Ocean Liners: Speed and Style at the V&A

London's Victoria & Albert Museum has an exhibit titled "Ocean Liners: Speed and Style" that will be going on into June. Here is the V&S's web page for it, though it might disappear once the exhibit closes.

It's not a large exhibit, perhaps limited by the space available for such things, so I found it a bit over-priced at 18 pounds. But I found it enjoyable because the 1920s and 1930s have always fascinated me, and most of the items on display are from those times -- especially the 1930s.

Below are some photos I took when I was there in April.

Gallery

Collection of 1930s ocean liner furniture and décor.
Sadly, I neglected to take a documentation photo, so cannot tell you where the items originated.

Decorative relief, perhaps from the Queen Mary
Very Art Deco, and might have been from almost any new French, Italian or British liner, though the airplane looks like a British de Havilland Rapide (again, I failed to document the source).

Study for Normandie interior

Decorations from the Normandie

Display evocative of mid-1930s fashions for passengers in First Class ship sections. In the background is a repeating sequence from a contemporary movie. I must confess this gives me a strong sense of false-nostalgia.

Deck chair from unidentified (by me) ship

Now comes the Big Surprise -- for me, anyway. It's the model of the 1932 streamlined ocean liner designed by Norman Bel Geddes.


Establishment shot to provide sense of scale

Front quarter view

Rear quarter view

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