'pleasure cruise' design for the p&o liner, ss 'salsette'
this watercolour appears to be a design promoting a cruise on the p&o liner ‘salsette’ (1908) it reads: 'p&o / pleasure cruise / ss salsette 6000 tons [above]10000 hp from london / to amsterdam, christiana [oslo], copenhagen, / stockholm, kronstadt for st petersburg / and moscow, helsingfors, and kiel'. The cartouche at the bottom incorporates the rising (ie. Eastern) sun, the company flag and its motto 'quis [nos] separabit' (who shall separate us). 'the times' of 30 may includes an advertisement of this 'p&o pleasure cruise' as taking place in the 'salsette' for 24 days from 8 august 1908, followed by another of 30 days from 9 september to algiers, venice, dalmatia and sicily. 'coloured picture programmes' of both were availabe free of charge on postal application to the company and it is possible that this is a design for one of them. Although not the service for which 'salsette' - not very accurately shown here- was built, they were perhaps initial shake-down and promotional voyages for the new ship before she began her normal business and the fact that cruising at this period for those of 'modest means' was only just beginning is a point made in an article on 'the tourist travel season' in 'the times' of 21 august, mentioning the 'salsette' as one of the ships involved that year. She was, at that time, p&o's fastest vessel and was intended for, and subsequently used on, the aden- bombay shuttle service until 1915. She then ran on the london - bombay - australia service until 20 july 1917 when she was torpedoed and sunk off portland bill (in lyme bay, with 15 people lost) by the german u-boat ‘ub40’, while again outward bound from london to bombay: the wreck is now a popular diving site. The 'illustrated london news' for 23 december 1911 reproduced a drawing by another marine artist, h. W. Koekkoek (from a sketch by s. Begg), showing the sultan of lahej (a principality based on hauta, some 20 miles north of aden) sailing from aden on the 'salsette' to the coronation durbar of edward vii at delhi. 'p&o pleasure cruise ss salsette'. Date: 1908. Dimensions: Sheet: 292 x 219 mm; Mount: 404 x 558 mm. Collection: Fine art.
Loading...
