Description:

Fantastic Queen Elizabeth II Type 1 Photograph At Launch of S.S. Empress Ceremony. PSA Encapsulated and Authenticated.

Original photo, 7.5" x 9.5", Glasgow, Scotland, ca. 1955, featuring a smiling Queen Elizabeth II at the launch ceremony for the S.S. 'Empress of Britain. The Queen is beautifully featured studying a gift received at the ceremony. Stamped on verso by George Outram & Co. Encapsulated by PSA to a size of 9.75" x 13.25".

The "S.S. Empress of Britain" was a transatlantic ocean liner built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (Fairfield) for Canadian Pacific Steamship Company, the largest Canadian operator of steamships plying both Atlantic and Pacific waters during the early twentieth century. The "S.S. Empress of Britain" was officially named, christened, and launched by Queen Elizabeth on June 22, 1955 at the Fairfield shipyard at Govan, near Glasgow, Scotland, on the River Clyde. The single-funneled, twin-propellered ocean liner weighed approximately 25,000 gross tons and measured 640 feet in length, and was capable of carrying just over 1,000 passengers and a 500-person crew. This was actually the third " S.S. Empress of Britain" built for the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company: the first was launched in 1905, and the second was sunk by a German U-boat in October 1940. The "S.S. Empress of Britain" launched by Queen Elizabeth in 1955 would enjoy a long and storied career, eventually operating under six different ship names and as many different ship operators. It sailed for the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company from 1956-1963, undertaking the Liverpool to Montreal route. The 54-year-old former "S.S. Empress of Britain" retired in 2008 and was later scrapped.

Fairfield, established in 1834, produced many British warships during both World Wars. Multiple speed record-holding transatlantic ships, ferries, and mail steamers had been constructed at its southwestern Scottish shipyards, illustrated in Whiting by an unknown artist on two pages of the scrapbook album. The company ceased to exist after a 1968 merger. Founded in 1887, the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company enjoyed tremendous success during its first phase of mail, freight, and passenger transport. It transitioned to container shipping during the 1960s in response to decreased demand due to the development of air travel. Canadian Pacific was eventually folded into a German tourism company in 2005.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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