Thomas Cook (Founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son)

 

This particular book is from the shelves of the library on board the S.S. Thebes one of Thomas Cook's Nile paddle steamers. The gilt letters on the spine of the book read:

By The Waters Of Egypt

N. Lorimer

S.S. Thebes

Cook's Nile Steamers

The book is a travelogue written in 1909 by Norma Octavia Lorimer (1864–1948)  a Scottish novelist and travel writer. The book is a detailed account of the author's own experiences in Egypt documenting her journey across the Nile aboard the steamship S.S. Ramses the Great.

Amelia B. Edwards, in her classic travelogue A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (first published in 1877) wrote of her journey on the Thebes:

 “The Thebes is a floating hotel, but a hotel with a soul. The Nile glides past like a dream, and the banks are a living scroll of history.”

and more theatrically:

“The Thebes is not merely a steamer—it is a stage, and we, its passengers, are players in a pageant of the Nile.”

The S.S. Thebes was one of Thomas Cook’s elite paddle steamers from the golden age of Nile tourism. Thomas Cook began organising steamer-based Nile tours in the 1860s. By the late 1890s–early 1900’s a fleet of steamers like the Thebes were sailing up and down The Nile.

Built during a period when Cook was expanding his river fleet especially after securing exclusive rights to Nile traffic in 1880 the Thebes was designed for comfort and elegance. Like her sister ships, she was likely constructed in Scotland and shipped in parts to Egypt for assembly. These steamers were outfitted with plush interiors.

Many of Thomas Cook’s luxury Nile paddle steamers, including the S.S. Thebes, featured a small library or reading room on board for passengers.

These libraries were part of the steamer’s refined amenities, designed for wealthy European and American tourists. The goal was to provide comfort, intellectual stimulation, and a sense of leisure akin to a European club or hotel.

The libraries typically included: Travel guides (like Baedeker's and Murray's). Literature (including novels, poetry, and biographies). Books on Egyptology, as many tourists were amateur archaeologists or inspired by the Egyptomania of the era. Newspapers or periodicals from Europe (updated at port cities)

These rooms were usually wood-paneled with plush chairs, sometimes located near a lounge or smoking room. It gave travelers a quiet space during long journeys between stops like Luxor, Edfu, and Aswan.