The first generations of steam engines were not entirely reliable and oceangoing ships like the Italy, City of Brooklyn, Palmyra and Belgenland [13-16] carried auxiliary sailing rigs until the early 1880s. Progress thereafter was swift, and by the 1890s steamships assumed a profile that would remain fundamentally unchanged for more than half a century.
Ships sported two, three, or four funnels painted with house colors: red with two or three narrow black bands and black top for Cunard; buff for Norddeutscher Lloyd (after 1889) and Royal Mail Lines (after 1900); United States Lines’ red with a white band below a blue top; and so on.
The switch to diesel power and other efficiencies reduced the number and size of funnels over time. However, some ships—like the Olympic and Titanic [part 11] and Normandie [51, 60]—carried a non-working “dummy” funnel solely for aesthetic reasons.
Steamship Italy (1870-94).
Card, n.d. 11 × 16.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 2763
Inman Steamship, City of Brooklyn (1869-78).
Card, n.d. 14.5 × 9 cm.
Morse Collection, 1321
Cunard Royal Mail Steamer Palmyra (1866-97), Cabin Plan.
Card, n.d. 10.5 × 6.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 729
Belgenland (1879-1904).
Original painting by Antonio Jacobsen (1850-1921), oil on canvas, 22" × 36"; 1884.
Postcard from Smith Gallery, New York. 19 × 13.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 2268
Oceanic (1899-1914).
Photograph by Stewart Bale, Ltd.,
n.d. 29.5 × 24.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 690
Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901-17).
Photograph by Beken of Cowes, 1912. 24 × 29 cm.
Morse Collection, 2574
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897-1914).
Photograph by Beken of Cowes, n.d. 24 × 26 cm.
Morse Collection, 2561
Twin-Screw R.M.S. Cedric (1903-34).
Postcard of an original painting by Montague B. Black (1884-1964). v 8.5 × 14 cm.
Morse Collection, 623
Caronia (1905-32).
Photograph by R. Scozzafava, Brooklyn, N.Y.
n.d. 10 × 15 cm.
Morse Collection, 355
R.M.S. Mauretania (1907-35).
Postcard, circa 1909.
8.5 × 14 cm.
Morse Collection, 60
Kronprinzessin Cecilie (1907-17).
Postcard, n.d. 8.5 × 14 cm.
Morse Collection, 2579
France (1912-34).
Photograph, n.d. 9.5 × 15 cm.
Morse Collection, 960
R.M.S. Aquitania (1914-50).
Postcard, circa 1922. 8.5 × 14 cm.
Morse Collection, 94
Berengaria (1919-38) in Cherbourg Harbor, Sept. 1927.
Photo-graph by James Eddy. 9 × 14.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 346
S.S. Vaterland (1914-17), World’s Largest Steamship, 950 feet long, 100 foot beam, 58,000 tons.
Postcard, n.d.
After World War I, the Vaterland was acquired by the United States Lines and renamed Leviathan (1919-38).
9 × 13.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 2441
Turbinen-Schnelldampfer Bremen (1929-41).
Postcard, 1935.
11 × 15 cm.
Morse Collection, 2501
Britannic (1930-60) at Boston en route from Liverpool to New York.
Photograph, 1930. 12.5 × 18 cm.
Morse Collection, 712
Rex (1932-44).
Photograph by R. Scozzafava, n.d. 10 × 15 cm.
Morse Collection, 2721
Normandie (1935-40).
Photograph, n.d. 10.5 × 20 cm.
Morse Collection, 1053
Queen Elizabeth (1946-68): The World’s Largest Superliner.
Photograph from Cruise Fare Schedule, circa 1963. 21.5 × 90.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 307
Le Paquebot France (1962-79): Carte Postale 1er Jour.
Post-card, 1962. 10.5 × 14.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 975
The S.S. United States (1952-73) Miniature Deck Plan.
Bro-chure, n.d. 51 × 92 cm.
Morse Collection, 872
The Andrea Doria (1952-56).
Postcard, n.d. 11 × 15 cm.
Morse Collection, 2253
Michelangelo (1965-75), Nave Ammiraglia (flagship).
Postcard, n.d. 10.5 × 15 cm.
Morse Collection, 2708
Queen Elizabeth 2 (1969-2008).
Photograph, 1985. 10 × 15 cm.
Morse Collection, 549
Queen Mary 2 (2004- ).
Cunard—the Most Famous Ocean Liners in the World.
Postcard, circa 2006. 10 × 15.5 cm.
Morse Collection, 202