MAURETANIA

Hi Peter,

I'm a Mauretania fan and have always wondered about the whereabouts of her beautiful interiors after they were auctioned off in 1935. I know about the 1st class lounge panelling in the Bristol pub, but am curious about other fittings. Your book sounds a must-have for Maury fans.
happy.gif
Where will it likely be available from- Amazon???

Regards,
Lucy
 
Hello Lucy,
I hope you will not be disappointed. I have covered not only the history of the ship, using official documents, but also a full tour of her interiors plus the whereabouts of the various bits and pieces from her wheel to the paintings in the First Class Smoke Room. I have been given unrestricted access to the various sites and friends and colleagues have provided some fabulous photos of the ship. It has been a joy of a project and I hope that will show in the end result.

It will be published in England (where I live) by the same publishers who produced my last book on the history of Orient Line. I will let you know further details as soon as it has comes off the press.

Best wishes,
Peter
 
Hi Keith,

I thought you might like to see the location of your photograph - the small ventilator is marked by the black arrow on the photo in the first link below. This photo, of her Sports Deck, is from a 1934 Sea Breeze Cruise color deck plan detailing her final cruises - the image itself dates to 1933.

I am sure I have candids of this location - I'd have to dig them out - but this gives you an idea of where your grandfather was standing when his photograph was taken. As seen here, looking forward, his back would be to you. I misspoke myself earlier - not amidships, but along the center line.

Kyle mentioned two great books - in fact, I have an original Aylmer signed by the author in 1934 - but there is a reissued version from 2000/2001 by J. McCutcheon and published by Tempus that is profusely illustrated - several unique onboard candids from my collection can be seen there.

Best,
Eric Longo

Location of Keith's photograph

R.M.S. Mauretania: Farewell to the Tyne
 
One other question for the experts. My great-grandfather travelled to France in 1929 but I do not which ship he was on. His passport indicates that he disembarked in Cherbourg June 22 and embarked August 2 for the return to New York. There are no other stamps in his passport. Could he have been on a Cunard ship?
 
Hi Keith,
I had a quick look - as far as the dates you mentioned - Mauretania did leave Southampton for NY on both June 22 and August 3, 1929 (the voyage after her attempt to regain the Riband for the last time in late July).
The small ventilator in your photograph - I managed to pin down when it was installed. I was curious about the date because I saw it (or thought I saw it) in a construction photo in the Warren reprint, but not in other photographs from her early years. The reproductions in the Warren 1987 reprint are not the best quality, so I looked at my 1907 original - it was a person standing in the right spot in the reprint, not the ventilator. Anyway, I did locate the date this ventilator was installed - it was added during the refit that followed her July 1921 fire and was in place before her return to service on March 25, 1922.

Best and hope this info helps,
Eric

R.M.S. Mauretania: Farewell to the Tyne
 
The little ventilator was added later probably to reduce problems with smoke and fumes from the second class lounge buffet & bar which included a grill and a bain marie. The vent is definitely not on the original builder's plans.
Peter
 

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