LATEST

Cruise History – Remembering Katherine Hepburn aboard Holland America Line’s great trans-Atlantic liner SS NIEUW AMSTERDAM. A “queen” of Art Deco design and style.

HOLLAND AMERICA LINE HISTORY – A SOCIAL HISTORY – LOOKING BACK AT THE SS NIEUW AMSTERDAM. A wonderful Dutch film/video on the great liner. Throughout the 1930s a remarkable period of growth was experienced by the merchant fleets of many nations. This growth occurred in spite of a depression that ... Read More »

QE2 – CUNARD LINE’S QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 – NEW WEBSITE DEVOTED TO THE LINER’S HISTORY

HISTORY OF THE QE2 – Cruise and Social History. The Queen Elizabeth 2, or QE2 as she is commonly known was the flagship of the Cunard Line for nearly 40 years. QE2 made her maiden voyage in 1969 and was one of the last great Transatlantic liners. At 70,327 tons ... Read More »

SOCIAL AND CRUISE HISTORY: ARE THESE PHOTOS FROM SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA? TAKE A GUESS OR CONTRIBUTE. DO YOU KNOW?

Paul Swift sent us the following great photos.  The ship is departing.  Crowds, streamers and farewells.  Paul couldn’t exactly state where the ship was departing from and had no record in connection with these photos.  He suspected it was Sydney, Australia.  I consulted maritime expert Peter Knego, Maritime Matters, and ... Read More »

ICON-WEB AWARD WINNER

A Social History wins honors – The number one “Hip” Historical Website of 2009. Retro meets today! The ICON-WEB AWARD is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1998 during the Web’s infancy, the ICON is presented by The European Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, ... Read More »

HOLLYWOOD TO HONOLULU – LOS ANGELES STEAMSHIP COMPANY – BOOK REVIEW

REVIEW – HOLLYWOOD TO HONOLULU: The story of the Los Angeles Steamship Company Written by Gordon Ghareeb and (MaritimeMatters publisher) Martin Cox Review published in Sea Classics, April 2010 by Rod Redman Travel nostalgia lovers will be thrilled by this well-illustrated tribute to one of the most celebrated regional steamship ... Read More »

Titanic letter sells for a record £55,000

Titanic History Made Again – A letter from a first-class passenger on board the ill-fated Titanic has been sold at auction for £55,000. It fetched a record price for a piece of written correspondence from the ship, which sailed from Southampton in April 1912. The letter, written on three sides ... Read More »

ELINOR SMITH – THE FLYING FLAPPER – 1920s

Great Video on Elinor Smith. Elinor Smith was born in 1911. She knew she was born to fly at the age of 6 when she took her first airplane ride. She started taking lessons at the age of 8. She was fortunate at that time to have parents who supported ... Read More »

RMS Titanic: World’s Largest Museum Attraction dedicated to the doomed White Star liner opens in Branson, Missouri!

RMS Titanic: World’s Largest Museum Attraction dedicated to the doomed White Star liner opens in Branson, Missouri! The new Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn (Branson, Missouri) opened April 8 – with a star-studded Grand Opening hosted by Regis Philbin (pictured left with the Titanic’s museum capatain).  The event, ... Read More »

THE “NIGHT FERRY” – CARRIED THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF WINDSOR FROM LONDON TO PARIS

The “Night Ferry” being loaded to cross the English Channel. The “Night Ferry” was the first, and until the opening of the Channel Tunnel the only, through train from London to Paris. The train was made up of sleeping cars provided by the CIWL (Companie Internationale des Wagon-lits or International ... Read More »

SS PASTEUR 1939 Cie de Navigation Sud Atlantique – A career cut short by WW 2.

Great youtube video: The “TSS Pasteur” was a special case in ocean liner history. The great liner was never officially in service. It arrived just in time for World War II and saw little passenger service.  The Pasteur was one of the least-documented great liners of its era, yet its ... Read More »

Cars, Boats, Trains & Planes in Movies & TV