An Original 1930's RMS Queen Mary Brochure: Luxury On Every Deck
Ninety-two years ago today, on September 26th, 1934, the RMS Queen Mary was christened. Over 250,000 spectators gathered at John Brown & Co.’s shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, braving a pouring rain to watch "Hull No. 534" slide into the River Clyde as Her Majesty Queen Mary bestowed her own name upon the ship, with King George V at her side. She would go on to become one of the most celebrated ocean liners to ever cross the Atlantic.
We currently have this original mid-1930s RMS Queen Mary brochure by Cunard White Star, celebrating the vessel King George V termed “The Stateliest Ship Now in Being.” Looking through the brochure—the exact visual promise prospective passengers held in their hands before stepping aboard—it’s easy to see why. In an era notorious for reserving the true comforts solely for the First Class, Cunard heavily marketed this liner across all decks.
In fact, Third Class passengers were given some of the best real estate on the ship, including a dedicated forward “garden lounge” offering panoramic views of the Atlantic. Among the liner's other standout features highlighted in the brochure are a tiled indoor swimming pool (an "unprecedented feature" for Tourist Class), a main deck tourist lounge with a parquet dance floor, relief wood carvings by sculptor Bainbridge Copnall, two acres of open decks for "sports and promenade", and full Promenade Deck shopping gallerias.
Travel was an actual occasion back then. Imagine waltzing with your lover as the horizon stretched endlessly in every direction, the open ocean catching the fiery glow of the sunset. Compare that to the modern red-eye experience: fighting over an armrest, paying $11 for a bottle of lukewarm terminal water, and dodging a neighbor's bare feet while surviving a six-hour flight on a tiny, postage-stamp sized bag of pretzels from a brand you can’t pronounce.
You can own a piece of this history. It is for sale online, at rarebooklink.com, or you can find it directly by clicking right here.
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