Transportation

1955 Ford Country Squire

Americans have always been a people on the move—on rails, roads, and waterways (for travel through the air, visit the National Air and Space Museum). In the transportation collections, railroad objects range from tools, tracks, and many train models to the massive 1401, a 280-ton locomotive built in 1926. Road vehicles include coaches, buggies, wagons, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and automobiles—from the days before the Model T to modern race cars. The accessories of travel are part of the collections, too, from streetlights, gas pumps, and traffic signals to goggles and overcoats.

In the maritime collections, more than 7,000 design plans and scores of ship models show the evolution of sailing ships and other vessels. Other items range from scrimshaw, photographs, and marine paintings to life jackets from the Titanic.

Place: New York

Campaign speeches are useful, at that

This pen-and-ink comic art drawing by Rube Goldberg from 1924 features the concept of using “windy” political speeches as free energy.Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an engineer before he was a comic artist.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink comic art drawing by Rube Goldberg from 1924 features the concept of using “windy” political speeches as free energy.
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an engineer before he was a comic artist. After receiving an engineering degree, he started his career designing sewers for the City of San Francisco, but then followed his other interest and took a job as a sports cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle. After moving to New York in 1907 Goldberg worked for several newspapers, producing a number of short-lived strips and panels—many of which were inspired by his engineering background, including his renowned invention cartoons. In the late 1930s and 1940s he switched his focus to editorial and political cartoons and in 1945 founded the National Cartoonists Society. The Reuben, comic art’s most prestigious award, is named after him.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924-10-31
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23492
catalog number
23492
accession number
299186

Brig Key, SS Leviathan

Although not marked, this key is reputed to be from the brig, or jail cell, of the ocean liner Leviathan.
Description
Although not marked, this key is reputed to be from the brig, or jail cell, of the ocean liner Leviathan. According to collector and historian Frank Braynard, the key's donor, it hung on a wood plaque for many years in the model shop of the New York naval architecture firm of Gibbs and Cox, the company that renovated the Leviathan for American passenger service in 1922-23. Presumably, it came to be there after the ship was scrapped in Scotland after 1938.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
used date
1923-1938
ID Number
1991.0856.26
catalog number
1991.0856.26
accession number
1991.0856

Skylight and Plaster Panels from RMS Majestic

Built in 1890 by Belfast shipbuilders Harland & Wolff, the RMS Majestic was designed for luxury ocean travel.
Description
Built in 1890 by Belfast shipbuilders Harland & Wolff, the RMS Majestic was designed for luxury ocean travel. Like its sister ship, the RMS Teutonic, which was launched the previous year, the Majestic was built for the White Star Line’s service between Liverpool and New York.
The interior of the Majestic was opulent. Staterooms featured colored glass screens over the ports, while the smoking room walls were embossed with gilded leather and mahogany panels. Skylights, or lanterns, were installed in the ship’s dining rooms and other common areas. The lantern domes were designed to allow natural light to filter into the Majestic’s interior spaces.
The lantern in the Majestic's first class dining saloon was designed by British architect George Thomas Robinson. It was made up of 56 individual pieces, including eight plaster friezes, leaded stained glass and wood paneling. The plaster friezes depicted the “shipbuilder’s art from the early days of the Spanish Armada to the Battle of Trafalgar.”
When the Majestic was broken up in 1914, parts of the first class dining saloon lantern were sold to a ship salvage company, including the plaster panels. Several of these were paired with a smaller lantern from the ship and installed in the executive board room of Thomas W. Ward Ltd., in Sheffield, England. In the early 1970s, the director of the company donated this lantern and the plaster panels from the Majestic to the Smithsonian. He pointed out that the lantern had been saved three times, once when the ship was broken up and twice during the world wars of the twentieth century. He thought it fitting to donate this survivor to the United States “in memory of the many very gallant merchant seamen . . . who served in the Atlantic during the two World Wars.”
date made
1890
ship was broken up
1914
lantern and panels were donated to the Smithsonian
1970s
architect
Robinson, George Thomas
ID Number
TR.336295
accession number
1978.0206
catalog number
336295

Rigged Model, Steamship George Law (Central America)

The ocean steamer George Law was built in 1852/53 at New York, NY by William H. Webb for the United States Mail Steamship Company. Named after the company president, the Law measured 278 ft. long and 2,141 tons.
Description
The ocean steamer George Law was built in 1852/53 at New York, NY by William H. Webb for the United States Mail Steamship Company. Named after the company president, the Law measured 278 ft. long and 2,141 tons. It was built to sail the New York-Panama route for the California gold rush; on its return maiden voyage from Panama, it brought 465 passengers and $872,831 in gold to New York. Over more than 40 bi-monthly trips, the Law averaged slightly less than nine days per leg. In 1857, the ship went aground and returned to the Webb yard for a major overhaul.
The Law’s name was changed to the Central America during the rebuilding, possibly to reflect its most common route and because George Law had sold his interest in the company. On the vessel’s second trip under the new name, it cleared Havana, Cuba for New York on 8 September 1857. Two days later, during a gale south of South Carolina, a bad leak was discovered and the main boilers had to be shut down. On the 12th, some passengers were rescued by passing ships, but the Central America sank that night with 425 passengers and $2,189,000 in gold bullion from the San Francisco Mint. The loss helped fuel the Panic of 1857, which sent the nation into an economic recession that lasted into the Civil War.
In 1987 the wreck of the Central America was discovered in more than 8,000 feet of water depth, and treasure salvors recovered much of the gold bullion and coinage.
date made
1961
ship built
1852-1853
ship sank
1857-09-12
wreck discovered by treasure salvers
1987
owned ship
New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company
designer
Webb, William H.
maker
Webb, William H.
Boucher-Lewis Precision Models, Inc.
ID Number
TR.318465
catalog number
318465
accession number
236170

Velocipede Patent Model

Charles Hammelmann, of Buffalo, New York, was issued Patent 225,010 for a velocipede on March 2, 1880. Hammelmann submitted this model to the Patent office with his patent application.
Description
Charles Hammelmann, of Buffalo, New York, was issued Patent 225,010 for a velocipede on March 2, 1880. Hammelmann submitted this model to the Patent office with his patent application. The model depicts a tricycle propelled by two foot-operated, spring-returned levers that rock sector-racks meshed with ratchet gears on the front-wheel axle. The model was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1926. It is not known whether a full-scale version of this tricycle was ever manufactured.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800
patent date
1880-03-02
inventor
Hammelmann, Charles
ID Number
TR.309258
catalog number
309258
accession number
89797
patent number
225,010

Bowl

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1923
date used
1936 to 1960s
maker
Beetleware Corporation
ID Number
1984.0331.07
accession number
1984.0331
catalog number
1984.0331.07

Plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1923
date used
1936 to 1960s
maker
Beetleware Corporation
ID Number
1984.0331.05
accession number
1984.0331
catalog number
1984.0331.05

"Ol' Man River"

This sheet music contains the music and lyrics for “Ol’ Man River,” a song from the 1927 Broadway musical Show Boat, one of the masterpieces of American theater.
Description
This sheet music contains the music and lyrics for “Ol’ Man River,” a song from the 1927 Broadway musical Show Boat, one of the masterpieces of American theater. Sheet music was a popular means of dispersing songs throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, before the widespread availability of phonographs and radio shifted the music industry’s focus to recorded songs. With sheet music such as this, people would typically gather around a piano and sing, bringing the stories and sounds of the theater into parlors across the country.

Show Boat is regarded as the first American musical to depart from the genre’s traditional light comedy by featuring serious dramatic complexities, notably race relations among people along the Mississippi River. Show Boat was adapted by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern from the 1926 novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edna Ferber. Both the book and the musical mix humor with nostalgia as they recall the disappearing culture of the show boat. A novelty form of performance in the 1800s, a show boat was a floating theater that featured melodramas, musical acts, dancing, and vaudeville as it traveled along American waterways such as the Mississippi, Cumberland, and Ohio Rivers. The popularity of showboats declined in the 20th century as the country moved from the rivers to the roads and motion pictures replaced the stage as the main form of entertainment. The musical Show Boat recalls this era, as it follows the Cotton Blossom and the people the boat affects while traveling up and down the Mississippi.

Although the main focus of the musical is on the cast and crew of the Cotton Blossom, the most interesting and memorable character is Joe, the black dock worker who tells the story of hardships suffered by African Americans through the song “Ol’ Man River.” Juxtaposed against the white merrymakers on board—Show Boat was the first integrated musical, featuring actors of both races on stage and in the chorus— Joe totes bales of cotton and sings about his struggles. The lyrics “Ah gets weary an’ sick of tryin’, Ahm tired of livin’ an’ skeered of dyin’,” reflect the somber, yet resigned tone of the song. Just as with the problems of all the characters, the relentless Mississippi pays no heed, for the river just keeps rolling along.

The African American characters in Show Boat have been viewed by some as offensive caricatures that portray black people as servants. Animosity toward the play has been demonstrated in various ways. For instance, Paul Robeson, the famous singer for whom the part of Joe was originally written, altered the lyrics in his own recordings of “Ol’ Man River,” removing certain words and the stereotypical dialect. Protests are frequently staged against revivals of the musical, although some performing arts critics and historians point to the treatment of a mixed-race marriage in the play, Hammerstein’s own desire for tolerance, and the fact that portrayal of racist stereotypes in modern American theater employed is usually not to condone racism, but to satirize and condemn the mindsets that perpetuate it.
publishing date
1927
"Show Boat" debuted on Broadway
1927
authored Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, <I>Showboat</I>
Ferber, Edna
playwright
Hammerstein II, Oscar
Kern, Jerome
singer
Robeson, Paul
publisher
T. B. Harms Company
ID Number
2008.3026.01
nonaccession number
2008.3026
catalog number
2008.3026.01

SS Leviathan Pin

A souvenir pin from the ocean liner Leviathan, sporting the house flag adopted by the new owners of the United States Lines in late 1931.The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914.
Description
A souvenir pin from the ocean liner Leviathan, sporting the house flag adopted by the new owners of the United States Lines in late 1931.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
used date
1932-1934
ID Number
1991.0856.33
catalog number
1991.0856.33
accession number
1991.0856

Boat Model, Adirondack Skiff

This model represents an Adirondack skiff, or guide boat, which was commonly used on the lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. In the nineteenth century, these boats were a means of transportation for farmers and hunters in the mountains.
Description
This model represents an Adirondack skiff, or guide boat, which was commonly used on the lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. In the nineteenth century, these boats were a means of transportation for farmers and hunters in the mountains. In order to be carried between waterways in the Adirondack Mountains, these skiffs needed to be light, but also large enough to hold gear and a hunter’s game. Early Adirondack guide boats appeared in the 1820s, but were only fully developed as a discrete boat type by the 1870s. Although some skiffs were fitted with sails, this model does not have sails and appears to be for recreation rather than hunting or fishing. Usually 14-16 feet long, this model represents a skiff 22 feet long and 4 feet wide. The model was built in 1876 and given to the Smithsonian by Cornwall & Weston, boat builders of Alexandria Bay, New York.
date made
1876
ID Number
TR.25053
catalog number
25053
accession number
4633

Rigged Model, Steamship Philadelphia

This ship model depicts the American Line passenger ship Philadelphia as it was rebuilt and renamed after extensive repairs of improvements in 1901. The model was built by Gustav Grahn and Gustav Grahn, Jr. of New York built this ship model as in 1891.
Description
This ship model depicts the American Line passenger ship Philadelphia as it was rebuilt and renamed after extensive repairs of improvements in 1901. The model was built by Gustav Grahn and Gustav Grahn, Jr. of New York built this ship model as in 1891. The ship was originally built for Britain's Inman Line as the City of Paris in 1889. She became the Paris in 1893 when her owners transferred her and her sister ship the City of New York to American registry in a business and political maneuver designed to secure a lucrative U.S. mail subsidy. The ship served as an auxiliary cruiser in the Spanish American War and as a troopship in World War I.
Strong competition for passengers—aided by shipbuilding advances, marine-engine improvements, and increased government regulation—led to a substantial increase in the size, speed, and comfort of ocean liners by the end of the nineteenth century. Particularly after 1870, new steamers appeared every few years that were hailed in the press and in advertising as more spacious, better appointed, swifter, and safer than anything that had sailed before. While the biggest and grandest ocean liners were built for the run between Europe and the United States, less renowned steamships carried passengers and emigrants on dozens of routes across the globe.
date made
1911-07-10
used date
1889-1923
ID Number
TR.271111
catalog number
271111
accession number
52985

Souvenir Card, SS Leviathan

Souvenir card printed on one side with a drawing of the ocean liner Leviathan and on the other with an abstract of speed, mileage, and weather information for the ship's westboard Atlantic voyage beginning October 16, 1924.
Description
Souvenir card printed on one side with a drawing of the ocean liner Leviathan and on the other with an abstract of speed, mileage, and weather information for the ship's westboard Atlantic voyage beginning October 16, 1924. A card like this was printed and distributed at the end of every voyage on most ocean passenger ships.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
used date
1924
ID Number
1991.0856.32
catalog number
1991.0856.32
accession number
1991.0856

Selden Automobile Patent Model, 1879

George Selden's dubious claim that he invented the automobile cast a shadow on the early auto manufacturing industry. His claim rested on a patent application for a "road-engine" that he had filed in 1879.
Description
George Selden's dubious claim that he invented the automobile cast a shadow on the early auto manufacturing industry. His claim rested on a patent application for a "road-engine" that he had filed in 1879. A lawyer schooled in science, Selden was intrigued by the challenge of devising an engine light enough to propel a road vehicle. He designed a small, improved version of George Brayton's compression engine of 1872 and filed a patent application for "a liquid-hydrocarbon engine of the compression type" combined with broadly defined chassis components. Selden deliberately delayed issuance of the patent until 1895, when automobiles were attracting more attention. Soon a patent-pooling association of auto manufacturing companies demanded and received royalties from other manufacturers for the right to produce Selden's "invention." Henry Ford, then just entering the automobile industry, became locked in a highly-publicized legal battle with the Selden interests when his application for a license was turned down in 1903. Ford blasted monopolistic control and exploitation by the "automobile trust" and forever fixed his image as an independent businessman fighting a corporate Goliath for the good of all. Ford's victory in court raised his standing in the automotive industry and made him one of the best known businessmen in America. In 1911 the Selden patent was limited to vehicles with Brayton-type engines as modified by Selden, and his influence quickly faded.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1879
patent date
1895-11-05
inventor
Selden, George B.
ID Number
TR.252678
catalog number
252678
accession number
49064
patent number
549,160

Menu, S.S. Leviathan

This combined Dinner Menu and Music Program was given to the First Class passengers who were traveling aboard the Leviathan on Sunday, December 22, 1929.The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914.
Description
This combined Dinner Menu and Music Program was given to the First Class passengers who were traveling aboard the Leviathan on Sunday, December 22, 1929.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929
Associated Date
1929
ID Number
1991.0856.66
catalog number
1991.0856.66
accession number
1991.0856

Saucer

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1923
date used
1936 to 1960s
maker
Beetleware Corporation
ID Number
1984.0331.03
accession number
1984.0331
catalog number
1984.0331.03

Steam Pressure Gauge, SS Leviathan

C.A. Walters, an executive at Simpson, Spence & Young, the ship brokerage that sold the ocean liner Leviathan to the Scotish shipbreakers in 1938, acquired this condenser gauge from the ship's engine plant.
Description
C.A. Walters, an executive at Simpson, Spence & Young, the ship brokerage that sold the ocean liner Leviathan to the Scotish shipbreakers in 1938, acquired this condenser gauge from the ship's engine plant. He had it mounted on a wooden stand and presented it as a gift for to his daughter Katherine's boyfriend Leslie Stratton, Jr. Stratton, many years later, gave it to historian Frank Braynard, who in turn presented it to the Smithsonian.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
used date
1923-1938
ID Number
1991.0856.18
catalog number
1991.0856.18
accession number
1991.0856

Salt Shaker

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1923
date used
1936 to 1960s
maker
Beetleware Corporation
ID Number
1984.0331.12
accession number
1984.0331
catalog number
1984.0331.12

Cap Insignia, United States Lines

This cap badge is decorated with the flag used by United States Lines from the creation of the line in 1923 until 1929. Photographic evidence indicates it was worn, at least, by the ship's chief stewards.
Description
This cap badge is decorated with the flag used by United States Lines from the creation of the line in 1923 until 1929. Photographic evidence indicates it was worn, at least, by the ship's chief stewards. A different cap badge was worn by the deck officers.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
used date
1923-1929
ID Number
1991.0856.31
catalog number
1991.0856.31
accession number
1991.0856

Chief Engineer's Office Plaque, SS Leviathan

This plaque the door of the Chief Engineer's Office on the ocean liner Leviathan.The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship.
Description
This plaque the door of the Chief Engineer's Office on the ocean liner Leviathan.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
used date
1923-1938
ID Number
1991.0856.28
catalog number
1991.0856.28
accession number
1991.0856

Pierce-Arrow bicycle, ca. 1900

George N. Pierce Company of Buffalo, New York manufactured this bicycle around 1900. The Pierce Company also made early Pierce Motorette automobiles.
Description
George N. Pierce Company of Buffalo, New York manufactured this bicycle around 1900. The Pierce Company also made early Pierce Motorette automobiles. In time, the Pierce automobile became known as the Pierce-Arrow, while the Pierce bicycles and Pierce 1- and 4-cylinder motorcycles were built by the Pierce Cycle Co., a subsidiary of the original company. The Pierce Cycle Co. was headed by Percy Pierce, son of George, when receivers were appointed for it in 1910. The bicycle was donated to the Smithsonianm in 1928.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Geo. n. Pierce Co.
ID Number
TR.309386
catalog number
309386
accession number
100045

Oil Painting, Collins Line Steamship SS Atlantic

In 1840, Canadian Samuel Cunard inaugurated regular transatlantic steamship service from Liverpool, England to North America.
Description
In 1840, Canadian Samuel Cunard inaugurated regular transatlantic steamship service from Liverpool, England to North America. Within a few years, he had two competitors, one of whom was American Edward Knight Collins (1802-1878), owner of the Dramatic Line of Atlantic sailing packets.
Collins had been lobbying the U.S. government for nearly a decade for the subsidy of an American overseas steamship mail service, and in 1847 Congress authorized an annual transatlantic mail contract for $385,000. Won by Collins, the contract called for five steamships and bimonthly mail service from New York to Liverpool.
Collins founded the New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company (known as the Collins Line) and commissioned the four sister steamships Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Baltic. When service started in 1850, the Collins ships were the fastest, largest, and most magnificently appointed steamships in the world, with stained glass skylights, steam heat in the public rooms and 3,500-bottle wine cellars.
This painting shows the arrival of the Collins liner Atlantic in May 1850 after her maiden voyage from New York to Liverpool. Measuring 282 feet long and 2,856 tons, the Atlantic set a speed record on this passage, while consuming 87 tons of coal per day. Although the Collins line ceased operations in February 1858, the Atlantic was acquired by the U.S. Government for Civil War service. After the war it was operated by other owners until scrapped in 1871.
date made
1800s
US Congress awarded an annual transatlantic mail contract to Collins
1847
Collins Line service started
1850
Collins Line service ended
1858
Atlantic acquired by the government for Civil War service
1858
Atlantic scrapped
1871
Collins steamship line
New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company
ship owner
Collins, Edward Knight
ship owner and Knight's competitor
Cunard, Samuel
built SS <I>Atlantic</I>
Dramatic Line of Atlantic Sailing Packets
maker
Louis Honore Frederick Gamain
ID Number
TR.336491
accession number
1978.0362
catalog number
336491

Plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1923
date made
ca 1936
patent date
1923-06-12
date used
1936 to 1960s
maker
Beetleware Corporation
ID Number
1984.0331.01
accession number
1984.0331
catalog number
1984.0331.01

SS Leviathan Master-at-Arms Badge

In 1924 the Deck Department on the SS Leviathan included six masters-at-arms, who looked after the vessel’s security and assisted with passenger safety.
Description
In 1924 the Deck Department on the SS Leviathan included six masters-at-arms, who looked after the vessel’s security and assisted with passenger safety. The markings on this badge refer to a lifeboat station.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920s
used date
1923-1938
ID Number
1991.0856.35
catalog number
1991.0856.35
accession number
1991.0856

Souvenir Log, S.S. Leviathan

Souvenir log written by “tourist cabin” (i.e.
Description
Souvenir log written by “tourist cabin” (i.e. tourist-class) passengers on an August 1928 voyage from New York to Southampton, England, aboard the United States Lines steamship Leviathan.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928
used date
1928
ID Number
1991.0856.64
catalog number
1991.0856.64
accession number
1991.0856

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