Steamships, especially luxury liners, were famous for the consistently high quality of service and attention afforded to passengers traveling in the First Class. Collectively, this is called the art of "fine service", however, finding written documentation of its execution is problematic, especially in the early years of the century. The details of serving passengers, attending to their needs inconspicuously, and remaining gracious under difficult circumstances were apparently handed down orally during this period. It is not until the 1950's that written guidebooks such as this one appear. Society was changing at this time, and younger stewards could no longer be counted on to come into the line's employ with a command of the skills required for flagship service.
This particular booklet was written by the Cunard Line in the mid 1950's for the benefit of Dining Room and Bed Room stewards. Although the content was written 40 years after the loss of the Titanic, I feel that it is still representative as to what was expected of the steward department on the earlier ship.
No printed copyright notice. The booklet was produced in-house by the Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd., for use onboard their steamships. This edition dates from September 1955.
"The Cunard Steam-Ship Company Limited * Useful Hints for Stewards * "
Unknown author and publisher.
Physical: Pages:16 , 1 diagram
Copyright © 2009 Bill Sauder 4/09.2