***ON HOLD***Lobby Doors With Four Etched Mirror And One Etched Window Insets (#2)
From The Former First Class Lobby
SS EMPRESS OF BRITAIN (1956)

Items from SS TOPAZ(ex EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, QUEEN ANNA MARIA, CARNIVALE, FIESTA MARINA, OLYMPIC, THE TOPAZ)

77.5 Inches Tall by 19.5 Inches Wide
Glass Insets Are 6 by 6 Inches
Price: $550

Top: Entire set of doors shown on the ship in 2003. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2003. Above: Door #1

Canadian Pacific Line's second EMPRESS OF BRITAIN is probably one of the most successful ocean liner/cruise ships of all time. She was a product of the Govan, Scotland-based Fairfield Shipyard and fitted out in typical post war British fashion in Odeon style with rich wood paneling, etched glass and heavy nickel fixtures.

The top two insets. Note: second panel is an etched window and not a mirror. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2009.

Although this solidly built liner was renovated and even rebuilt several times, a number of her original fittings survived some 53 years until her beaching at Alang in 2008 as TOPAZ. These doors endured even the 1989 refit which saw them covered in a white burled formica, which is fortunately easy to remove for access to the original woodowrk underneath.

The bottom three mirror insets. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2009.

Several of these doors were sold before I could even post them to the site. I have basically just dusted them off and have not done a thorough cleaning of the glass, which is all in excellent condition. Some sloppy varnish work covers portions of the beveled edges, all easily removable with a dab of acetone and a gentle scrape. This type of acid-etched etched glass is a lost art today.

Although her younger sister, the former EMPRESS OF CANADA started things off for Carnival as the MARDI GRAS, the CARNIVALE can be credited with firmly establishing the company and leading to its continued expansion into what has become the world's largest passenger shipping conglomerate.

Posted: September 6, 2009