Featured Items

CAKE STAND FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MERCANTILE MARINE COMPANY

PRICE REDUCED - This is an item from the International Mercantile Marine Company and is an ornate cake stand. It is produced in the company colours and is in a good condition. It is dated from around the early 1900’s and shows the company logo in the centre. It is 8" (20cm) wide and 4" (10cm) high and an original from the period.

The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Co., was a trust company formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt to monopolize the shipping trade. It was founded by shipping magnates Clement Griscom of the American Line and Red Star Line, Bernard N. Baker of the Atlantic Transport Line, J. Bruce Ismay of the White Star Line, and John Ellerman of the Leyland Line. The Dominion Line was also amalgamated.

The project was bankrolled by J.P. Morgan & Co., led by financier J. P. Morgan. The company also had working profit-sharing relationships with the German Hamburg-Amerika and the North German Lloyd lines. The trust caused a great panic in the British shipping industry and led directly to the British government's subsidy of the Cunard Line's new ships RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania in an effort to compete. However, IMM dramatically overpaid to acquire some of the amalgamated companies, due to overestimation of potential profits. A proposed subsidy bill in the United States Congress failed, and the company thus was never really successful. In 1932 the company was dissolved; Cunard bought the remnants of the White Star Line and the remaining American pieces were amalgamated into United States Lines. The company is noteworthy in popular history for having owned the RMS Titanic.
Item: TT1277 BA144

AN EARLY QE2 WHISKY JAR SOUVENIR

PRICE REDUCED - This item is a superb Whisky Jar souvenir from the Cunard Liner the QE2. It is dated from the 1970’s and is in an excellent condition and the size of the jar is 8" (20cm) high. The jar is advertising a 12 year old ‘A Single Malt Scotch’ and also shows the QE2 crest on the front.

The Queen Elizabeth 2, or QE2 as she is commonly known was the flagship of the Cunard Line for nearly 40 years. QE2 made her maiden voyage in 1969 and was one of the last great Transatlantic liners. At 70,327 tons and 963 feet long with a top speed of 32.5 knots she is also one of the fastest and grandest passenger vessels ever built. QE2 is arguably the most famous liner in the world.
Item: TT1294 BA146

BRASS PLAQUE SOUVENIR FROM THE SS ORSOVA OF THE ORIENT LINE

PRICE REDUCED - This item is dated from the 1960’s. It is a souvenir Brass Plaque from the famous old Orient Line vessel The SS Orsova. The plaque is fixed to a polished wooden backing and is in a good condition. The plaque shows on it the ship with the name underneath and the size is 7½" x 3½" (19cm x 9cm).

The SS Orsova, a 1503-passenger ocean liner, was built by Vickers Armstrong Shipbuilders Ltd. of Barrow-in-Furness, England in 1954 for the Orient Steam Navigation Company, for UK to Australia services via the Suez Canal, the voyage taking 4 weeks. After 1955 the return trip was eastward via Auckland, Suva, Honolulu, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Panama, Trinidad and Cherbourg.

On 24 May 1956 Orsova ran aground off Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne for twelve hours. In the 1960s the Orsova carried many thousands of economic refugees from Greece and Italy to Australia. The 30-foot draft vessel was transferred to sister company P & O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) in 1966. In the early 1970s, she was primarily involved in cruises. She was scrapped off Taiwan in 1974-5.
Item: TT1282 BA144

A MEMORIAL EDITION BOOK ‘LOSS OF THE TITANIC’ DATED 1817

PRICE REDUCED - There are not many items connected to the RMS Titanic that does not cause a stir and much conversation. This is one such item. It is a Memorial Book published in 1912 the year of the sinking of The RMS Titanic. The book is entitled ‘The Story of the Wreck of the Titanic’ and has over 320 pages. It covers first hand the description of the sad loss of the vessel and is produced with illustrated pictures. It is in a good condition and a very rare find of this kind. There surely cannot be many of these around available to own. Click on the picture to see an original photo of Captain Smith.

The RMS Titanic was an Olympic-class passenger liner owned by British shipping company White Star Line and built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. At the time of her construction, she was the largest passenger steamship in the world.

Shortly before midnight on 14 April 1912, four days into the ship's maiden voyage, Titanic hit an iceberg and sank two hours and forty-eight minutes later, early on 15 April 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 people, although her maximum capacity was 3,547. A disproportionate number of men died due to the women-and-children-first protocol that was followed.

The Titanic used some of the most advanced technology available at the time and was popularly believed to have been described as "unsinkable." It was a great shock to many that, despite the extensive safety features, the Titanic sank. The frenzy on the part of the media about Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes to maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck have contributed to the continuing interest in, and notoriety of, the Titanic.
Item: TT1303 BA146

ORIGINAL LAUNCH BOOKLET OF THE RMS QUEEN MARY DATED 1934

PRICE REDUCED - This is a great item which was brought out as the official Launch Booklet for the introduction of the RMS Queen Mary. It is an original publication and is dated Wednesday 26th September 1934. This very rare to find item is in a mint condition and measures 13" x 10½" (33cm x 27cm). The booklet covers the preparation for launch of the great ship and has some fantastic pictures. Click on the pictures to see a view from inside.

RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line (then Cunard-White Star when the vessel entered service). Built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, she was designed to be the first of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service from Southampton to Cherbourg to New York, in answer to the mainland European superliners of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

After their release from World War II troop transport duties, Queen Mary and her running mate RMS Queen Elizabeth commenced this two-ship service and continued it for two decades until Queen Mary's retirement in 1967. The ship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is permanently berthed in Long Beach, California serving as a museum ship and hotel. The Queen Mary celebrated the 70th anniversary of her launch in both Clydebank and in Long Beach during 2004, and the 70th anniversary of her maiden voyage in 2006.
Item: TT1276 BA144

WOODEN NAPKIN RING FROM TIMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL MAURETANIA

PRICE REDUCED - This item is a memento from the famous old vessel Mauretania. It is a wooden napkin ring made out of the timbers of the original first ship 1905-1934. It is in a great condition and has a plate fixed to the front with the wording on as follows: FROM THE DECKING OF THE MAURETANIA. THE OLD LADY OF THE ATLANTIC. Click on the picture to see a close up view of the plaque.

RMS Mauretania (also known as the "Maury") was an ocean liner built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend, Tyne and Wear for the British Cunard Line, and launched on 20 September 1906. At the time, she was the largest and fastest ship in the world. Mauretania became a favorite among her passengers. After capturing the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1907 inaugural season, Mauretania held the speed record for twenty-two years.

The ship's name was taken from Mauretania, an ancient Roman province on the northwest African coast, not related to the modern Mauritania. Similar nomenclature was also employed by Mauretania's sister ship, the Lusitania, which was named after the Roman province directly north of Mauretania, across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Item: TT1220 BA137

A SOUP BOWL & MILK JUG FROM THE P&O VESSEL THE SS CANBERRA

PRICE REDUCED - This item is a soup bowl and a small milk jug from the famous old P&O vessel SS Canberra. They are in a great condition and original from the 1960’s. They are as used on board items and made in the traditional blue mosaic pattern associated with the Canberra. The soup bowl is approx. 5" (13cm) wide and the milk jug is approx. 2½" (6.5cm) high.

SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of UK £17 million, and was launched on 16 March 1960. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra, and entered service in May 1961.

After the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982, which initiated the Falklands War, the Ministry of Defence requisitioned the Canberra as use as a troopship. Nicknamed the Great White Whale, the Canberra proved vital in transporting the Parachute Regiment and Royal Marines to the islands more than 9,000 miles (14,000 km) from the UK. Whilst the Queen Elizabeth 2 was held to be too vulnerable to enter the war zone, Canberra was sent to the heart of the conflict.
Item: TT1218 BA137

COMPLETE ORIGINAL 1930'S JIGSAW OF THE RMS QUEEN MARY

PRICE REDUCED - What a fantastic find! An original old jigsaw souvenir from the Cunard White Star Line vessel R.M.S. Queen Mary. The jigsaw is in full colour and shown in the picture made up with all pieces in tact.

It comes in its original box and is in a good condition. The jigsaw dates from the 1930’s and shows the original R.M.S. Queen Mary in all its former glory. The size of the jigsaw when complete is 19" x 10" (48cm x 25cm). A very rare find.
Item: TT1210 BA137

AN OFFICERS CAP BADGE FROM THE GERMAN MERCHANT NAVY

PRICE REDUCED - This item is an original as used in service Officers Cap Badge from the German Merchant Navy.

It is dated from around the 1940’s/1950’s and is in a great condition. Being an old item it is a very rare find.
Item: TT1192 BA135

AN OFFICERS CAP BADGE FROM THE PAN OCEAN SHIPPING COMPANY

PRICE REDUCED - This item is an original as used in service Officers Cap Badge from the shipping line The Pan Ocean Shipping Company. This shipping line is a subsidiary company of The P&O Line.

It is dated from around the 1960’s and is in a great condition. This is a particularly rare find as not too many examples are found from this company.
Item: TT1189 BA135