TITANIC – A Passenger’s Guide by John Blake
The book is a unique guide to all aspects of the ship, incorporating authentic period literature – from sources including White Star Line themselves, Harland & Wolff shipyards, the International Mercantile Marine Company (White Star Line’s owners), a number of museum archives such as the British Library, National Archives at Kew, the National Maritime Museum, Bodleian Library Oxford and others and from important publications from the 1910s such as The Shipbuilder.
It examines this famous ship from a refreshingly different angle.
Launched in May 1911, the triple-screw steamer Titanic was the pride of the White Star Line and at that time the largest passenger ship in the world. Built to carry passengers in comfort and luxury on the lucrative transatlantic route, her design, fittings and on board facilities epitomised the spirit of the age in terms of elegance and style. Titanic boasted a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a squash court, Turkish and Electric baths, and a verandah cafe. First class common rooms were adorned with ornate wood panelling, expensive furniture and other decorations.
Cuisine was advertised as the equal of Europe’s top restaurants, while libraries, state-rooms and cabins were decorated in a range of architectural styles to appeal to the tastes of the most discerning passenger. The world marvelled at this opulent ship, and White Star endeavoured to capture the public’s interest through the release of advertisements, brochures and other publicity material. In addition passengers were provided with a wealth of information to ensure they enjoyed the voyage to the fullest. The author has researched these cotemporary publications to produce a guide that could well have been given to a passenger on her maiden voyage.
About the author
Lieutenant-Commander John Blake, FRIN, spent twelve years in the Royal Navy and five tears in the Reserve. He has worked extensively with the UK Hydrographic Office, the producers of Admiralty Charts, and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation. John is the author of the acclaimed Conway publications The Sea Chart (2003), Sea Charts of the British Isles (2005) and Charts of War (2007), was the contributor on Cartography in the Oxford Encyclopaedia of Maritime History (2009) and a contributor to Ship (A History in Art and Photography) 2010
This website carries details of John’s earlier books.
The Author’s research interests span the maritime world, from nautical charts and surveying to merchant shipping.
Titanic, A Passenger’s Guide
Published by Conway Maritime
ISBN: 9781844861484
RRP: 7.99 GBP.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 128 pages
Size (h x w): 180 x 120 mm 7.09 x 4.72 inches
Illustrations: 70 colour illustrations.
The Publishers, CONWAY, have a good web-site where you can delve into the book and see a number of the pages – http://www.conwaypublishing.com/?page_id=3294