One of the famoust Cunard Line poster, in excellent condition. Extremely rare and highly collectable. > > The Cunard Line is an American-owned British-operated shipping company that has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic. In 1839, Canadian-born Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route. For most of the next 30 years Cunard held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line. To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganized as Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd to raise capital.In 1902 and the British Government provided Cunard with substantial loans and a subsidy to build the two superliners needed to retain its competitive position. Mauretania held the Blue Riband from 1909 to 1929 and the sinking of her sister ship Lusitania in 1915 was one of the causes of the United States entering the First World War. In the late 1920s Cunard faced new competition when the Germans, Italians and French built large prestige liners. Cunard was forced to suspend construction on its own new superliner because of the economic depression. In 1934 the British Government offered Cunard loans to finish the Queen Mary and to build a second ship, the Queen Elizabeth, if Cunard merged with the then ailing White Star line to form Cunard White-Star Ltd. Cunard owned two-thirds of the new company. Cunard purchased White Star's share in 1947 and the name reverted to the Cunard Line in 1950. . . . .SOLD
- Condition A-
- Code A094700
