Normandie

Steaming across the oceans in high style came into fashion in the early 20th century. Glamorous ocean liner travel was as much a part of the experience as the traveler's destination until air travel dominated transportation. Ocean liners grew increasingly larger, faster, and more luxurious, and are one of the ultimate symbols of the Jazz Age and Art Deco periods. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library has many trade catalogs, pattern books, sheet music covers, and other materials documenting these time periods. This volume could be a passenger's souvenir booklet of an extraordinary French ocean liner, Normandie. This large booklet contains photographs and colored illustrations depicting public spaces on board the ship. It was most likely published in the year of her maiden voyage in 1935.  First class passengers were wined and dined, entertained and accommodated in the most modern, opulent, and fashionable private and public spaces aboard ship.  In the 1920’s and 30’s, the Art Deco style achieved its best expression in the interiors of cruise ships. English, French, and German steamship lines competed to have the most extravagant, lavish, and luxuriously appointed surroundings to create a superior ocean voyage. Dining rooms, personal suites, bars, and other communal spaces were all parts of these magnificent floating hotels, designed by the top names in interior design and decoration. The Normandie was one of the most advanced high-speed and beautifully decorated ships on the oceans.