Class Distinctions: Selections from the Laurence Miller Collection

June 16–August 13, 2011
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

Today, the great luxury liners of the period before the Second World War evoke images of opulent accommodations. Originally, however, the majority of passengers did not enjoy the amenities available to those who sailed “first class.” Most passengers traveled “cabin,” “tourist,” or “third class”—the domain of teachers, students, refugees, and others seeking inexpensive transport. It was not until the late 1950s that the standards of accommodations for the economy passenger improved.

This installation, culled by The Wolfsonian Library from a substantial collection that Dr. Larry Miller donated to the museum in 2008, delved into class distinctions in postwar ocean travel. A lifelong ocean-liner aficionado, Dr. Miller amassed tens of thousands of printed items representing virtually every major company in the passenger-ship industry. Dr. Miller’s donation augmented The Wolfsonian’s previous holdings of steamship-line advertisements, schedules, maps, deck plans, and other printed promotional materials from the interwar era.