I really had no idea where to start to sty on theme for this week's Sepia Saturday, so I am not theming this week. Instead I am sharing some recently acquired, vintage postcards of steam ships, some sepia, some not. I have posted about steam ships before, most recently the R.M.S.Queen Mary, and before that the S.S.Worthing, so whilst not exactly an obsession, it seems I do have more than just a passing interest.
A long cruise on a steam ship does have a certain appeal, and I know several folks who make this their annual holiday, but I have recently been put off the idea by the simply dreadful adverts for cruises that are shown as the sponsors of the Endeavour TV series. However, if we can put that aside for a few moments, our voyage starts with three steam ships from the Union Castle line:
Vintage postcard of the Union Castle Line RMMV, "Capetown Castle"
Vintage postcard of the Union Castle Line, SS "Rhodesia Castle"
.jpg "Vintage postcard of the Union Castle Line RMMV, \"Stirling Castle\"")
Vintage postcard of the Union Castle Line RMMV, "Stirling Castle"
Next up we have the Cunard ship, the RMS Queen Mary, followed by the RMS Victorian. Sepia or black and white works well for a lot of vintage postcard subject matter, but I can't help thinking the colour postcards below win the judges best postcard in category prize here today.
Vintage postcard of the Cunard RMS Queen Mary
.jpg "Vintage postcard of the RMS Victorian")
Vintage postcard of the RMS Victorian, by the artrist Fred Pansing
As usual 100's more vintage postcards can be found on my web site, and explorer who prefer to stay on dry land may be interested in my Urban Wanders over on my In Search of Space blog.
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Your post nudged me to consider the long ocean voyage many of the women in my family tree made, with young children in tow. I guarantee they were in steerage, too! Your ships look so lovely from the vantage point of the photographer. I wonder how they looked to these women? Thanks for prompting my thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI was on the Capetown Castle as a small child with my mother, for the voyage from Naples (I think) through the Suez Canal to the port of Beira in Mozambique, where my Dad picked us up and drove us home to the Eastern Districts of Rhodesia. Quite a trip in those days.
ReplyDeleteThe postcards make the thought of traveling by boat so exciting and romantic. I wonder if it really was.
ReplyDeleteThere was a talk at our library recently about the Titanic. The presenter showed some hand coloured pictures of the interior. It was so beautiful. I have always wanted to travel somewhere by boat. In fact I did when I was very young...but can't really remember it...sigh.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how many of these I recognised, I have never been on a boat larger than a cross channel ferry in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteI have been to talks on the Titanic, and the loss of the Andorra Star and the Lusitania.
I was also surprised to see this post but for another reason. When trying to think of a post for this week, I typed "Sepia Saturday" into the digital newspaper section of Trove and what should come up but many articles about a ship called Sepia, that sank of the Western Australia coast. However I didn't end up completing the post as I try to stick with family related things and wasn't inspired.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that ships are always shown nice and level with the horizon. I also wonder how large the original paintings were of the last two. The RMS Queen Mary might have been steaming over the Cunard board room table.
ReplyDeleteA fascinating glimpse into maritime history. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI love these old ships. Thank you for posting!
ReplyDeleteHello from the PPT team. I love your blog it is right up my alley! I am now following. Please stop by my blog at http://butterflyintheattic.blogspot.com/2013/05/etsy-eye-candy.html
ReplyDeletePlease note we also have a Postcard Forum if you go to the home page you will find its button.
So glad you have joined our team.
Colleen