SS Fulda Archival Collection

SS Fulda (1882) of the Norddeutcher Lloyd. Photo by John S. Johnston. Published by Detroit Publishing Company. Library of Congress LCCN 2016795269. GGA Image ID # 20d548ab95

Fulda (1882) North German Lloyd

Built by John Elder & Co., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 4,816. Dimensions: 438' x 46' (455' o.l.). Propulsion: Single-screw, 17 knots. Compound engines. 6,300 I.H.P. Masts and Funnels: Four masts and two funnels. Iron hull. Passengers: 125 first, 130 second, 1,000 third. Maiden voyage: Bremen-Southampton-New York, March 12, 1883. Service Changes: Transferred to Mediterranean-New York service in 1891. Fate: After sustaining serious damage in drydock at Birkenhead in 1899, was broken up for scrap. Sister ship: Werra.

North German Lloyd - Short Route to London - 1889

🎓 “A 19th-Century Ocean Travel Brochure Turned Educational Goldmine”

The 1889 North German Lloyd (NDL) brochure titled "The Short Route to London via Southampton and the Continent" is more than a promotional travel pamphlet—it is a remarkable cultural artifact that opens a window into late 19th-century transatlantic steamship travel. Created during the Paris Exhibition of 1889, this richly detailed guide was distributed by Oelrichs & Co., the line’s New York agents, and served as both a functional passenger handbook and a marketing showcase for NDL’s first and second cabin services.

Teachers, students, genealogists, and historians will find the brochure incredibly valuable for understanding the social, economic, and technological structures of the Gilded Age’s oceanic travel system.