KAISER WILHEM STEAMSHIP PRINT BY LAURENCE DUNN

 

KAISER WILHEM STEAMSHIP PRINT

ONE OF A COLLECTION OF NINE EARLY SHIP PRINTS BY

Laurence Dunn, (1909 -2006)

Print on paper                    By Laurence Dunn (1909-2006)

Unframed 18 1/2" L x 8 1/2" H      Framed 23 3/4" x 13 3/4"

 

 

Presented is one of nine original prints of classic North Atlantic steamship ocean liners by eminent English artist, Laurence Dunn, (1909-2006). These wonderful renditions of what used to be the queens of the passenger trade, sailing from the early 1900's into the1960's will have increasing value over the years. 

 

The legend on the print gives the vessels name, its date of build, its registered tonnage, and the name of the owner.

 

The print was framed, and matted with a complementary color accent especially for us to offer exclusively to our Land and Sea Customers. We only have one each of each print and there are no more to be had. They are being offered custom framed and matted or unframed. If you buy this on eBay, and don't want the frame, you will receive an instant credit of $100.00.

 

THE SHIPS IN THIS COLLECTION ARE:

• President Grant, the Hamburg Line
• Empress of Britain, Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
• France, Compagine Generale Transatantique
• Oceanic, Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, Ltd.
• Borgens Fjord, Norwegian American Line
• Saxonia, Cunard Steamship Company Ltd.
• Virginian, Alban Steamship Company, Ltd.
• Imperator, Hamburg-American Line

THE ARTIST: Laurence Dunn died December 15, 2006 after a fruitful life of 97 years. 

He was known to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the things he drew. He began his lifelong love of ships in Brixham, England where he meticulously recorded passing traffic with the exquisitely accurate line drawings which later became his signature.

 

While studying at London's Central School of Art his work was noticed by the Southern Railway, which commissioned profiles of its fleet, and this in turn led to work for Orient Line, where he also designed the well-known corn-colored hull, and later Thorneycroft, where he helped with shaping draft plans for a new royal yacht. During the second world war he worked for naval intelligence at the Admiralty, where his technique did much to improve recognition standards, and greatly expanded his shipping clientele, becoming personally known to many chairmen.

 

As well as the shipping press he worked for mainstream publications such as Everybody's, Sphere and the up-market comic Eagle. Through his many contacts he enjoyed going to sea in a great variety of ships from aircraft carriers to colliers.

 

Laurence wrote several books, starting with ship recognition titles which introduced new standards of layout, but his best known work was probably Passenger Liners, which was widely taken up by the travel trade.

 

His love of Greece, where he was an early publicist of island cruising, led to involvement in reshaping various passenger liners beginning with Greek Line's Olympia.

 

In later life he designed several sets of shipping stamps for the British Crown Agents, produced photographic volumes on Thames and Mediterranean shipping and still found time to enjoy the passing Thames traffic.

 

From the World Ship Society obituary. 

 

THE SHIP: SS Kaiser Wilhelm II

 

Designed for high speed trans-Atlantic service, she won the Blue Riband for the fastest eastbound crossing in 1906. In the years before the outbreak of World War I, she made regular trips between Germany and New York, carrying passengers both prestigious (in first class) and profitable (in the much more austere steerage). Kaiser Wilhelm II was west-bound when the great conflict began on 3 August 1914 and, after evading patrolling British cruisers, arrived at New York three days later.

 

She was seized by the United States Government when it declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917, and work soon began to repair her machinery, sabotaged earlier by a German caretaker crew, and otherwise prepare the ship for use as a transport. While this work progressed, she was employed as a barracks ship at the New York Navy Yard.

 

The U.S. Navy placed the ship in commission as USS Kaiser Wilhelm II (ID # 3004) in late August 1917. Her name was changed to Agamemnon at the beginning of September and active war work commenced at the end of October, when she left for her first troopship voyage to France. While at sea on 9 November 1917, she was damaged in a collision with another big ex-German transport, USS Von Steuben (ID-3017), but delivered her vital passengers to the war zone a few days later. Following return to the United Stated in December and subsequent repair work, Agamemnon again steamed to France in mid-January 1918 and thereafter regularly crossed the Atlantic as part of the massive effort to establish a major American military presence on the Western Front. The routine was occasionally punctuated by encounters with real or suspected U-boats and, during the autumn of 1918, with outbreaks of influenza on board.

 

In mid-December 1918, just over a month after the Armistice ended the fighting, Agamemnon began to bring Americans home from France. She made nine voyages between then and August 1919, carrying nearly 42,000 service personnel, some four thousand more than she had transported overseas during wartime. USS Agamemnon was decommissioned in late August and turned over to the War Department for further use as a U.S. Army Transport. Laid up after the middle 1920s, she was renamed Monticello in 1927 but had no further active service. Too elderly for use in the Second World War, the ship was sold for scrapping in 1940.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

A collector's quality ship print from a renown English artist. Buy now!

GUARANTEE OF SATISFACTION: You must be fully satisfied with your purchase on arrival and that our description is entirely accurate or your money back. The only conditions are that an email authorization be obtained within five days, and that the artifact is returned in its original condition and packaging, and insured for its full value. Unfortunately, shipping charges are not included in this offer and are non-refundable unless we are at fault.

SHIPPING & PACKING: The cost of shipping, packing, handling, and insurance  to your destination, will be calculated after the auction and is an additional charge. You may email us before bidding to get these costs. We price our shipping honestly, but we expect to be reimbursed for the nominal cost of packaging materials and handling.

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS WELCOME, but inquire first. There are extra costs. We have customers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Martinique, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, USVI and the Eastern Caribbean.

THE FINE PRINT: We take extra special care in shipping by FedEx Ground and require the item be insured for your protection and ours. Shipping is an additional charge to the buyer, but we bill it honestly covering only our out-of-pocket expenses. Payment should be made  within 5 days. The preferred method is by PayPal. However, we take VISA, MASTERCARD, Money Orders, and Personal Checks. If you pay by a personal check, expect a week delay for the item to clear before we ship. We ship worldwide, but request that international customers contact  us beforehand.

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