. Navy for wartime service. Renamed the USS John Penn (AP-51 / APA-23), she served as an attack transport.

• Pacific Theater & Loss: The ship participated in Operation Torch (the North African invasion) in 1942 before transferring to the Pacific Theater. On August 13, 1943, after unloading military supplies off Lunga Point at Guadalcanal, the USS John Penn was attacked by Japanese torpedo bombers, hit, and sunk.

(Note: Following WWII, American Export Lines converted a second set of four attack transports into passenger liners, reusing the \"Four Aces\" names; the postwar SS Excambion II later served as the maritime training vessel USTS Texas Clipper before being sunk as an artificial reef in 2007.)