Empress of Britain/Canadian Pacific line: World Cruise 1934 souvenir handbook

Promotional book for the RMS Empress of Britain, a steam turbine ocean liner built in Scotland & owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the largest ship in the fleet operated by the Canadian Pacific Steamship Co. Beginning in 1931, she offered not only standard passenger transport between Quebec & England, but luxury trans-Atlantic passenger service to various ports of call in Europe---and eventually, beyond. The itinerary described in this 1934 excursion, which left New York on January 4th, was even more extensive, taking guests on a 130-day excursion to 33 ports, including the Holy Land, Gibraltar, Cairo, Bangkok, Ceylon, then across the Equator to Java, Bali, & China, then back northward through Honolulu, California, & Panama. The ship boasted "spacious, superbly appointed apartments.not cabins.with ball louvre ventilation & wireless telephony supplementing wireless telegraphy, along with "cuisine for the most fastidious," a gymnasium, two pools, Turkish baths, & 11 lounges/dining rooms. The cost was $2100 with shore excursions, $1600 without (approximately $50,000 in 2024 dollars). On 28 Oct 1940, the Empress was torpedoed by a German U-boat & sank, acquiring the ignominious distinction of being the largest ocean liner lost in WWII & the largest ship sunk by a U-boat. In 1995, the sunken vessel was located & salvage efforts attempted. (Wikipedia). In decorative wrappers containing 64 pages, this booklet contains image after image (in black & white photographs) of a world gone by & as experienced by largely white, upper-class tourists in the mid-20th century. Condition is VG: completely clean, with some minor creasing to top edge of front cover & slight edgewear. Stapled binding intact (center pages loosening), with no rust. Pages unmarked. Our photos depict the Exact book you will receive, never "stock" images of books we don't actually have! Same day shipping on all orders received Weekdays by 2 pm Pacific time; later orders, weekends & holidays ship very next business day.

Product Info

Publisher: Canadian Pacific Steamship Co.

Year: 1933

Type: Used

Binding: Hardcover

First Edition

Seller Info

GargoyleBooks

Address: 7525 Olive Place La Mesa, California

Website: https://www.gargoylebooks.net

Country: United States