SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Archival Collection
Kaiser Wilhelm II (1889) North German Lloyd
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II (1889) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, ca 1890. Detroit Publishing Company Photochrome. Library of Congress LC # 2002708351. GGA Image ID # 1d7245814d
Built by "Vulkan", Stettin, Germany. Tonnage: 4,773. Dimensions: 449' x 51'. Propulsion: Single-screw, 16 knots. Triple expansion engines. Masts and Funnels: Four masts and two funnels. Launched: April 23, 1889. Passengers: 120 first, 80 second, 1,000 third. Incidents: Sank at pier in Genoa, June 5, 1893. Modifications: Refloated, reconditioned and altered to two masts. Tonnage increased to 6,990. Renamed: Hohenzollern (1901). Fate: Wrecked in 1908.
Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) North German Lloyd
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Twin-Screw Express Mail Steamer (1903) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd. Illustration by Themistokles von Eckenbrecher (1842-1921). GGA Image ID # 1d730b5883
Built by "Vulkan", Stettin, Germany. Tonnage: 19,361. Dimensions: 684' x 72' (706' o.l.). Propulsion: Twin-screw, 23 1/2 knots. Quadruple expansion engines; 42,000 I.H.P. Masts and Funnels: Three masts and four funnels. Note: Largest express liner in the world built to date. The dining room was 108 feet by 69 feet wide. The height from the keel to the roof of the smoking room was 72 feet high. Records: Won the trans-Atlantic speed record in 1903. Her best day run was 564 nautical miles. Passengers: 775 first, 343 second. 770 third. Maiden voyage: Bremen-Southampton-New York, April 14, 1903. Renamed: (a) Agamemnon (1917), b) Monticello (1927) United States Government. Fate: Scrapped at Baltimore in 1940. Running mates: Kronprinzessin Cecilie (identical), Kronprinz Wilhelm, and Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.
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1893-01-28 SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Passenger List
Steamship Line: North German Lloyd / Norddeutscher Lloyd
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 28 January 1893
Route: New York to Genoa via Gibraltar
Commander: Captain L. Stoermer

1896-04-30 SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Passenger List
Steamship Line: North German Lloyd / Norddeutscher Lloyd
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 30 April 1896
Route: Genoa to New York via Gibraltar
Commander: Captain L. Störmer
Notable Passengers: Adolfo Dollero, Leopoldo (Luigi) Fregoli, George Harwood, Luigi Molinari, and Edward Wetherill.

1900-12-18 SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Passenger List
Steamship Line: North German Lloyd / Norddeutscher Lloyd
Class of Passengers: Cabin Class
Date of Departure: 18 December 1900
Route: New York to Genoa via Gibraltar and Naples
Commander: Captain D. Hoegemann
Notable Passengers: Dr. Emily Blackwell, Thomas Cleland Dawson, Henry Lane Eno, Francis Marion Crawford , Wilhelm von Haxthausen, Hon. Levi P. Morton, Sarah Logan Wister, and Marquise Cecile de Wentworth.

1903-10-06 SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Passenger List
Steamship Line: Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd)
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 6 October 1903
Route: Bremen to New York via Southampton and Cherbourg
Commander: Captain D. Högemann
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Color Postcard of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II in New York Harbor, Postally Used 19 June 1905. GGA Image ID # 1dc0b87318
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Abstract of Log, Twin-Screw Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, Commanded by Captain O. Cüppers Covering the 6-9 of April, 1911. Ocean Gazette, 9 April 1911. GGA Image ID # 1dc22a6260
Abstract of Log, Twin-Screw Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, Covering the 28-30 May 1912. Ocean Gazette, 30 May 1912. GGA Image ID # 1dc24638ed
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Sailing Schedule, Bremen-New York, Bremen-Baltimore, and Bremen-Galveston, from 6 October 1903 to 13 December 1904. Ships Included the Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Friedrich der Grosse, Grosser Kurfürst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Köln, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Oldenburg, Rhein, and Willehad. SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 1ebbf5ff3c. Click to View Larger Image.
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Cuba, Brasilian Ports, La Plata, or East Asia, from 10 October 1903 to 26 December 1903. Ships Included the Aachen, Bayern, Bonn, Coblenz, Crefeld, Erlangen, Gera, Halle, Heidelberg, Helgoland, Kiautschou, König Albert, Mainz, Norderney, Pfalz, Roland, Sachsen, Schleswig, Seydlitz, Wittenberg, and Wittekind. SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 2136dada84
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Australian Ports and Genoa-New York, from 14 October 1903 to 16 April 1904. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Bremen, Friedrich dr Grosse, Gneisenau, Hohenzollern, König Albert, Lahn, Neckar, Prinz Regent Luitpoid, Prinzess Irene, and Zieten. SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 213715a8fe
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 24 December 1904 to 18 June 1905. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Grosser Kurfurst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Prinzess Alice, and Rhein. North German Lloyd Bulletin, January 1905. GGA Image ID # 1eeab8ebe7
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-New York, from 16 May 1905 to 7 November 1905. Ships Included the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Kronprinz Wilhelm. SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse First and Second Class Passenger List, 23 May 1905. GGA Image ID # 21083b4d39
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 19 September 1905 to 25 March 1906. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Brandenburg, Bremen, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Gorsse, Grosser Kurfurst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Gorsse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Oldenburg, and Rhein. North German Lloyd Bulletin, October 1905. GGA Image ID # 1eeb04fb9e
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 13 March 1906 to 24 August 1906. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Frankfurt, Friedrich der Grosse, Grosser Kurfurst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilehlm, Prinzess Alice, Rhein, and Trave. North German Lloyd Bulletin, March 1906. GGA Image ID # 1eeb93d276
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York, from 23 October 1906 to 12 November 1907. Ships Included the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, and Kronprinzessin Cecilie. SS Bremen Passenger List, 27 October 1906. GGA Image ID # 213ddb0867
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen. Mediterranean Service: Genoa-Naples-Gibraltar-New York and New York-Gibraltar-Naples-Genoa, from 1 November 1906 to 23 April 1907. Ships Included the Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Grosse, Grosser Kurfurst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Rhein, Wittekind, and Yorck. North German Lloyd Bulletin, December 1906. GGA Image ID # 1eebb9208d
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York, Twin-Screw Express Mail Steamers, from 26 March 1907 to 10 December 1907. Ships Included the Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Kronprinzessin Cecilie. SS Chemnitz Passenger List, 6 April 1907. GGA Image ID # 1f762f3062
Proposed Sailings, Europe-New York, from 21 January 1908 to 23 June 1908, and Mediterranean Sailings from 23 January to 10 October 1908. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Bremen, Buelow, Friedrich der Gross, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Gross, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Knoenig Albert, Koenigin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, Luetzow, Main, Necktar, Prinzess Irene, Rhein, Roon, and Scharnhorst. North German Lloyd Bulletin, February 1908. GGA Image ID # 1dde6667a4. Click to View Larger Image.
Attention is drawn to the fact that the steamers of the company running between GENOA and NEW YORK, which almost without exception touch at NAPLES, afford an opportunity of making the voyage from Genoa to Naples and vice versa. The steamers also touch at GIBRALTAR on the outward and homeward trips. Some weeks before starting, it can be determined whether there are berths vacant for the voyage to Naples or Gibraltar. The North German Lloyd is. However, in no way responsible if any of the steamers in question: do not start or if the departure is postponed. Potential passengers must likewise apply for passage on these steamers to Messrs. LEUPOLD FRATELLI, GENOA, 10 Piazza San Siro.
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York, New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, Genoa-Naples-Gibraltar-New York, and New York-Gibraltar-Naples-Genoa, from 9 December 1908 to 23 July 1909. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Berlin, Brandenburg, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Grosse, Gneisenau, Grosser Kurfurst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Koenig Albert, Koenigin Luise, Kronprinzessin Cicilie, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Prinzess Irene, Rhein, Yorck, and Zieten. North German Lloyd Bulletin, January 1909. GGA Image ID # 1f519dd3c6. Click to View Larger Image.
Sailing Schedules, (A) Twin-Screw Mail Steamers, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 14 March 1911 to 14 August 1911, (B) Barbarossa Class Twin-Screw Mail Steamers and Mail Steamers, Bremen-Boulogne-sur-Mer-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 11 March 1911 to 31 July 1911. Ships Included Barbarossa, Bremen, George Washington, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Königin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Rhein, and Roon. Ocean Gazette, Kaiser Wilhelm II Edition, 9 April 1911. GGA Image ID # 1ebbaab891
Proposed Sailings, Bremen-New York and New York-Mediterranean Services, from 10 November 1911 to 13 September 1912. Ships Included the Baarbarossa, Berlin, Bremen, Breslau, Chemnitz, George Washington, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Koenig Albert, Koenigin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Prinzess Irene, and Rhein. North German Lloyd Bulletin, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 1e304c62cd. Click to View Larger Image.
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-New York, from 6 January 1912 to 10 September 1912. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Berlin, Bremen, Breslau, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Grosse, George Washington, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, König Albert, Königin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cicilie, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Prinzess Irene, and Rhein. SS Berlin First and Second Cabin Passenger List, 20 January 1912. GGA Image ID # 20d7a7de48. Click to View Larger Image.
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Boulogne-Southampton-New York and New York-Plymouth, Cherbourg-Bremen, from 11 October 1913 to 7 February 1914. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Bremen, Friedrich der Grosse, George Washington, Grosser Kurfürst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, König Albert, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrick Wilhelm, Rhein, and Scharnhorst. SS Grosser Kurfürst Passenger List, 8 November 1913. GGA Image ID # 1f66b98b01. Click to View Larger Image.
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Boulogne-Southampton-New York and New York-Plymouth, Cherbourg-Bremen, from 18 January 1914 to 8 June 1914. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Bremen, George Washington, Gneisenau, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, König Albert, Prinz Friedrick Wilhelm, and Seydlitz. SS Grosser Kurfürst Passenger List, 8 Novmeber 1913. GGA Image ID # 1f67b544a2
Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Boulogne-Southampton-New York and New York-Plymouth, Cherbourg-Bremen, from 19 May 1914 to 29 September 1914. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Berlin, Bremen, Friedrich der Grosse, George Washington, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Königin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, and Prinz Friederich Wilhelm. SS Grosser Kurfürst Passenger List, 8 Novmeber 1913. GGA Image ID # 1f67d45296
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Constructed Title Page with Senior Officers and Staff, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 28 January 1893. GGA Image ID # 21366d1bb9
Constructed Title Page, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 30 April 1896. GGA Image ID # 21360faba4
Constructed Title Page with Senior Officers and Staff, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 18 December 1900. GGA Image ID # 21366f78c5
Title Page, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 213686a86b
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Senior Officers and Staff, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 30 April 1896. GGA Image ID # 213645157c
Senior Officers and Staff, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 21368c6bf0
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Auf der Elbe. "Weisst Du, Erna, warum der grosse Lloyd Dampfer, 'Kaiser Wilhelm' hesst?"--"Warum denn?" "Weil er immer unterwegs ist." || On the Elbe. "Do you know, Erna, why the big Lloyd steamer is called 'Kaiser Wilhelm'?"--"Why?" "Because he's always on the go." Artist: Adolf Münzer, 1905. GGA Image ID # 1ebddaf59b
Section Through Engine Room of the Kaiser Wilhelm II Showing Inner Bottom Carried Up Sides of Ship to Form Double Skin. The Unsinkable Titanic (1912) p. 176. GGA Image ID # 107d53622c
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Back Cover, North German Lloyd SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List - 28 January 1893. GGA Image ID # 1f9453f91d
Back Cover, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 30 April 1896. GGA Image ID # 21364e63d2
Back Cover, North German Lloyd SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Class Passenger List - 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 13fbf0bb8b
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Advertisement: Pleasure Cruises by the SS Kaiserin Maria Theresia, 1904. For These Cruises, the Magnificent Steamer Kaiserin Maria Theresia, Having Been Specially Fitted Out, Offers Members All the Modern Comforts of a First-Class Hotel. SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Cabin Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 2136a2afb0
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Passengers Boarding the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II in New York, circa 1910. Photo by Bain News Service. Library of Congress LCN 2014680544. GGA Image ID # 1dc352349b
Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1dc008e85f
Testing of the Lifeboats at Hoboken -- SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Independent, 2 May 1912. GGA Image ID # 1dc080d1e2
The SS Kaiser Wilhelm II at the Landing Stage in Bremen. People are Gathered on the Landing Stage Shown on the Left. The Syren and Shipping, 2 January 1907. GGA Image ID # 1dc0837a9e
A View of the Launching of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. The World's Work, January 1907. GGA Image ID # 1dc0c39ceb
The North German Llloyd Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. NDL Guidebook, 1898. GGA Image ID # 1dc0cdb2b7
"The Steerage" a 1907 Photogravure by Alfred Stieglitz taken on board the Kaiser Wilhelm II. Camera Work No 36, October 1911. GGA Image ID # 147a072566
The North German Lloyd Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. Ocean Steamships, 1891. GGA Image ID # 1dc0f071ac
The SS Kaiser Wilhelm II of the Norddeutscher Lloyd. Steamships and Their Story, 1910. GGA Image ID # 1dc1224ed4
The SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Departs from Her New York Pier. North German Lloyd Bulletin, February 1905. GGA Image ID # 1dc14c084c
Carl Baum, Chief Engineer on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. North German Lloyd Bulletin, June 1905. GGA Image ID # 1dc161a413
Russian Peace Commissioner and Staff Playing Deck Game on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. North German Lloyd Bulletin, November 1905. GGA Image ID # 1dc1ac490c
Transhipping Stacks of Sacks Containing American Mail to the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II at Plymouth, England. North German Lloyd Bulletin, January 1906. GGA Image ID # 1dc1ca2daf
The Senators Corner on the Deck of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. From Left to Right: U. S. Senator Nixon, of Nevada, U. S. Senator Guggenheim, of Colorado, former U. S. SenatorBeveridge of Indiana, Hon. Richard Barthold, Member of Congress from Missouri. North German Lloyd Bulletin, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 1dc1e8a9bb
Winners of International Balloon Race. Lieut. Hans Gericke (On Right), Pilot of the German Balloon "Berlin II," Winner of the James Gordon Bennett Race from Kansas City, October 5, and J. Otto Duncker, Who Accompanied Him. Photo Taken on S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm II. North German Lloyd Bulletin, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 1dc26deff2
First Class Salon/Parlor on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, 1903. The neo-baroque interior was created by the then well-known Bremen architect Johann Georg Poppe. GGA Image ID # 1d7302ef19
Viennese Café on the Kaiser Wilhelm II, c1903. GGA Image ID # 1f6e4a13af
First Class Dining Saloon Showing Old Arrangement of Longitudinal Tables, Now Replaced by Small Round Tables on the Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. German Shipbuilding, Norddeutscher Lloyd, 1909. GGA Image ID # 1f94a9e4d5
The SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Entering Bremenhafen. A Large Crowd Has Assembled at the Pier to Greet the Ship. Handbook of Travel, 1910. GGA Image ID # 1dbff845cb
Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II about to Leave Bremerhaven. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1ddaadca39
Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Ready for Departure. Passengers Shown on Left Arriving by Special Trains. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1ddaec598d
The Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II in Dry Dock. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1ddb43ad75
First Class Dining Room and Lightwell on the Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1ddcb9fd2d
Office of the Head Steward on an NDL Express Steamer Such As the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1ddce9fdd0
Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Leaving New York. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1ddd271c31
Express Mail Steamship SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1ddd2aeefe
Port Side View of the Bridge of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. Norddeutscher Lloyd History and Organization, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1dddd11c7d
Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1ddf907e5f
View of the Twin-Screw Propellers on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. The World's Work, January 1907. GGA Image ID # 1eba80842f
Lifeboat Drill on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, c1910. Photo by Bains News Service. GGA Image ID # 1f6f676cb9
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Christie's Ocean Liner Auction Catalog - 2007
The Christie's Ocean Liner Auction Catalog 2007 included Posters, Ship Models, and Decorative Arts. The provenance of the Items was sourced from The Estate of Wayne LaPoe, The Kenneth C. Schultz Collection, The Jan J. Loeff Collection, The Marcello Collection, and The Collection of Terrence G. O'Connor.

Classic Ocean Liners, Volume 1: Berengaria, Leviathan, & Majestic
An absorbing and detailed account of the three ships: Berengaria, Leviathan, & Majestic, 50,000-ton dinosaurs of the transatlantic lines in the years before World War I.

Era of the Passenger Liner - 1992
The Gilded Era comes back to life as the reader relives the careers of stately ships and express greyhounds from immigrant ships to floating palaces. Scarce, large format book containing 288pp. Features photographs, statistics, and background of 280 passenger liners, each with a picture.

Here is the story of twentieth-century passenger shipping, from the first of the superliners — the German Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse — to Cunard's Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, right up to Queen Elizabeth 2.

The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs - 1983
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.

Great Passenger Ships of the World 1858-1912
This initial volume deals with Ships from 1858-1912, from the first passenger ship of over 10,000 GRT to be placed in service (the Great Eastern) to those unforgettable sister ships, the Olympic and Titanic — the first of more than 40,000 GRT.
Guide Through North & Central America (Norddeutscher Lloyd) - 1898
🎩 “A Grand Tour by Steamship: Exploring the Americas with North German Lloyd”
Published in April 1898 by J. Reichmann & Cantor of Berlin and New York, the Guide Through North & Central America was more than a simple travel manual. Lavishly illustrated and distributed as a souvenir for passengers aboard North German Lloyd (NDL) steamships, it provided a snapshot of late 19th-century transatlantic tourism, immigration, and shipping excellence.
Intended as a companion piece to NDL’s acclaimed European guide, this first edition introduces readers to the cultural, geographic, and infrastructural wonders of the United States (and parts of Canada and Mexico in future editions). It captured the era of grand steamship travel, a time when visiting Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon involved weeks of planning and intercontinental coordination.

Leviathan: "The World's Greatest Ship" Volume 1
The first volume takes us from the construction of the VATERLAND to the end of World War One when the VATERLAND, now the U.S.S Leviathan, was used as a troop transport and packed with fabulous photographs and reproductions of newspaper articles.

Lost Liners, Titanic to the Andrea Doria
Maps, charts, and diagrams make this handsome volume a valuable reference tool and a compelling evocation of that glorious era when floating palaces ruled the sea lanes.

Majesty at Sea: The Four Stackers
The opulent and luxurious four-funnel passenger liners, of which only fourteen have ever been built, are unsurpassed in maritime history. Built between 1897 and 1921, these great vessels vied with each other in their standards of comfort, spaciousness, and speed, and great was the rivalry between their owners.
Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume One, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails
🌍 Transatlantic Titans: The Rise of Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Transformation of Ocean Travel (1857–1918)
Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970, Volume 1 by Edwin Drechsel is a meticulously researched chronicle of the origins and golden age of the Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), one of the most important steamship lines in global maritime history.
The book covers:
- The founding of NDL in 1857 by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann
- The transition from sail to steam, paddle to screw propulsion
- The increasing demand for transatlantic mail and passenger service
- The NDL’s competition with British lines for speed, prestige, and the Blue Riband
- The line’s crucial role in transporting millions of emigrants to North America
- Its involvement in global mail and freight services
- The impact of World War I on German shipping and commerce
Volume 1 concludes just before or during the war years that halted NDL’s rapid rise.
Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume Two, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails
Winds of Change: Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Final Era of Ocean Travel (1920–1970)
The second volume of Edwin Drechsel’s monumental work Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970 picks up in the aftermath of World War I, tracing five tumultuous decades through:
🌊 Postwar decline and slow recovery
🚢 The interwar years and the Blue Riband triumph of the Bremen (1929)
📉 The Great Depression’s toll on ocean travel
🌍 The transformation of global shipping under the shadow of WWII
🧱 Postwar reconstruction and the decline of passenger liners
📦 The pivot to container freight and the 1970 merger with HAPAG
Drechsel, drawing on his personal ties (his father was a North German Lloyd captain), maritime journalism background, and deep expertise in ship mails and German liner history, delivers a book that is both richly detailed and profoundly human.

North Atlantic Passenger Liners Since 1900
Material about the most prominent steamship companies on the Atlantic Ferry today and those that have been there for some time. Some Lines have diverse services to other oceans, seas, and continents.

This book recreates the ambiance of the ocean linereraby showing the actual objects used on board. Each piece of ocean-liner memorabilia is like an aladdin's lamp, releasing wondrous memories of that grand style of travel.

Ocean Steamers: A History of Ocean-Going Passenger Steamships 1820-1970
A history of the steam-powered passenger ship that details its story from the SS Savannah of 1819 to the SS Hamburg of 1969. It contains historical details of all civilian vessels built in the intervening years, with numerous illustrations and previously unpublished material.

With Ninety-six Illustrations. Few books will leave the press during this holiday season that are as solid and satisfying in their matter and as sumptuous in their form as this volume—over 30 High-Quality Images. Follow the Book' Description.

Passenger Liners of the World Since 1893
The author here takes a nostalgic look back to the heyday of the passenger ship, providing a brief history of 211 ships of over 10,000 tons, together with specifications and technical details of each.
Passenger Ships of the World - 1963
🎓 “A Global Voyage Through Steamship History for Historians, Genealogists, and Maritime Enthusiasts”
Eugene W. Smith’s Passenger Ships of the World – Past and Present (1963) is a masterfully curated encyclopedic reference that charts the rise, peak, and transformation of ocean-going passenger ships through nearly two centuries. Expanding upon his earlier Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific works, Smith offers a global maritime panorama that includes ships serving the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Oceania, as well as Canal routes and California-Hawaii shuttle lines.
🧭 This book is an essential resource for:
- Maritime historians seeking design evolution and fleet data
- Genealogists tracing voyages and shipping lines
- Educators and students studying transoceanic migration and tourism
- Ship modelers, naval architects, and enthusiasts interested in dimensions, tonnage, and speed

Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994
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 1900s.

Picture History of American Passenger Ships - 2001
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 tonnage, speed, size, and passenger load information.

This book provides, in a narrative free from technical terms, a complete history of the development of steamships, showing the evolution of the modern ocean greyhound from the earliest experiments in marine engineering. The illustrations form a unique feature of this handsome volume.

The Blue Riband of the Atlantic
The blue riband of the Atlantic was the symbolic prize awarded to the luxury liner that made the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. This book begins with a description of the origins of ocean steamship travel and then discusses the development and careers of the most famous ships involved.

US Steamships: A Picture Postcard History
Over many years, Postcards were collected for the message, history, and the scene. As a result of these collecting interests, we have a valuable source of information relating to many subjects, including steamships, from a historical, technical, and artistic perspective. The Postcards in this book provide a chronological history of U.S. Steamships.

The liners of this age served the route of gold linking Europe with the brazenly rich United States of America, where a new class of person was learning how to spend money as lavishly as any Old World rentier.
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