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Maritime Books Collection

Index to the Maritime Book Collection of the Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives. Includes Many Rare and Hard-To-Find Books including: Amerikabåtene by Bård Kolltveit; Cunard Line Handbook To The Mediterranean, Adriatic and the Continent of Europe (1905); Den Norske Amerikalinje 1910 - 1960; The Port of Liverpool, Ninth Edition (1935); and Spanning the Atlantic (1931).

2500 Miles on the Norwegian Coastal Steamer

2500 Miles on the Norwegian Coastal Steamer

The journey by coastal steamer from Bergen to Kirkenes in an unforgettable trip covering a distance of over 1200 miles, i.e. equivalent to round the entire west coast of Alaska as far as the Bering Straits, and penetrating just as far north. It runs along a coastline which has no equal in Europe, past eight of Norway's counties, with a coastal population of over half a million souls, living in towns and villages from Bergen in the South to Kirkenes in the North.

 

The American Line: (1871-1902)

The American Line: (1871-1902)

The American Steamship Line, born in 1873 as a necessary response to the failings of the American Merchant Marine luring the Civil War, quickly became the only American transatlantic line competing with Europe. Begun in part as an investment by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it operated out of Philadelphia and eventually reinstated America's position as a competitive and prestigious force in transatlantic crossings.

 

Front Cover, Amerikabåtene ... Passenger Ships of the Norwegian-America Line

Amerikabåtene ... Passenger Ships of the Norwegian-America Line

From the former Director of Research at the Norwegian Maritime Museum, a book about the passenger ships of the Norwegian America Line brought immigrants from Norway to America.

 

Classic Ocean Liners, Volume 1: Berengaria, Leviathan & Majestic

Classic Ocean Liners, Volume 1: Berengaria, Leviathan, & Majestic

Conceived in the period of German maritime expansion in the tumultuous years just before the First World War, the construction of the Imperator, Vaterland and Bismarck represented an attempt by one man, the shipping genius Albert Ballin, to monopolize the lucrative Hamburg-New York passenger traffic with his Hamburg American line, destined to become the world's largest shipping line.

 

Front Cover, Anchor Line - Merchant Fleets #9

Anchor Line - Merchant Fleets #9

The ninth title in this widely collected reference series on the world's merchant fleets, past and present, is devoted to the Anchor Line. Commencing with a chronology of the main events in the company's history this is followed by a full list of all of the 174 ships owned together with technical details and the career history of each. The ship list is illustrated with 100 scale profile drawings the the author, covering 168 vessels.

 

Catalogue of the Archives of the Cunard Steamship Company

Cunard Archives Catalogue

When Cunard withdrew its headquarters from Liverpool in favour of Southampton, the surviving archives of the Cunard Steam-Ship Company were deposited with the Archive Unit at the University of Liverpool in batches over the period 1970-1972, with some subsequent small additions.

 

Cunard: Glory Days

Cunard Glory Days

Cunard -- there are few names in the maritime industry that are more redolent of the great days of ocean going passenger liners and cruise ships. This book, with page after page of beautiful photographs tells its story. Glory Days: Cunard provides a vivid reminder of the lost grandeur of ocean travel.

 

Front Cover, Cunard Line - Merchant Fleets #12

1987 - Cunard Line - Merchant Fleets #12

This volume is a rewrite and massive update of the second volume in the series which detailed the Cunard Line. It covers all 215 ships that have sailed under the company’s flag up to 1986, with complete technical details and histories of every ship.

 

1905 - Cunard Line Handbook

From the Introduction: "the information comprised in the following pages has been prepared for the use of Passengers traveling by the Cunard Hungarian-American Line from New York to the Mediterranean and Adriatic." Original grey cloth hardcover book with Cunard logo and design on front cover. Illustrated with 17 tipped-in folding maps.1905.

 

Front Cover, The Cunard Line: A Pictorial History 1840 - 1990

The Cunard Line: A Pictorial History 1840 - 1990

An Illustrated history of the Cunard Line and the celebrated liners which have served the fleet, from its inception in 1840 to the demise of the great transatlantic liners and finally the entry into service of the Queen Elizabeth 2: Britain's last great luxury liner.  The book includes details of the race for the Blue Riband, war service, and illustrates the luxury travel associated with one of the the world's most famous shipping companies.

 

Den Norske Amerikalinje 1910 - 1960

Den Norske Amerikalinje 1910 - 1960

History of the Norwegian America Steamship Line, 1910 - 1960. Profusely illustrated with photographs and illustration including interior and exterior views of their passenger fleet. Includes Thank You Note Placard and Errata notecard for the book (see images).

 

Era of the Passenger Liner

Era of the Passenger Liner

“After two decades of research the foremost book on the great passenger liners is here. Greatly expanded over two previous editions with an additional seventy ships spanning a century of ocean travel from inception to its demise. The gilded era comes back to life as the reader relives the careers of stately ships and express greyhounds from immigrant ship to floating palace.”

 

Exploring the Lusitania: Probing the Mysteries of the Sinking that Changed History

Exploring the Lusitania - 1995

On May 7, 1915, the fastest, most luxurious cruise ship in the Cunard line, the Lusitania, was sunk by a German U-boat, spurring U.S. involvement in World War I. Now, best-selling author/researcher Robert Ballard probes the decades-old controversy surrounding this pivotal maritime tragedy

 

The Fabulous Interiors of the Great Ocean Liners

The Fabulous Interiors of the Great Ocean Liners in Historic Photographs

Some 200 superb photographs—in long shots and close-ups—capture exquisite interiors of world’s great "floating palaces"—1890s to 1980s: Titanic, Ile de France, Queen Elizabeth, United States, Europa, more. Informative captions provide key details.

 

The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs: 193 Views, 1897 - 1927

The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs 1897 - 1927

Sumptuous volume recalls the glorious early years of elegant transatlantic travel. Over 190 historic photographs depict exterior and interior views of 101 great ocean liners, including the Virginian, Imperator, Vaterland, Bismarck, Lusitania, Mauretania, Balmoral Castle, Titanic, Olympic, Aquitania and dozens more. Full captions.

 

Food from the Galley: Daily Fare Onboard Ship

Food From the Galley

Daily Fare Onboard Ship (Cataloged with Cookbooks) . Book includes an introduction to Norwegian Maritime History and the food served onboard ship through history. 

 

The Great Liners : The Seafarers, Volume 4

The Great Liners : The Seafarers, Volume 4

An excellent book with great rarely seen photographs, and includes a four-page foldout of the cutaway painting of the Normandie. The dazzle scheme section is also of great use to modelers building wartime versions of the liners.

 

Le Havre - New York: French Line (1997)

Le Havre - New York: French Lines

This volume about the French Line and its route from Le Havre to New York is a witness to crossing the Atlantic, from before WWI to the present day. A fascinating visual record of travel.

 

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 1

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 1

In September 1911, workers in the shipyard of Blohm & Voss in Hamburg started on a new ship that would be christened VATERLAND. The world would come to know her best as the LEVIATHAN, one of the grandest and most storied ocean liners of all time.

 

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 2

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 2

United States Lines: "LEVIATHAN: The World's Greatest Ship, Volume 2", by Frank Braynard, published in 1974, hardbound with original dust jacket, 380 pages. Braynard has created what is probably the most extensive history ever written about a single ship.

 

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 3

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 3

This book is volume 3 and picks up the LEVIATHAN saga as the ship begins transatlantic service for the United States Lines in 1923 and continues through 1926. Braynard tells the story of life aboard, prominent passengers, and her problems as a government owned ship. There are hundreds of great photos which makes for wonderful browsing and reading.

 

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 4

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 4

This book is volume 4 and picks up the LEVIATHAN saga in 1926 during the height of the ship's popularity and ends with the stock market crash in 1929. The ship's fortunes fell quickly after that. There are hundreds of great photos, including a section of color ones, which makes for wonderful browsing and reading.

 

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 5

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 5

This book is volume 5 and picks up the LEVIATHAN saga as the Great Depression starts and deeply cuts into passenger loads. The great ship produces nothing but red ink for USL and even bargain cruises do not help. The ship is put into lay-up and offered for sale. There are hundreds of great photos which makes for wonderful browsing and reading.

 

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 6

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 6

This book is the final volume and picks up the LEVIATHAN saga in her final years of lay-up in Hoboken. She sailed a few voyages in 1934 but otherwise spent her final years rusting at the pier. In 1938 her old boilers were fired one last time for a slow journey to the breakers. Many large photos of her abandoned interiors, as well as a fold-out color Albert Brenet painting of the ship approaching the breakers. There are hundreds of great photos which makes for wonderful browsing and reading.

 

Liverpool and the Mersey, Vol. 1: Gladstone Dock and the Great Liners

Liverpool and the Mersey

Vol. 1: Gladstone Dock and the Great Liners

Intended to relieve the acute congestion in Liverpool's docks, the Gladstone's construction began in 1910. Interrupted by the outbreak of war, it was not officially commissioned until 1927, and immediately entered the record books as having the largest area of enclosed water of any dock in the world, playing host to such ocean legends as the Lusitania, Aquitania, the second Mauretania and the Canadian Pacific `Empresses'.

 

Front Cover, MUnion Steamship Company of New Zealand - Merchant Fleets #32

Union Steamship Company of New Zealand - Merchant Fleets #32

This book is the story, from 1875 until the present day, of one of the greatest ever shipping companies. The Union Steamship Company of New Zealand must surely hold the accolade for having owned the largest number of truly beautiful passenger ships; both large and small.

 

Front Cover, IItalia 1881-2001 - Merchant Fleets #40

Italia 1881-2001 - Merchant Fleets #40

The story of Italia parallels the history of modern Italy and is a truly national institution. It starts when Rubbatino and Florio, the north and the south, merge to form Italy’s largest merchant fleet. As international trade expands ‘La Veloce’ joins. Then with Trieste becoming an Italian city Cosulich enters the story.

 

Morton Allan Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals

Morton Allan Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals

This work is a very helpful aid in the use of the indexes of immigrant passenger lists in the National Archives, for they are arranged in the chronological order of the ships' arrival dates, and there under by the names of the vessels or the passenger lines, and only then by passengers' surnames. This directory provides a ready means of ascertaining information that will be helpful, for it is arranged by year and steamship company, and there under by port of entry, the vessel name, its arrival date and port of embarkation.

 

Front Cover, Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume One, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails

Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume One, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails

"The first volume of Edwwin Drechsel's definitive and valuable work on the Norddeutscher Lloyd is informative in the true sense of the word, It goes into valuable details, such as naming ships and captains of new services, and their exploits. It has some remarkable pictures never seen elsewhere. Even a few of them are worth the price fo the book"

 

Front Cover, Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen History - Fleet - Ship Mails v2

Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume Two, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails

The second volume begins with the years after World War One, The Great War, and the recovery after the war, starting from scratch to rebuild their steamship line. Although Norddeutscher Lloyd would again win the Blue Riband of the North Atlantic in 1929, the depression of the 1930s affected NDL as yet another crisis in ship ownership and management to which commercial shipping interests had always been prone. The ranks of transatlantic passenger carriers thinned out as large and small concerns went out of business.

 

Front Cover, North German Lloyd Guide Through North America - 1898

North German Lloyd Guide Through North America - 1898

In presenting our book to the public, we beg to say, that our aim is to furnish a concise work of reference for the use of travelers in the United States, containing hints and directions, which, we trust, may prove serviceable to persons, whose time is limited; the more so, as all the hotels, linns etc., mentioned in our Guide, are perfectly reliable. This book includes the history of the North German Lloyd (Lavishly illustrated with numerious photographs).

 

Front Cover, Nordover Med Hurtigruten - 1983

Nordover Med Hurtigruten - 1983

Historie og Hverdagbilder Gjennon Nitti År

Along the lane, Old days on the coast, Full speed ahead, from weekly to daily coastal, ships, and captains, Interests and party on board, the Storm Folla, tourists and other passengers, Nordenom Europe Safely traffic in occupied waters, from steam to diesel , Coast artery, Up to 90-year anniversary, and English Summary.

 

Ocean Steamships: Popular Account Of Their Construction Development, Management And Appliances

Ocean Steamships: Popular Account Of Their Construction Development, Management And Appliances

The writers have divided between them the subjects of " The Development of the Steamship," "Speed in Ocean Steamers," "The Building of an ' Ocean Greyhound,' " "Ocean Passenger Travel," "The Ship's Company," "Safety On the Atlantic," "The Ocean Steamship as a Freight Carrier," and " The Steamship Lines of the World "—each treating his subject with the skill of a specialist and the clarity of a popular writer.

 

Front Cover, The Only Way To Cross (1997/1972)

The Only Way To Cross

The book profiles the opulent lifestyles aboard such floating palaces as Normandie, Rex, Olympic, Amerika, Queen Mary, France, Mauritania, Queen Elizabeth II, Imperator, and Titanic. "Perhaps the most readable book on the subject ever to have appeared" --Country Life. Black-and-white photographs.

 

Passenger Liners of the World Since 1893

Passenger Liners of the World Since 1893

Present-day demand for air travel has almost outmoded the passenger ship; it has been unable to maintain the tempo of the airlines and has reluctantly moved out of the scene. The author here takes a nostalgic look back to the heyday of the passenger ship, pro-viding a brief history of 211 ships of over 10,000 tons, together with specification and technical details of each.

 

Front Cover, Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994

Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994

William H Miller, Jr., Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994, © 1995, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, Soft Cover, 142 Pages, 0-486-28137-X, 623.8'2432'03. 1. Ocean liners -- encyclopedia. 2. Ocean liners -- History -- Pictorial works. One of the most comprehensive pictorial references on ocean liners ever published, this superb chronicle by noted maritime historian William H. Miller, Jr. depicts and describes virtually every passenger ship of over 15,000 tons built between 1860 and the late 1900's.

 

Picture History of American Passenger Ships

Picture History of American Passenger Ships

Loving tribute to luxury liners documents more than 100 ships, including the Leviathan, the America, the Independence, the President Polk, and the United States. Detailed captions provide a wealth of information on tonnage, speed, size, and passenger load. Introduction. Preface by David Perry. Bibliography. Index. Approximately 200 photographs.

 

Front Cover, Picture History of British Ocean Liners: 1900 to the Present

Picture History of British Ocean Liners: 1900 to the Present

Over 200 rare black-and-white illustrations provide views of the ships at sea and in port, glimpses of lavish staterooms, lounges, and dining areas, on-board photos of celebrities and royalty, and much more. Captions give details of each ship’s history, characteristics, size, speed, builder, and other data.

 

Front Cover, Picture History of the Cunard Line 1840 - 1990 (1991)

Picture History of the Cunard Line 1840 - 1990

Magnificent pictorial tribute to the long line of illustrious ships that sailed for one of the world's great shipping companies. Extensive fact-filled text, captions and over 180 photographs and illustrations recall the Britannia, Lusitania, Mauretania, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and the QE2, among many others. Introduction.

 

Front Cover, Picture History of German and Dutch Passenger Ships

Picture History of German and Dutch Passenger Ships

Two of the most active and distinguished maritime countries of the twentieth century were Germany and the Netherlands. The passenger shipping lines of these countries were especially hard hit by the wars, depression, and other upheavals of the first half of the century, and then, facing massive competition from airlines in the 1960s and ’70s, underwent a metamorphosis. The cruising trade, in its infancy at mid-century, became the main business of the passenger liners by the century’s end.

 

Front Cover, Picture History of the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth (2004)

Picture History of the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth

In paying tribute to the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, maritime authority William Miller describes their heralded debuts; magnificent lounges, staterooms, and other amenities; maritime rivalry; and contributions during World War II, among other subjects. Their royal successors—the Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2—are also covered, as are the Berengaria, Mauretania, Lusitania, and a host of other splendid ships.

 

Front Cover, Picture History of the SS United States

Picture History of the SS United States

An international authority on ocean liners and the author of more than 45 books on the subject, William Miller has had a lifelong love affair with these magnificent ships--including the SS United States. Like many of this ship's loyal following, Miller was awed by its size, beautiful lines, aura of glamour, and speed. (Its maiden voyage in 1952 was a record-breaking one.) All these elements are captured in a book that pays tribute to this symbol of brilliant maritime technology.

 

Front Cover, The Port of Boston (1916) by Edwin J. Clapp

The Port of Boston - 1916

A Study and a Solution of the Traffic and Operating Problems of Boston, and its Place in the Competition of the North Atlantic Seaports

This book had its origin in a private report prepared and submitted by the author as an expert adviser selected by the directors of the port of Boston to study the various traffic and operating problems of that great North Atlantic sea port and to suggest methods for developing the traffic of the Boston port in competition with other Atlantic ports.

 

Front Cover, The Port of Liverpool: Ninth Edition (1935)

The Port of Liverpool, Ninth Edition

The ninth edition of "The Port of Liverpool," published by Littlebury Bros., Liverpool, contains comprehensive details and illustrations of the activities of the port as well as its history.

 

Ravenscrag: The Allan Royal Mail Line

Ravenscrag: The Allan Royal Mail Line

Ravenscrag is the story of the Allans and of the great line of sail and steam ships which bore their name, dominating the Canadian Atlantic routes for more than a century and making a major contribution to Canadian history.

 

The Red Star Line and International Mercantile Marine Company

The Red Star Line and International Mercantile Marine Company

The Red Star Line, one of the oldest and best known shipping lines ever to send ships out to sail the oceans, was founded in 1872 and liquidated in 1935. All of the Red Star ships, bearing such famous names as the VADERLAND, NEDERLAND, BELGENLAND, RHYNLAND, WESTERNLAND and PENNLAND, sailed under the Belgian flag, although the Company was financed by Americans.

 

Front Cover, The Shipbuilder - Distinguished Liners 1906 - 1914 v1

The Shipbuilder 1906 - 1914: Volume 1

Ships covered include: Empress of Ireland, Oriana, Oronsa, Volturno, Falaba, Amazon, Araguaya, Avon, Adriatic, President Lincoln, Lusitania, Mauretania, California, Rotterdam, Lapland, George Washingon, Laurentic, Megantic, Edinburgh Castle, Garth Castle, Balmoral Castle, Storstad, Galway Castle, Nomadic, Traffic, Zeelandic, Cameronia, Olympic, Titanic, France, Carmania, Paul LeCat, Reina Victoria-Eugenia, Ascania, Alaunia, Empress of Russia, Empress of Asia, Ceramic, Missanabie, Metagama.

 

Front Cover, The Shipbuilder - Distinguished Liners 1907 - 1914 v2

The Shipbuilder - Distinguished Liners 1907 - 1914 v2

Ships covered include: Principessa Jolanda, Corsican, Heliopolis, Asturias, City of Paris, Grampian, President Grant, Oceania, Hesperian, Martha Washington, Afrique, Waratah, Morea, Vasari, Orsova, Otway, Osterley, Otranto, Orvieto, Franconia, Laconia, Kaiser Franz Josef I, Vandyck, Medina, Orama, Arlanza, Vestris, Vauban, Pastores, Appam, Niagara, Kristianiafjord, Bergensfjord, Congress, Gablonz, Marienbad, Empress Ekaterina II, Gelria, Tubantia, Columbus, Alsatian, Britannic, Calgarian, Cap Polonio, William O'Swaldt, City of Exeter, Aquitania, Imperator, Vaterland, Alcantara, Statendam, Cap Trafalgar, Bismarck.

 

Spanning the Atlantic

Spanning the Atlantic

When we consider that hardly a skyscraper is built without loss of life, and hardly a railroad, laid on solid earth, has not known disaster, we must acknowledge the feat of transporting across a dangerous ocean more people than inhabit some of our states with the loss, in time of peace, of but four lives, especially as these four lives were only the toll of an predictable caprice of the waves.

 

Front Cover, The Sway of the Grand Saloon - 1971

Sway of the Grand Saloon - 1971

150-Year social history covering the glorious age of passenger ships from 1818. Part One: Beginnings (1818-1838); Part Two: Ascendancy (1839-1889); Part Three: Apogee (1890-1919); and Part Four: The Long Wake (1920-1968)

 

Front Cover, They Came in Ships - 1989/1993

They Came in Ships - 1989/1993

A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record

Irvine focuses on how to use the many unpublished resources available in North America at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, many FHL branch libraries, and FH Centers located in local Latter Day Saints churches and other larger libraries. In addition, Irvine outlines research in English repositories.

 

Tourist Third Class: Steamship Travel in the Interwar Years

Tourist Third Class: Steamship Travel in the Interwar Years

Tourist Third Cabin offers a window into a bygone era, where the technological marvels and floating palaces of modern steamships like the Queen Mary, the Normandie, and Olympic transported a new breed of tourist between Europe and North America. The interwar period saw the birth of mass transatlantic tourism. Historians Lorraine Coons and Alexander Varias offer an intimate glimpse of the microcosm of the changing world that was the luxury liner. From crew members to passengers, ship decor to technological innovation, through labor unrest and political upheaval, we see the social world and the business of travel at the dawn of the modern age.

 

Tramps & Ladies: My Early Years in Steamers

Tramps & Ladies: My Early Years in Steamers

Tramps and Ladies: My Early Years in Steamers, the second volume in the PSL Library of Ocean Travel, is a facsimile reprint of the first edition of the second book of a trilogy by Sir James Bisset, originally published during the period 1958 to 1961, all three of which have been long out-of-print. This volume concerns the author's life at sea in tramp steamers and then as an officer of the famous Cunard Line in their fashionable transatlantic service. It culminates with Sir James's experiences of the saving of the survivors from the Titanic in 1912. A great seaman's story of the sea, packed with interest for all who feel the allure of ocean adventure.

 

Transatlantic: Samuel Cunard, Isambard Brunel, and the Great Atlantic Steamships

Transatlantic: Samuel Cunard, Isambard Brunel, and the Great Atlantic Steamships

In Transatlantic, the experience of crossing the Atlantic is re-created in stunning detail from the varied perspectives of first class, steerage, officers, and crew. The dynamic evolution of the Atlantic steamer is traced from Brunei’s Great Western of 1838 to Cunard’s Mauretania of 1907, the greatest steamship ever built.

 

Front Cover, White Star Line - Merchant Fleets #19

White Star Line - Merchant Fleets #19

Despite the misfortunes of the White Star Line it is still regarded with esteem and affection. For those born after the end of White Star this vol. is, therefore, deliberately comprehensive and definitive. There is the usual chronological company history. Each of the 98 ships is illustrated by 74 scale profile drawings. The career history of each ship is given.

 

The Wilson Line

The Wilson Line

Founded in the early years of the nineteenth century, the Wilson Line became the largest privately owned steamship fleet in the world. Based in Hull, its main trade was carrying passengers and cargo to and from Scandinavia and the Baltic States although the Wilson Line also carried cargoes to the USA, the Mediterranean and India.

 

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