French Line/Southampton to New York
Designer
Designer Unknown
Date1935
Dimensions24 3/4 x 39 1/2 in. (62.9 x 100.3 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.8216
DescriptionLaunched in 1935, the SS Normandie was one of the most elegant ships ever to sail. Its interiors exemplified the finest French craftsmanship of the era, reflecting the prevailing Art Deco style. It also captured the Blue Riband—an award allocated for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a passenger ship—on its maiden voyage, making it the most expedient and efficient liner of its time. The poster is based on one of the many aerial photographs taken on June 3, 1935, of the Normandie sailing up the Hudson River along Manhattan’s West Side to its berth at Pier 88 at 55th Street. In celebration of its much-heralded arrival, it was accompanied by tugboats and followed by steamers, ferries, and other smaller vessels. French Line originally used Pier 57 at 15th Street as its main berth; however, the era of the superliner in the 1930s required the city to build extra-long docks to safely accommodate ships like the Queen Mary, the Normandie, and the Queen Elizabeth. Constructed by the Public Works Administration, the special dock, one thousand feet in length, was chiseled from the schist along the coastline of Manhattan. Upon the outbreak of World War II, the Normandie was interned at her berth in New York by the United States government and ultimately seized as enemy property in 1940 when Germany invaded France. On February 9, 1942, as the Normandie was being converted into a troop transport ship, it caught fire and sank.On View
Not on view
