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Orient Line Cruises: ORCADES, ORION First Class Only and ORFORD x Two Classes

Artist Richard Beck (British, 1912-1985)

Maker Orient Line (1878 - 1966)

Printer Baynard Press

Date1938

Object number00008902

NamePoster

MediumColour lithograph on paper

DimensionsOverall: 1009 x 636 mm, 0.55 kg

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionPoster promoting Orient Line cruises on the ORCADES, ORION and ORFORD, by Richard Beck. The poster has a surrealist quality and is typical of the promotional material developed by the line during the 1930s. HistoryThe Orient Line introduced cruising - the idea of sea travel purely for pleasure - in the 1880s. It commenced cruises to the Mediterranean and to Norway in 1889, and to the West Indies in 1893 using ships no longer needed for full-time service on the UK/Australia mail route. By the late 1930s, passengers could select from a variety of exotic itineraries throughout the world. The 1930s were boom years for cruising and in 1933 alone the Orient Line operated 18 cruises mainly sailing to Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Mediterranean. The ORION departed on its maiden voyage in 1935. The ORCADES was launched in 1937 and sported many of the ORION's state-of-the art features including the single funnel and signature corn-coloured hull. In the late 1930s the ORCADES often promoted first class cruises - usually short voyages around the Mediterranean. The ORFORD reduced its first class capacity and converted its third class accommodation to the new tourist class in 1935. SignificanceThe Orient Line commissioned innovative artists like Richard Beck to design posters that reflected the aesthetics and ambitions of the Machine Age. It created a sense of modernity and put the idea of cruising holidays as part of popular contemporary culture.