HAMBURG - AMERIKA LINIE / PLEASURE CRUISES. Circa 1904.
41x27 inches, 104x68 1/2 cm. O. Troitzsch, Berlin. Condition B: replaced losses and overpainting in margins; repaired tears, creases, abrasions and restoration in margins and image.
The concept of "Pleasure Cruising," as opposed to using a steamship to travel from one destination to another, was originated by Albert Ballin, the director of the Hamburg America Line. The first pleasure cruise was a 57-day Mediterranean tour that left Cuxhaven in 1891. While it is impossible to identify the ship on which these elegantly-attired travelers are enjoying a leisurely afternoon, the ship in the background is the Deutschland - the Hamburg America Line's only four-stacker, whose maiden voyage was in 1900. Schwormstädt was a painter and illustrator who worked for both the Hamburg America Line and North German Lloyd Bremen. This is the English version. Passenger Ships front end-paper (var), Monarchs p. 165, Chemnitz 449.
