Cabin Class on the Anchor Line - 1930s
Front Cover, Anchor Line Cabin Class Brochure. Undated, circa 1930s. GGA Image ID # 115ea91646
Anchor Line Brochure from the 1930s for passengers who are accustomed to the amenities of good living. It offers a genuinely delightful mode of travel in the company of other passengers with the same substantial standards which characterize their good taste.
A Delightful Way to Enter Europe
Straight as an arrow to the legendary beauties of charming Ireland; to historic Scotland's heathered hills, its world-famous Lochs and Trossachs; Highland castles; quaint hamlets.
Enjoy Ireland and Scotland and explore them well ! Then straight over, to Scandinavian countries; or on through England to London ... Paris .. . the Continent.
Travel always in a forward direction, gain valuable travel time abroad: for by this means you are enabled to see the charm of Ireland, Scotland and England en route to the rest of Europe, or on your way as you come back.
Top: Smoking Lounge on the TSS California. Bottom: Room with Bath on the TSS Caledonia. GGA Image ID # 115eb0c17f
LUXURY without ostentation is the distinguishing feature of the Anchor Line's Cabin Class facilities. And the outstanding characteristic of Cabin- Class luxury is a suave unobtrusiveness which is reflected in the completely personalized attention of the ships' staff as well as in the unimpeachable perfection of every menu.
These are only a few of the intangible elements which create that mysterious essence known as ''atmosphere'' —those vital and essential elements which we sense more sharply than we acknowledge.
Yet this is the first thing which impresses you when you step aboard an Anchor Line steamer —an atmosphere of luxurious security—and you will be several days at sea before you recognize the separate components which contribute to it.
BUT WE NEED not speak of intangible things only, for here on these pages we have reproduced a few photographs which are typical of the substantial comforts which must come first: the shell of security, within which the traditional features of service and personal concern are molded.
Anchor Line ships are built on the Clyde—the cradle of the greatest naval and merchant fleets in the world—and in every beam and plate they reflect the age-old reputation of strength, solidity and stability which has always marked the work of these Scottish craftsmen.
These are ships upon which you can depend, for they are manned by Scottish staffs and crews under the guidance of Scottish officers.
For passengers who are accustomed to the amenities of good-living, the Anchor Line offers a truly delightful mode of travel, in the company of other passengers with the same substantial standards which characterize their own good taste.
Top: Double Stateroom -- TSS Transylvania. Bottom Right: Demi-Tasse in the Lounge. GGA Image ID # 115eb3cfa1
Gateway to Europe
IT IS DIFFICULT for the American traveler to appreciate altogether how much can be seen in Ireland and Scotland for a minimum of time and effort. For even as America is broad and vast, so these countries are small and compact.
For example, the greatest distance you could measure across the land of the Shamrock—a dimension which corresponds to our "Maine to California" — is no more than two-hundred and eighty-six miles!
In other words, the distance— not between the principal cities of Eire: but between the two most distant points apart on the entire island —is considerably less than the distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles or about equivalent to the distance from New York to Boston!
In the same proportion all of Great Britain and Ireland—a population of fifty million peoples—is smaller in area than the state of Montana.
When you take a ship which calls at Londonderry, or Belfast, in the North of Ireland, you are opening the gates to a world of beauty which lies right on the road to Europe. From the sparkling glens of the Antrim coast to the wild splendor of Kerry — or the eternally fertile fields of Louth and Cavan — Ireland affords every conceivable cast of scenic loveliness.
WHEN YOU GO on to Scotland, where the eternal moors blend history with romance. From the rugged grandeur of Highland peaks to the majestic repose of the border country. every Loch and Ben is peopled with the characters of historical adventure and immortal fiction. Bruce and Wallace, the ill-starred Stuarts and Donald the Black, stand side by side with the Lady of the Lake, Ivan hoe and Tam O'Shanter.
From Scotland you follow the logical route from Edinburgh along the greatest artery in the United Kingdom. through the incomparable English countryside to London, via Newcastle on the Roman Wall, Durham, and the cathedral country of York and Lincoln.
Or else you travel along the West coast, through the ineffable Scott and Bums countries, the English lakes and the Shakespeare country. By train, the running time between Edinburgh and London is less than eight hours, but you may interrupt this trip as often as you will, for as long as you please.
Great Britain and Ireland—whether you include them on your way to the continent and Scandinavia, or on the way back—these are the new gateways to Europe!
Passengers Play Shuffleboard on Deck. GGA Image ID # 115ebe3c00
The homelike social halls on these steamers are so arranged as to accord a maximum of freedom and comfort at all times. On each of the Anchor Line ships there are six large public rooms for the exclusive use of Cabin-Class passengers: three luxurious lounges, consisting of a stately general lounge, a terrace lounge and a chatty corridor lounge—as well as a smoking room, a verandah cocktail room, and a quiet writing room- library.
Cabin-Class stateroom capacities are limited on all these steamers to less than 150 passengers per voyage whereas they were originally designed for twice that number —and thus these magnificent public rooms—like the spacious play decks and promenades — insure complete freedom from congestion and discomfort throughout the ship.
French Regency Lounge -- TSS Caledonia. GGA Image ID # 115edb19dd
THE ANCHOR LINE steamers of today are the ultimate product of over eighty years of good-breeding; a good-breeding which is reflected in the personality of every man on board, from the steward who pours your tea to the master on the bridge.
Here the ship is your servant and as you spend your days at sea between your restful, spacious stateroom, and the quiet dignity of the social halls you will learn of a new willingness to serve which seems to permeate everything around you.
You will enjoy the Anchor Line's Cabin Class menu—the genteel, continental touch of the stewards who serve your meals and the flawless preparation of each course.
In all things you will sense the dignified luxury of true gentility: even as you walk briskly down the broad, white promenades you will feel that everything, even the deck underfoot is being watched for you!
Left to Right: Afternoon Tea; Dinner on the Cameronia; and "Buttons." GGA Image ID # 115eee6355
