Of Human Bondage

Disclaimer: First of all, I apologize if this group duplicates the purview of some other group. I scanned the list of groups and did not see one that would be appropriate to post my question in, besides book talk and that group, it seems to me, gets quite flooded. If someone who is more familiar with the list of groups wanders in here and knows of a better group to post this in, please, let me know.

Question: While reading W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, I came across this sentence: "He is the independent traveller, who uses Cook's tickets because they save trouble, but looks with good-humoured contempt on the personally
conducted parties."
I googled 'Cook's tickets' and was flooded with hits selling tickets to people wanting to see Dane Cook or David Cook perform. So, would someone tell me what exactly are Cook's tickets and why a British gentleman of the late 1800's would disdain them?

Edits to try to fix touchstones, author touchstone still won't work. :(

Not having read the Maugham, I can't help there--but there is a standing group called "Someone Explain It To Me" (you very nearly guessed the title, it seems! :).
http://www.librarything.com/groups/someoneexplainittome

Oh, I think that's for people who don't like books that other people do like.

I don't think there's anything wrong with using Book Talk for any of these questions. Ask Librarything is more of an off topic group but might work.

Meanwhile Cook's was (and probably is, but I don't travel so I don't keep up) a huge English travel agency issuing tickets, travelers' checks, and the like. It is the individually ticketed traveler (tickets from cooks) who would look down on the tour group (personally conducted) traveler.

Robert

It's the equivalent of deciding Hey, I'll go to Hawaii with this package deal offered by the local garden club, because the fare is unbeatable, and then ditching the group once the plane lands, and going your own way, making your own itinerary.

Krolik has got the right nuance - Thomas Cook catered for 'tourists' (who needed their hands held)rather than 'travellers'.

The firm still trades, surviving the ups and downs of the travel agency business, with the slogan "Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it!"

Thomas Cook was, I believe, the first 'travel agent' - started sometime around 1890 (?). Originally catered to rather upper class Brits who "didn't want to have to speak damned foreign lingo, don't you know", and who had more money than brains (mmm, sorry, that's my take on their clientele).

#6

I used to work for them and your history is a bit off.

The first time that Thomas Cook starts to get involved with tours is in 1841 when he organises a trip from Leicester to Loughborough for 500 temperance supporters. He was a temperance man as well, I don't know what he would make of Club 18-30 which is a Thomas Cook brand.

By 1851 he organised travel for 150,000 to the the Great Exhibition.

The first foreign tour was in 1855. The first tour to the USA and Canada was in 1866.

The company also got involved with transporting troops to Khartoum and also the Muslim faithful from India when they went on hajj.

In 1889 they did a 6 week tour of the Palestine (with stops en-route) for a price of £169 (a substantial amount).

The facts above are from Voyage To A New Millennium a book issued to staff in 2000 which has loads of images of posters, brochure pictures and other ephemera.

Wow! Thank you all for the information. I have a much greater understanding of the sentence, and absolutely see how the narrator would feel that way. Again, thanks!

Just wanted to add that in the not so distant past, it used to be a common expression (in Australia, at least) that if you were giving someone a quick tour of a new place (your home, workplace etc) you would describe it as giving them "the cook's tour".

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cook%27s%20tour