Explore the history of ocean liners through the objects that bring them to life. Liners represented the ambitions of their nations in peace and war; their design, interiors and fittings incorporated the finest contemporary technological and artistic features. In peacetime they carried celebrities, vacationers and emigrants; while in war they carried thousands of troops – and then war brides seeking new lives. A History of Ocean Liners in 50 Objects takes in evolving technology, supreme luxury and fine cuisine, as well as hardship and the burning hope for a better life. There is peril, disaster and death, international pride and competition, glory and war. The objects tell a fascinating story, showing how the functional sea voyage has evolved from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to the huge cruise industry we have today.

MARK BERRY grew up with stories of the sea. His father was a marine engineer and would come home on leave with tales of places like Aden, Hong Kong and San Francisco, all hugely exotic sounding to a boy growing up in 1960s Britain. After reading about the tragedies of Titanic and Lusitania , an interest in liners followed – and so started a lifetime of collecting books, ephemera and items from all kinds of ships. Now retired after thirty-eight years in the property industry, it seemed only natural for Mark to share some of the items in his collection. Mark and his wife Val have two grown-up sons and live in rural Devon with their cats and chickens. When they can, they enjoy escaping to sea on a cruise liner or, even better, an ocean liner.