1948 Canadian Pacific: Empress of Canada & Empress of France
DESCRIPTION
A wonderfully detailed survivor from the golden age of transatlantic travel, this Canadian Pacific deck plan opens to reveal nearly every corner of two of the company's great postwar ocean liners, the Empress of Canada and Empress of France.
Issued circa 1948, the plan was produced following the postwar refitting of the two 20,400-ton sister ships, originally launched as the Duchess of Richmond and Duchess of Bedford. Both served as troop transports during World War II before returning to civilian service under their new Empress names. Operating primarily between Liverpool and the Canadian ports of Quebec and Montreal, they helped restore Canadian Pacific's transatlantic passenger service in the years immediately following the war.
The centerpiece is a series of color-coded deck plans tracing the ships from the Upper Promenade Deck through Deck D. Individual cabins, lounges, dining rooms, promenades, children's rooms, bathrooms, stairways and service areas are carefully identified, with colors distinguishing first-class and tourist accommodations. Photographs surrounding the plans show the first-class lounge and dining room, cocktail room, Empress Room, tourist lounge and dining room, bedrooms and children's rooms. The reverse continues the photographic tour with scenes of passengers relaxing and playing shuffleboard on deck, along with a large view of the Empress of Canada docked at Montreal.
The two ships shared similar beginnings but ultimately had very different careers. The Empress of Canada returned to the Liverpool-Montreal route in 1947 but was destroyed by fire while docked at Liverpool in 1953 and subsequently scrapped. The Empress of France remained in Canadian Pacific service until 1960. Combining detailed deck plans with photographs of the ships, their interiors and life aboard, this promotional piece offers an unusually complete look at Canadian Pacific's postwar passenger service during the final decades of the great transatlantic ocean liners.
CONDITION
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622