Title: Mail Ships Of The Union-Castle Line Hardcover Book First Edition.
Author: C J Harris and Brian D Ingpen.
Type: Non-Fiction.
Edition: First Edition - Standard Edition.
Publisher: Fernwood Press.
Year Published: 1994.
Format: Hardcover Book.
Printed By: Tien Wah Press Singapore.
Page Count: 180 pages.
Size: Width: 28cm
Height: 31cm
Thickness: 2.5cm
Info:
Mailships of the Union-Castle Line
This absorbing account of the ocean mail service that plied between Britain and southern Africa from 1857 to 1977 captures the sprit of an era now gone. Conveying the excitement of a record passage or sailing day at Cape Town, and the rhythm of life on board, it also recounts tales of heroism and disaster, of accidents and war.
In their 120-year operation of the mail service between Britain and South Africa, mailships of the Union-Castle line and its forebears earned a reputation for punctilious adherence to schedule that was unequalled by any other shipping line. Mailships of the Union-Castle Line is, in part, the story of that mail service, tracing the years of fierce competition between the Union and Castle lines for tenure of the coveted Ocean Mail Contract, their ultimate amalgamation in 1900, and the fluctuating fortunes of the resulting company.
Much more than a history, though, it takes a nostalgic look at an era of magnificent ships and leisurely travel - an era when names like Scot and Briton, Dunottar Castle, Carnarvon Castle and Windsor Castle were household words. It captures the excitement that greeted record passages and the launch of a new flagship, sailing day at Cape and Southampton, and the no less memorable final voyages, particularly those of the 1970's when the economics of containerisation and the jumbo jet brought to a close the great age of sea travel.
Woven into the fabric of the text are portraits of key figures in the company's history; accounts of life on board for passengers, officers and crew; tales of heroism and disasters, of accidents and war.
Condition: Excellent, As New, all pages and binding intact, no loose pages.
Price: R 295.00 Inc Vat.
