2025 Holiday season!
A super update … just in time for the Holiday season! I already have had a few folks looking some early holiday Items so the site has been updated with USL, Cunard, WSL, Canadian Pacific and some other nice miscellaneous items form across the globe. Lots and lots of interest around the SS United Staes and her ultimate reefing off Destin Florida … so there are plenty of USL items to chose from this month.
I will be on Cunard’s 185th anniversary cruise in December on the Queen Elizabeth, which I hear has some of the best interiors on the ocean today … inspired by her older predecessor and Art Deco .. that should be fun … shop early so there are no delays!
I’ll also be listing a number of excellent books that I recently purchased at auction .. some of these are rare and listed at VERY reduced prices.
Don’t miss the wide array of souvenirs, brochures, and general ephemera available on the site. Lots of nice smaller items too: log cards, menus, postcards and various service booklets. I’ll again be listing over 50 new items soon … get them before they are gone!
Wherever you are in the world and however you celebrate and believe, I wish you many blessings for the Holiday season.
A little about me:
Like many of you, I am a lover of all things “Ocean Liner.” I have been collecting liner items for about 40 years and have been able to make many friends and contacts during that time. I am a Phi Beta Kappa honors graduate of Purdue University and I hold degrees in Design and in Art History.
I have a great network of supportive folks that continue to encourage my ocean liner hobby and a website such as this was a logical step. Quite simply, if you take my love for ocean liners and marry that with a general love of collecting; you can see how I have easily gotten to an inventory of items that could be offered to other collectors.
Some of the listed items maybe duplicates from my own collection and others could be articles that I find in an obscure place in the hopes of finding them a good permanent home. My goal is to list items that will be interesting and relevant to other collectors and provide them at a good value. I hope to offer a wide variety of items, from the simple to elaborate, that will appeal to all types of collectors.
Three Great Influences:
The SS Keewatin:
The SS Keewatin is a retired great Lakes CPR steamship that for almost 45 years had been moored in Douglas, Michigan as a steamboat museum and local attraction. I was about 6 when my parents first docked our boat near her at Tower Marina. It’s easy to imagine how I became ship lover spending weekends on our tiny boat in the shadow of the Kee. Since then , Peterson family has sold the Kee back to a Canadian group. She has arrived in Port McNicoll where she will be the centerpiece museum in their waterfront revitalization project. I’m so happy she is home … but I do miss her dearly!
The SS United States:
The SS Unites States has been my favorite ship for many years now and she holds a special place in my heart. I was 19 when I was given permission to visit her in Newport News (by then owners USC.) Every moment of those visits are etched into my memory. All of my best wishes and happy thoughts are with her as she awaits becoming a reef off of Destin Florida. You can become a part of the SS United States Conservancy if you so desire.
Frank O. Braynard:
FOB: Frank Osborn Braynard: I do not think it is possible that there will ever be another man quite like him. I was a pen and phone pal with Frank for many years and I have kept every one of his letters. I know he was a gifted mentor to me, as well as certainly many other enthusiasts. Frank was a pivotal player in my being granted permission to visit the SS United States. Though I never had the chance to meet him in person, I feel I meet him each time I read one of his books or visit with his daughter Noelle. I could never thank him enough for the gift of his time and encouragement.