September 2011 issue of the Sound Box - The Eldridge Johnson You Didn’t Know
This article describes some of the lesser known activities of the founder of The Victor Talking Machine Company
The Merion Tribute Center
Photographs courtesy of Jack Strong
Listen to Jack Strong’s program of vocal harmony music every Sunday 5AM - 7AM and Thursday 3PM-5PM pacific time on the Doo-Wop Cafe.
Johnson’s Home in Morrestown NJ
http://webspace.webring.com/people/tf/fanofthe20thcenturylimited/briedenhart.htm
http://www.lsmnj.org/programs-services/senior-healthcare/lutheran-home-at-moorestown/
The Cooper Street Library and Johnson Park
http://www.camdenwaterfront.com/things-to-do/walt-whitman-arts-center-eldridge-r-johnson-park
http://johnson-park.camden.rutgers.edu/
The Eldridge Reeves Johnson Foundation, Department of Biochemisty and Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/biocbiop/jf/jf.html
The original manuscript of Alice
http://www.bl.uk/turningthepages#
The Johnson Victrola Museum
http://history.delaware.gov/museums/jvm/jvm_main.shtml
Eldridge Johnson’s Yacht “Caroline”
Laid down 18 August 1930 as the yacht Caroline by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine for Eldridge H. Johnson; Launched 18 July 1931; Delivered 23 September 1931. Caroline served as a base for scientific research at Easter Island. Sold in 1938 to William B. Leeds and renamed Moana; Acquired by the Navy, 28 November 1941; Converted for naval service at Craig Shipbuilding, Long Beach, CA; Commissioned USS Hilo (PG-58), 11 June 1942; Reclassified as a Motor Torpedo Boat Tender, AGP-2, 13 January 1943; Decommissioned, 3 March 1946; Transferred to the Maritime Commission 1 July 1946 and sold to Pillsbury and Martingnoni of San Francisco, CA; Scrapped in 1958.
Specifications: Displacement 2,350 t.; Length 278' 11"; Beam 38' 3"; Draft 17'; Speed 14.5 kts.; Complement 105; Armament one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount; Propulsion two 3,000shp Cooper Bessemer diesel engines, two shafts.
Above are several interior views of Johnson's yacht. Visible in the living room is a Steinway Duo-Art piano in an elaborate art case. Behind the piano is what appears on first look to be a large Victrola . On closer inspection it turns out to be a illusion created by the way the drapes are hanging.
Fenimore Johnson’s Yacht “Elsie Fenimore”
http://yachtbidz.com/2011/06/1934-87-ft-classic-trumpy-motor-sailer-yacht/
Now known as the Caroline Rose, Fenimore's boat is currently for sale in San Diego. The asking price is $25,000.
Here is the seller's description of the boat:
History of Vessel: The Caroline Rose has been blessed with a rich History.
Originally known as the Elsie Fenimore, she was built for E.R. Fenimore Johnson, the son of Eldridge Reeves Johnson, founder of the Victor Talking Machine Co. In his own right, Mr. Johnson was known for his underwater photography, underwater camera design and marine scientific research. A scientific study on the absorption and scattering of solar radiation by the sea was conducted onboard the vessel and published in 1937 along with two colleagues.
In 1942, she was purchased by the Maritime Commisision, renamed and commissioned the USS John M. Howard (IX-75) in honor of a late Navy ensign. Assigned to the Washington Navy yard for duty under the Bureau of Ordinance, she was outfitted as a floating photographic laboratory. During the war, the vessel was used for ordinance experiments. In January of 1943, she departed Washington for 100 days of experimental operations on the Atlantic coast. In 1945, she was decommissioned and placed in service until November of that year.
She was again resold to E. R. Fenimore Johnson in 1946 and resumed her as the yacht “Elsie Fenimore” In 1954, she again figured in a scientific paper on the study of the Gulf Stream.
According to the book, “Trumpy” By Robert Tolf and the Lloyd’s Of London Registry, she was renamed “Earl Of Desmond” in 1962 and owned by two owners under that name, The Geraldines, Ltd.(1962) and James W. Fitzgerald.(1973)
Excerpt from the Annual Report of THe Smithsonian Institution - 1933
JOHNSON-SMITHSONIAN DEEP-SEA EXPEDITION
One of the most extensive programs of oceanographic investigation
ever entered into by the Institution was initiated during the year
under the name "Johnson-Smithsonian Deep-Sea Expedition."
Mr. Eldridge E. Johnson, of Philadelphia, offered the use of his
yacht Caroline, to be completely equipped at his expense with the
most modern devices for oceanographic work. It is expected to
make cruises in several following years. The work is under the direc-
tion of Dr. Paul Bartsch, curator of the division of mollusks in the
National Museum, and the personnel of the first cruise included
T. T. Brown, Naval Research Laboratory, physicist; E. W. Price,
Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agricul-
ture, zoologist; Charles Weber, student at George Washington Univer-
sity, assistant zoologist; Elie Cheverlange, artist; G. II . Goergens,
United States Department of Agriculture, photographer; and A. W.
Wilding, Bureau of American Ethnology, secretary. The Institution
was materially assisted in preparation for the cruise by the Navy
Department, the Department of Agriculture, the Carnegie Institution
of Washington, George Washington University, the Zoological Society
and the Oceanographic Institution of Woods Hole.
The first cruise began at New York, January 21, 1933, and ended
at the navy yard dock in Washington, March 14, most of the nearly
two months being spent in exploring the Puerto Rican deep. The
results of the cruise came fully up to expectations. Dr. Bartsch
reports that the work was concentrated upon the rim of the deep and
that marvelous catches were made, representing all the various
groups of marine organisms from vertebrates down to protozoa, as
well as aquatic plants. About four truckloads of specimens were
carried to the museum.
In addition to actual specimens gathered, three lines of soundings,
235 miles long, were made through the long axis of the deep 20 miles
apart with a sounding station at every 5-mile interval. Some of the
former depths reported were slightly in excess of those which the
Caroline obtained in the same location. It is possible that the dis-
crepancy may be due to the bending and deflecting of the wire for-
merly used in sounding. All the work in this direction was accom-
plished by means of the echo sounding device installed through the
courtesy of the Navy Department. In using the sonic sounding
machine a vibrant note is sent out by an oscillator, which, upon
reaching the bottom, is reflected therefrom and caught by micro-
phones installed on the ship and then carried to the observer. The
interval between sending out the note and the arrival of the echo
gives data easily translated into the desired depth. By this means
it is easy within a limited number of seconds to determine even the
greatest depth found, which was 4,400 fathoms, that is, about 5
miles. Then, also, the expedition gathered samples of water from
various depths and temperature readings by thermometers specially
designed for the purpose.
Dr. Bartsch states that "this expedition has been the finest in which
I have had the opportunity to take part. Mr. Johnson and his son
and the invited guests, Mr. Douglass and family, the members of the
staff, and every individual from the captain to the cabin stewards
did everything in their power to help and thus bent each moment to a
purpose. Aside from the splendid surroundings in which the work
was done, their esprit de corps made the expedition a memorable one.
It will take weeks before all of the elements will have been separated
into the component groups, after which they will be turned over to
specialists for report. Mr. Johnson deserves great credit for spon-
soring this enterprise."
The preliminary results of this first cruise, particularly the descrip-
tions of the many new forms found, are now being written up and will
be published in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.
An important accomplishment of the department of biology was the
organization of the Johnson-Smithsonian deep-sea expedition, under
the direction of Dr. Paul Bartsch, curator of mollusks and Cenozoic
invertebrates, and the successful completion of the first of a series of
cruises planned for oceanographic work. Eldridge R. Johnson in the
fall of 1932 placed his palatial yacht Caroline at the disposal of the
Smithsonian Institution for the purpose of deep-sea exploration, to-
gether with funds for equipment of the vessel, necessary gear and
instruments, and an adequate scientific staff. At the suggestion of
Dr. Bartsch an oceanographic survey of the Puerto Eican Deep was
undertaken. Various agencies of the Government interested in
oceanographic work, including bureaus in the Navy, Agriculture, and
Commerce Departments, rendered valuable assistance in the way of
suggestions and material, as did the authorities of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington, the Oceanographic Institution of Woods
Hole, the American Museum of Natural History, Dr. William Beebe,
and others. The gathering of equipment and its installation began in
October, and on January 21, 1933, the Caroline left New York.
The program for the cruise was carried out successfully, and on
March 14 the Caroline returned to Washington loaded with valuable
collections, embracing many forms of life unknown to science, and
with extensive observations in the various branches of oceanography,
all of which are now in the hands of specialists for study. During
the cruise more than 900 soundings were made, and serial gatherings
of water samples and temperatures were taken down to 3,200 fathoms.
Collections were made at 109 stations, mostly at depths below 200
fathoms, with gear ranging from tangles to dredges, beam trawls,
otter trawls, and intermediate nets. Several cores were taken, and
morning and evening observations of air draft were made by means
of pilot balloons observed through a theodolite. It is planned to
continue the work during another cruise in the same general area.