ODIN ROSENVINGE (1880-1957) CUNARD LINE / LIVERPOOL - NEW - YORK - BOSTON. Circa 1907. 40x25 inches, 101 1/2x63 1/2 cm. Turner & Dunnett, Liverpool. Condition B: losses at edges; repaired tears, creases and abrasions in image. A beautiful poster advertising transatlantic travel on the legendary Lusitania. In addition to her recognizable four-funneled profile, this ship is identifiable by the white stripe along the top edge of her bow. Her sister ship the Mauretania, which looked practically identical, did not have the band of white above the black hull. However, this poster predates the Lusitania's maiden voyage on September 7, 1907, as she was never in regular service with this white stripe in place; the top of her bow was only painted white for her trials. This poster is a wonderful, artistic and evocative nocturnal seascape, in which a searchlight dramatically slices diagonally through the sky, intersecting the diagonal hull of the ship. This fast and elegant ship entered into popular culture and immortality when she was sunk by German torpedoes on May 7, 1915, a horrific event which helped precipitate the United States' entry in World War I.
