This beautiful reproduction poster has been re-mastered from an original circa 1931 advertisement for United States Lines service to Europe on their new SS Washington and SS Manhattan ocean liners.
The vibrant colors and detail of this classic image have been painstakingly brought back to life to preserve a great piece of history.
The high-resolution image is printed on heavy archival photo paper, on a large-format, professional giclée process printer. The poster is shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, and is ready for framing.
The 13"x19" format is an excellent image size that looks great as a stand-alone piece of art, or as a grouped visual statement. These posters require no cutting, trimming, or custom framing, and a wide variety of 13"x19" frames are readily available at your local craft or hobby retailer, and online.
A great vintage print for your home, shop, or business!
HISTORY OF UNITED STATES LINES
United States Lines was an American transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously, SS United States.
The company was formed with three ships from the tonnage of the failed United States Mail Steamship Company. Two of the ships, America and George Washington, were originally German vessels that had been seized during World War I and kept as reparations. Both America and George Washington made New York–Bremen runs, while Centennial State ran from New York to London. One of the founders was Kermit Roosevelt, son of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.
The lines became well known in the 1920s when two valiant historic rescues were made using their ships SS President Roosevelt in 1926 and SS America in 1929 by Captain George Fried.
Throughout the 1920s, the line accumulated debt, and in March 1929, the line was sold to P.W. Chapman Company, and reorganized as the "United States Lines Inc." of Delaware. The stock market crash made matters worse, and in 1931, the remaining ships were sold to "United States Lines Company" of Nevada. Later in 1931, United States Lines was acquired by the Roosevelt International Mercantile Marine Company, which had been formed earlier in the year from the merger of the Roosevelt Steamship Company and International Mercantile Marine Co..
In 1932, Manhattan, at a cost of approximately $21 million, became the first ship actually built for the line, followed the next year by Washington. In 1940, a new America joined them.
During the 1930’s, United States Lines' ailing parent company, Roosevelt International Mercantile Marine, began winding down its other operations and merging several of its divisions into United States Lines. United States Lines absorbed the American Line in 1932, the Baltimore Mail Line in 1937, and the American Merchant Line in 1938.
In 1952, the SS United States entered service with partial funding from the US government. She was (and still is) the largest ocean liner built in the United States and the fastest ocean liner ever built. She immediately set transatlantic speed records, capturing the Blue Riband from Queen Mary. But competition from airliners brought the glory days to an end; in 1964, America was sold to Chandris Line, and United States was withdrawn from service in 1969. She is presently docked along the Delaware River in South Philadelphia.
Competition from airliners brought the glory days to an end; in 1964, America was sold to Chandris Line, and United States was withdrawn from service in 1969. She is presently docked along the Delaware River in South Philadelphia.
After the termination of passenger services, United States Lines continued to operate as a container ship line, being bought by containerization pioneer Malcom McLean in 1978. By the 1980s, the line operated 43 vessels and was a leader in international shipping. It spent over US$1 billion in rapidly expanding its fleet and acquiring two competitors, Moore-McCormack Lines and Delta Steamship Lines. Straining under debt accumulated by an unprofitable fleet expansion, the company filed for bankruptcy on 24 November 1986 in one of the largest bankruptcies in US history at the time. Most of the vessels were sold to pay creditors and in the reorganization plan filed on 5 July 1988, the company was formally liquidated by 1992.
