SWANN GALLERIES TO AUCTION OCEAN LINER AND TRANSPORTATION MEMORABILIA ON FEBRUARY 3

SWANN GALLERIES TO AUCTION OCEAN LINER AND TRANSPORTATION MEMORABILIA ON FEBRUARY 3

New York—On Thursday, February 3, Swann Galleries will offer more than 450 lots of posters, brochures, photo albums, postcards, ship models, and decorative objects related to travel by ship in a sale of Ocean Liner and Transportation Memorabilia, in which most of the major steamship lines are represented.

Rare memorabilia related to the French Line’s “Normandie” is among the most prized material in the sale. There is an official certificate given to maiden voyage passengers, this one to Marcel Olivier, Gouverneur Général of the French Line, 1935 (estimate: $5,000 to $7,500); a company-issued photo album containing 37 images of the ship, including full portraits and views of the engine room, deluxe suites and more, 1930s ($8,000 to $12,000); a house flag attributed to the “Normandie,” with red burlap letters on a cream background spelling out “Cie Gle Transatlantique,” circa 1935 ($1,500 to $2,500); and an unusual variant of A.M. Cassandre’s famed poster for the ship, Paris, 1938, that does not advertise either “Service Regulier” or a special event (estimate: $15,000 to $20,000).

Other appealing posters are White Star Line, Royal & United States Twin Screw Steamers, “Majestic” & “Teutonic,” circa 1900 ($1,500 to $2,500); Hamburg-American Packet Co., Weekly Service per Twin Screw Express Steamers, New York, circa 1900 ($1,200 to $1,800); Henri Cassiers’s Lloyd Royal Belge, Anvers, Brussels, 1920s ($1,800 to $2,200); Odin Rosenvinge’s Canadian Pacific Cabin Steamers, 1930s ($1,500 to $2,500); Walter Thomas’s “Queen Mary,” “Queen Elizabeth,” Fastest Ocean Service in the World, England, 1947 ($1,500 to $2,500); and a poster advertising the inaugural voyage Con le “Andrea Doria,” Genoa, 1952 ($1,000 to $1,500).

Also among attractive representations of ships are chromolithographs on tin, such as Austro Americana New Twin Screw S/S Martha Washington, Chicago, circa 1910 and Cunard Line, New York – Liverpool, depicting the “Lusitania,” circa 1910 ($1,200 to $1,800 each); a counter display card once used in travel agencies to entice customers to go Round South America on the North German Lloyd Bremen, 1939 ($1,000 to $1,500); and beautiful waterline models of ships often used by travel agents to promote cruising, including an extraordinary example by Giacomo Patrone of the American Expert Lines’ “Independence,” circa 1951, which is 53 inches long ($5,000 to $7,500).

There are real-photo postcards related to the “Titanic,” most issued before its ill-fated maiden voyage including an image of the ship being built, captioned “The Titanic – In the Ship Yards at Belfast, Ireland,” Chicago, 1912 ($300 to $400); and one post-sinking postcard signed by two survivors, one of them Edith Haisman, who was among the best-known and longest-lived survivors, card circa 1912, signatures 1990s ($800 to $1,200).

Also from a survivor of a famous ship sinking is a four-page carbon typescript of a statement made by a survivor of the “Lusitania,” concerning his last moments on the ship, May 1915 ($700 to $1,000).

Another fascinating ephemeral item is a scrapbook kept by Commodore Harry Manning with material related to the maiden voyage of the “United States,” considered the greatest liner ever produced in the U.S., with a plaque awarded to the Commodore for winning the blue riband after breaking the transatlantic speed record, 1952 ($3,000 to $4,000).

A large and diverse selection of china, glass and silver items produced for luxury travel include an ornate silver coffee and tea service from the Holland-America Line, circa 1900 ($800 to $1,200); a very rare milk pitcher in the Wisteria pattern for the White Star Line, 1901 ($1,000 to $1,500); etched cordial glasses for the Italian Line, circa 1927 ($800 to $1,200); a pre-World War II oyster plate for the Cosulich Line ($400 to $600); elegant silver serving pieces by Christofle for the “Normandie,” among them a large platter used for first-class dining, 1930s ($800 to $1,200); a silver repoussé fruit bowl by Elkington for the Red Star Line, circa 1932 ($600 to $900); as well as items from the “Graf Zeppelin,” such as china pieces by Heinrich with the LZ logo, and charred silverware pieces gathered after the crash of the “Hindenburg” in Lakehurst, New Jersey ($1,500 to $2,500 each for a table knife and a butter knife).

There are also group lots of souvenir spoons, including a collection of 75 spoons, jelly spreaders and tea strainers from Cunard and White Star liners, housed in a custom-made wall case ($4,000 to $6,000).

Rounding out the sale are ships medallions, naval equipment including a 1947 ship’s compass; 1950s stateroom telephone and life preserver from the United States Lines; and a few choice aviation items.

The auction will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 3, and will continue after a lunch break at 2:30 p.m.

The items will be on public exhibition Saturday, January 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Monday, January 31 through Wednesday, February 2, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

An illustrated catalogue is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25^th Street, New York, NY 10010, or online at www.swanngalleries.com.

For further information, and to make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction, please contact Gary Garland at (212) 254-4710, extension 17, or via email at ggarland@swanngalleries.com.

Live online bidding is also available via Artfact.com.

CATALOGUES AND DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST Rebecca Weiss
Media Relations
Swann Galleries
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY 10010
212-254-4710, ext. 23