LMS TSS Duke of York Belfast

Original vintage railway travel and shipping advertising poster, Launch of T.S.S. Duke of York, Queen's Island, Belfast, featuring a maritime painting by the British artist Norman Wilkinson (1878-1971), published by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) to commemorate the ship's launch on 7 March 1935. The poster features a towering hull of the cross-channel steamer as it slides into the water at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, creating a wake of bright white foam. Framed on both sides by the shipyard cranes, with the workers and onlookers in the foreground and a busy industrial harbour of Belfast in the background. The lower text panel features LMS initials alongside a circular company crest, accompanied by descriptive historical text detailing the vessel's construction by Harland & Wolff, its launch by the Duchess of Abercorn for the Heysham-Belfast service, and its modern technical specifications, including mechanical stokers, automatic fire systems, a length of 349 feet, and an operational speed of 21 knots. Printed in England by London Lithographic Co. S.E.5. Horizontal. Large size. Good condition, restored tears, minor staining, minor creasing, browning, backed on linen.