Buses Restored 2003

Although, in the public consciousness, White Star Line will be forever associated with a single liner and a single tragic event - the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 - the shipping line had a history that stretched back to the early 19th century and was to survive as a separate entity until its acquisition by Cunard in the mid-1930s. Although, undoubtedly, Titanic was the line's best-known liner, she was only one of countless vessels operated by the company over its more than 100-year life. In addition to the Titanic's sister ships, the Britannic and Olympic, White Star owned, chartered or loaded several hundred vessels ranging from the prestigious lines through to tenders and tugs. In its later years, the company's vessels regularly adopted names ending in 'ic', making them readily identifiable to all who knew the North Atlantic sea routes. The last wholly-new White Star Line vessel, the third liner to bear the name Britannic, entered service as late as 1930 and was to survive until 1960 - the last of the line. Drawn from the extensive collection of Robert McDougall, which has been compiled over many years, supplemented with detailed captions by Robin Gardiner, author of the highly successful History of White Star Line, White Star Line in Picture Postcards is an exploration of the history of the company and its sizeable fleet through the medium of some 220 historic postcards. These cards portray the great range of White Star Line's vessels and operations in the 20th century. From the late 19th century onwards, shipping companies became aware of the marketing potential of the picture postcard and White Star line was not alone in seeing its vessels reproduced on both official and unofficial cards and, almost a century after White Star's apogee, these cards represent a superb archive reflecting the nature of transatlantic travel in the age of steam.