HISTORY OF OCEAN LINERS IN 50 OBJECTS

A maiden voyage medal and brochure from the SS Imperator, a brass bell from RMS Aquitania, commemorative plaque, propellors, cards posted from sea, pen and ink drawings, a saloon chair, a cutaway rendering, souvenir cigar box, launch menu, Lalique water goblet, cigarette case, salvaged name plate, maritime replicas model, a telephone, a dry martini cocktail from the RMS Queen Mary, a gala dinner menu and the Hales Trophy blue ribboned card both from the SS Normandie and a Cunard magazine are among the 50 items representing technology, supreme luxury and fine cuisine. Ocean liners represented the ambitions of their nations in peace and war. Their design, interiors and fittings incorporated the finest contemporary technology and artistic features. In peace time they carried celebrities, holidaymakers, and emigrants, while in war they carried thousands of troops and then war brides seeking new lives. This is a story of peril, disaster and death, international pride and competition, glory and war, told through 50 objects each telling a fascinating story and showing how the functional sea voyage has evolved from the late 19th century to the huge cruise ship industry we have today. Glossy heavyweight bright white paper, 240pp in softback, approximately 100 colour images, many full page including a superb cutaway extract of the RMS Caronia on page 172.