RMS Aquitania

RMS Aquitania was a British ocean liner of the Cunard Line in service from 1914 to 1950. She was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 30 May 1914. Aquitania was the third in Cunard Line's grand trio of express liners, preceded by RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, and was the last surviving four-funneled ocean liner. Shortly after Aquitania entered service, World War I broke out, during which she was first converted into an auxiliary cruiser before being used as a troop transport and a hospital ship, notably as part of the Dardanelles Campaign. Aquitania ended her career as the longest-serving Cunard vessel, a record which stood for six years until overtaken by RMS Scythia's service record of 37 years. In 2004 Aquitania's service record was pushed into third place when Queen Elizabeth 2 became the longest-serving Cunard vessel.

R.M.S. Titanic

 

One of my first (and most cherished) postcard finds over 40 years ago. I went to a little estate sale/thrift shop in Venice California and came upon a very old postcard album. The shop owner was selling the cards individually. After looking through the album, I approached her and asked how much for the entire album...she wasn't sure what to say. I don't remember what the final number was but I don't think it was more than $20-$30. I still have all of the cards but the album was worn and has faded away.

Not really sure anything else needs to be said. We all know the story...

 

The Los Angeles Steamship Company - "Yale" & "Harvard"

The Los Angeles Steamship Company was a passenger and freight shipping company based in Los Angeles, California. The company, formed in 1920, initially provided fast passenger service between Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 1921, LASSCO added service to Hawaii in competition with the San Francisco-based Matson Navigation Company using two former North German Lloyd ocean liners that had been in U.S. Navy service during World War I. Despite the sinking of one of the former German liners on her maiden voyage for the company, business in the booming 1920s thrived, and the company continued to add ships and services. In 1922, the City of Los Angeles, a renamed and refitted liner was one of the largest American ships sailing in Pacific waters.

More info on the Harvard and the Yale here:

https://jhgraham.com/2015/08/27/the-los-angeles-steamship-co-harvard-yale/

S.S. North American - The Georgian Bay Line - Chicago

SS North American was a Great Lakes steamboat built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ecorse, Michigan in 1913 for the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company. The vessel was launched on January 16, 1913 and was the oldest of two sister ships, the newer one being the SS South American.

While the North American was on the North Atlantic being towed to Piney Point, she unexpectedly sank on September 4, 1967. The location was 25 miles (40 km) northeast from Nantucket Light, where the bottom is at 400 feet (120 m). The wreck still remains at this location.

I suspect that this unused chrome postcard is from the late 50's, early 60's. 

RPPC - The Kalakala Ferry - Puget Sound, Washington

The Kalakala was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967. Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The ship is known as the world's first streamlined vessel for her unique art deco styling.

After nearly being scrapped, the Kalakala is being restored

On or about January 22nd 2015 the Kalakala will take her final voyage. She will be towed from her moorage in the Hylebos Waterway to the Blair Waterway where she will be scrapped

http://www.kalakala.org/

SS Catalina

Continuing with  the nautical theme...

The S.S. Catalina was built in 1924, and for 51 years served passengers crossing the San Pedro Channel between Los Angeles Harbor and Avalon, California. During that time, she carried 25 million people, reportedly more than any other ocean-going ship in history. During World War II, as a troop transport in San Francisco Bay, she broke records by ferrying 820,199 men, more than any other U.S. Army Transport.

On September 14, 1975 the S.S. Catalina completed her 9,807th crossing, and it would be her last. At 7:30 pm, she tied up to her San Pedro berth and the Captain rang down "Finished with Engines" for the final time.

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Sadly, after many attempts to save her, the S.S. Catalina Steamship Fund became inactive and she sat for years in the harbor at Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. In 1997, water began seeping in through the propeller shaft. The ship began to sink slowly by the stern (photo below). Finally in 2009, what was left of the S.S. Catalina was cut up for scrap...no way to treat a lady :\

U.S.S. Nautilus and General Dynamics

In July 1951 the United States Congress authorized the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine for the U.S. Navy. In December 1951 the U.S. Department of the Navy announced that the submarine would be called Nautilus. Nautilus's keel was laid at General Dynamics' Electric Boat Division by President Harry S. Truman, on June 14, 1952. She was christened on January 21, 1954. She was decommissioned in 1980 and has been preserved as a museum of submarine history in Groton, Connecticut.

This continental sized postcard is from a set of posters designed by Erik Nitsche. You can see my set of these cards here: General Dynamics

The Ship Cafe, Venice, California

Venice California holds a special place in my collection and in my heart. I grew up in  West Los Angeles and graduated from Venice High School. As an adult, I lived in Ocean Park (beach town between Santa Monica and Venice) for over 20 years. I still have friends and family in the neighborhood. While I never got to see the Cabrillo (or many other Venice treasures from the past), these postcards make me feel like I have.

The Ship Cafe, built in 1905 alongside the Abbot Kinney pier, was the "in" spot to find some of this "action." Named the "Cabrillo," the combination hotel-restaurant was fashioned after a Spanish galleon and served up high-priced cuisine in the main dining room, or in private salons on the second deck. The staff were uniformed like sixteenth-century naval officers

The Ship was available for private functions, which many of Hollywood's rising stars preferred, and the mayhem that attended New Year's Eve made for headline copy. It was at the Ship that Valentino had his heels cooled by movie queen Nazimova, who called him a "pimp" and a "gigolo" at a private party she was throwing for coworkers at Metro Goldwyn Mayer. And it was Buster Keaton who, pestered by autograph hounds, jumped out of one of the restaurant's portholes in a faked escape attempt, only to find twice as many fans when he returned.

On the Sunday night of January 11, 1920, before Prohibition took effect, an estimated 100,000 revelers jammed the seaside resort of Venice, closing off all available avenues into the town. Tables at the Ship Cafe went for $300, and doors were closed at 10 p.m. after capacity had long since been reached.

But the Cabrillo's heyday was before the Depression, and it slipped into obscurity, eventually to be razed in October 1946. 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The only thing missing from this card is a dirigible...I really like this card for so many reasons. I love transportation related cards and this one has them all! I also think that the composition is done well. Being a fan of postmarks makes this one special too.