DESIGNER UNKNOWN AMERICAN LINE / WAR / PEACE. Circa 1899.
37x24 1/2 inches, 94x62 cm. Knapp Co. Lith, New York.
Condition B / B-: losses in upper right corner and along upper left margin; repaired tears at edges, some affecting image; stains and abrasions in image; tape stain at top.
The American Line was founded in 1872, with service between Philadelphia, Liverpool and Southampton. Although the company went through different mergers with other shipping companies, she continued operating under her own name until 1925. During the Spanish-American War, several of her ships were commissioned for war-time service by the United States Navy; included among those were the two-funneled S.S. St. Louis and her sister ship the S.S. St. Paul. Both ships, (and as they were identical it is uncertain which one is pictured here), served their country between April and September 1898. They were outfitted with guns, and in the case of the S.S. St Paul, she was also fitted with heavy drag lines that were used to sever undersea telegraph cables. After the war the company literally advertised their patriotic service to the public. extremely rare