Ile de France--Making Travel a Fine Art

Item Details

Ile de France--Making Travel a Fine Art, Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, New York and Paris, 1935. 9 3/8 x 6 1/4 inches, [28pp.]

Printed staple-bound wrappers with gold embossment. Yapp edges with typical wear to edges. Mild soiling. Several interior leaves show mild soiling. Very good condition.

Sumptuous promotional brochure for the French ocean liner the “Ile de France”.  English text. Heavily illustrated with black and white photographs with printed gilt embellishments throughout. A treat to leaf through the pamphlet to a bygone era of luxurious travel. The Ile de France maintained a stylish art deco design, which sadly was stripped during World War two when she was used as a troop ship and later a prison.

From a Wikipedia page on the "Ile de France": "SS Île de France (literally Island of France in English) was a French luxury ocean liner that plied the prestigious transatlantic route between Europe and New York from 1927 through to 1958. She was built in Saint-Nazaire for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (or CGT, also known as the "French Line"), and named after the region around Paris known as "Île-de-France". Launched on 14 March 1926, she commenced her maiden voyage on 22 June 1927, as the first major ocean liner built after World War I, and the first ever to be decorated almost entirely in modern Art Deco style. Though she was neither the largest ship nor the fastest, she was considered the most beautifully decorated built by CGT, becoming the favored ship of the interwar era among the young, wealthy and fashionable elites.