The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs - 1983

 

Front Cover, The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs, 193 Views, 1897-1927.

Front Cover, The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs, 193 Views, 1897-1927. GGA Image ID # 1e859fab76

 

Synopsis

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.

 

Back Cover, The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs, 193 Views, 1897-1927.

Back Cover, The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs, 193 Views, 1897-1927. GGA Image ID # 1e85c26424

 

From the Back Cover

The eventful thirty years between 1897 and 1927 was an era in which the world's maritime powers vied for dominance on the high seas, and first-class passengers traveled in unprecedented splendor in what were then the largest and fastest ships ever built. This sumptuous volume, beautifully printed on coated stock, recalls the glorious early years of elegant transatlantic travel.

Over 190 historic photographs depict exterior and interior views of 101 ships, including the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (first of the superliners, 1907) Prinzessin Victoria Luise (first passenger ship designed exclusively for cruising), the Virginian (one of the two first steam-turbine-driven liners on the North Atlantic), the Imperator, Vaterland, Bismarck, Lusitania, Mauretania, Balmoral Castle (used as a British royal yacht in 1910), Titanic, Olympic, France, Britannic, Aquitania (over four city blocks long) and dozens more, including lesser-known smaller ships of the 1920s -- Albertic, Montcalm, Laconia, Transylvania, Veendam, and Colombo.

Superb vintage views recall the dazzling splendor of luxurious "floating palaces" -- the lavish interiors of lounges, smoking rooms, libraries, salons, extravagant suites, ballrooms, and dining rooms decorated in Italian Renaissance, Spanish, Louis XVI, Georgian, Queen Anne, Tudor, Moorish and a host of other styles. Here is the sumptuous Arabian indoor pool aboard the Olympic, the sensational Pompeian Bath, the gymnasium on the Imperator, the Aquitania's two-deck-high Louis XVI first-class restaurant, and much more. Even the less glamorous side of the great ocean liners is included in vivid images of their use as immigrant carriers in the early years and troopships during World War I.

William H. Miller, Jr., a historian at the American Merchant Marine Museum, has supplied concise and informative captions detailing the background and history of each ship, tonnage, size, engines, builders, etc. These first ocean giants have vanished -- some scrapped, some sunk in wartime service, others destroyed in tragic accidents. But this handsome volume remains a permanent record of a splendid era when these magnificent vessels reigned as sovereigns of the sea.

Original Dover (1984) publication. One hundred ninety-three black-and-white photographs with full captions. Text, Introduction by Arnold Kludes. Foreword. Bibliography, Alphabetical List of Ships Illustrated xi + 147pp. 8 7/8 x 11 3/4. Paperbound.

 

From the Publisher

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. "...the collection of interior pictures is worth the book's modest price."—Steamboat Bill.

 

 

Library of Congress Catalog Listing

  • Personal name: Miller, William H., 1948-
  • Main title: The first great ocean liners in photographs : 193 views, 1897-1927 / by William H. Miller, Jr., with the assistance of the Museum of the City of New York.
  • Published/Created: New York : Dover Publications, 1984.
  • Description: xi, 147 p. : ill.; 30 cm.
  • ISBN: 0486245748 (pbk.)
  • LC classification (full): VM381 .M446 1984
  • LC classification (partial): VM381
  • Related names: Museum of the City of New York.
  • Subjects: Ocean liners--History--Pictorial works. Ocean travel--History--Pictorial works.
  • Notes: Includes index.
  • Bibliography: p. 146.
  • LCCN: 83005292
  • Dewey class no.: 387.2/432/0222
  • Type of material: Book

 

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