| The ocean liner's arrival and heyday is a story of technology mingling with design aesthetics and social ritual. While much scholarly research focuses on the passenger experience, this examination places ship interiors at the center of a historical and social discussion about the changing face of the modern ocean liner. Rapidly developing vessel technology at the turn of the twentieth century prompted a rethinking of ship design. New architecturally sophisticated shipboard spaces, drawing from the example set by land-based hotels, were decorated with historically-rich interiors to respond to the era's preoccupation with social stratification and pedigree. Through the creation of such extravagant shipboard interiors, liner companies were able to strengthen their prestige and invent their own historical lineage. By the early 1930's, however, ship interiors had again changed as vessel construction became a mature technology and middle-class tourism boomed in the face of decreasing immigration.;As a prominent industry leader, Cunard's role in the evolution of the ocean liner is central to this story. Cunard's ship, Aquitania (1914), is a strong case study as her layout, marketing, and interiors were periodically modified to reflect current design impulses over her four-decade career. To explore this topic, primary documents, including ocean liner brochures, ship photographs, ship plans, and passenger accounts were examined. One of the furniture suppliers for Cunard was the Frederick Parker Company, a manufacturer who heavily relied upon antique prototypes to produce their goods. An examination of the company's business records and design sketchbooks at the Frederick Parker Archive permits a richer dialogue concerning how ship interiors were holistically designed. |
