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1887 *RMS SERVIA* {CUNARD ROYAL MAIL STEAMSHIP} QUEENSTOWN, NZ. COVER+2 LETTERS!

$ 21.11

Availability: 100 in stock
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Condition: Posted. Crisp and clear print. Partially missing top flap on cover. Foxing on cover. Please refer to scans for items description.
  • Item must be returned within: 14 Days
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back
  • Restocking Fee: No
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
  • Cruise Ship & Ocean Liner: Cunard

    Description

    AUGUST 29, 1887 ***SCARCE*** ~S. S. (RMS) SERVIA~ "CUNARD-ROYAL-MAIL-STEAMSHIP" ... QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND POSTAL COVER WITH "THE CUNARD STEAMSHIP COMPANY LIMITED" LOGO PLUS "MUNROE & CO." STAMPED ON BACK ... MATCHING LETTER AND ADDITIONAL 2ND LETTER ... 2 1/2d (VIOLET, BLUE) SCOTT# 114 "QUEEN VICTORIA" STAMP!
    RARE "134" year old transportation postal history with original contents still intact!
    Continue reading below about the ending fate of this notable ocean liner (just 15 years after this cover was posted):
    ____________________________________________________________________________________
    SS
    Servia
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    History
    United Kingdom
    Name
    SS
    Servia
    Owner
    Cunard Line
    Operator
    Cunard Line
    Port of registry
    United Kingdom
    , Liverpool
    Route
    Liverpool – New York
    Builder
    J & G Thomson
    Cost
    £256,903
    Yard number
    179
    Launched
    1 March 1881
    Maiden voyage
    November 26, 1881
    Homeport
    Liverpool
    Fate
    Broken up in 1902
    General characteristics
    Type
    Ocean liner
    Tonnage
    7,392
    GT
    Length
    515 ft (157 m)
    Beam
    52.1 ft (15.9 m)
    Draft
    40.75 ft (12.42 m)
    Decks
    5
    Installed power
    10,300 ihp
    Propulsion
    Single Screw
    Sail plan
    Barque-rigged
    Speed
    16.7 kn (best average)
    Capacity
    480 1st class, 750 steerage
    Crew
    298
    SS Servia
    , also known as
    RMS
    Servia
    , was a successful transatlantic passenger and mail steamer of revolutionary design, built by
    J & G Thomson
    of Clydebank (later
    John Brown & Company
    ) and launched in 1881. She was the first large ocean liner to be built of steel instead of iron, and the first
    Cunard
    ship to have an electric lighting installation. For these and other reasons, maritime historians often consider
    Servia
    to be the first "modern" ocean liner.
    Background
    [
    edit
    ]
    Servia
    underway
    In 1878,
    Samuel Cunard's
    British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
    was reorganised into limited company and officially named
    Cunard
    . This capitalisation allowed it to use shareholder money to build larger, more expensive ships. A new policy to this end was put into effect by Cunard's new chairman,
    John Burns
    , and announced in the London
    Times
    .
    [1]
    :235
    Launched on 1 March 1881,
    Servia
    was the first of
    Cunard
    's new breed of ocean liners. She was the second largest ship in the world at 515 feet long and 52.1 feet wide,
    [2]
    surpassed only by
    Brunel
    's
    SS Great Eastern
    . With her design and construction guided by
    Admiralty
    specifications,
    Servia
    had many features that satisfied the requirements for her to be placed high on the admiralty's reserve list of the armed auxiliary cruisers,
    [3]
    :xxiv
    where she could be called into service in times of war. It was named after historical English name for country
    Serbia
    .
    Power plant
    [
    edit
    ]
    Servia’s
    engine was similar to the one installed on the
    Guion Line’s
    crack passenger liner
    SS Alaska
    of 1881.
    [2]
    :70
    It was a triple-crank
    compound steam engine
    with one 72
    in
    high-pressure cylinder, and two 100 in low-pressure cylinders, and a stroke of 6.5 ft (2.0 m). The steam was supplied at 90
    lbf
    by seven
    Scotch boilers
    , each of which were 18 ft (5.5 m) in diameter and contained six furnaces. Six of these boilers were double-ended, while the seventh was single-ended and contained three furnaces. The power developed was 10,300
    ihp
    , driving a single four-bladed screw.
    Servia's
    maximum recorded speed during her trials was 17.85
    knots
    , and her average speed during a crossing was around 16 knots. Although
    Servia
    did not achieve any speed records, she was a competitive liner that performed well, and in 1884 she managed to make a crossing in less than seven days, averaging at 16.7 knots.
    [3]
    :xxiv
    Notable features
    [
    edit
    ]
    Servia
    differed from earlier Atlantic liners in a number of significant ways, but most notably, she was the first liner to
    specialise
    in passenger transportation, due to her cargo space being sacrificed for her large power-plant. This sacrifice was viable because at that time,
    tramp steamers
    had taken over much of the freight across the Atlantic, while the demand for passenger transportation had increased.
    [1]
    Because of her passenger specialisation, Servia is considered to be first liner of what became known as the Express Transatlantic Service.
    [4]
    :41
    Servia
    also had a number of innovative technical features which are noteworthy in the history of ocean-going liners. The following list is a summary of those features:
    Construction and design
    [
    edit
    ]
    Servia
    , 1881, by Joseph Witham
    Servia
    was the first major ocean liner to be built of steel, which gave her large hull the advantage of additional strength while at the same time making her lighter. She was also the first liner to re-introduce the cellular
    double-bottom
    design which
    Brunel
    had invented 20 years earlier for the
    Great Eastern
    .
    [1]
    The double-bottom was 4' 8" deep, and could be flooded with 800 tons of water ballast. Because
    Servia
    was built to admiralty specifications, she incorporated several safety features, the most notable being the sub-division of her hull into 12 transverse water-tight compartments, fitted with water-tight doors. She could remain afloat with any two of these compartments flooded. The water-tight doors between the boiler and engine room were fail-safe and could be closed from any deck.
    [3]
    :xxiv
    Electric lighting
    [
    edit
    ]
    The first application of electrical lighting on a passenger ship occurred around 1879, with the installation of a small but practical electric lighting installation had been made on the Inman liner
    City of Berlin
    .
    [4]
    :xxiv
    However, a larger more extensive installation aboard the American coastal liner
    Columbia
    performed by
    Thomas Edison
    the following year, became the first commercial and practical application of electric lighting at sea.
    [5]
    Where
    City of Berlin
    had a total of six incandescent lamps installed within the dining hall, boiler rooms and engine room, the installation aboard the
    Columbia
    consisted of 200 incandescent lamps fitted within the main saloon and 120 first class staterooms.
    [5]
    [6]
    The
    Columbia's
    installation included a small number of extra lamps within the engine room as well.
    [7]
    Upon her completion in 1881, the
    Servia
    became the first Cunarder to introduce electric lighting, using
    incandescent lamps
    . Much like the previous installations aboard the
    Columbia
    and
    City of Berlin
    , the lamps were installed in the public rooms and engineering spaces aboard the
    Servia
    .
    [3]
    :xxiv
    In total, the
    Servia
    utilized a total of 119 incandescent bulbs, which consisted of 117 Swan lamps and two arc lamps.
    [8]
    The installation also included a
    Siemens
    built dynamo which fed
    direct current
    electricity to an electromagnetic
    inverter
    operaing at 650 revolutions per minute. Both the dynamo and inverter were located in a secluded area of the
    Servia's
    engine room. The inverter in turn supplied
    alternating current
    electricity directly to the incandescent lamps through four independent circuits. The majority of lamps were located in the saloon, ladies' room, the boiler rooms, the engine room and smoke room among other areas of the ship. Two lamps were also utilized on deck to aid the loading and unloading of cargo from the vessel. Installation of the electrical lighting system was performed by the
    Edison and Swan Electric Light Company
    .
    [9]
    In addition to the incandescent lamps,
    Servia
    was also fitted with a new type of compass and deep-sea sounding device.
    [3]
    :xxiv
    Passenger accommodation
    [
    edit
    ]
    Servia
    had public rooms of a scale and luxury greater than previously known.
    [2]
    :70
    Of the three decks, the upper deck consisted of deck-houses that included a first-class smoking room, and a luxuriously fitted ladies drawing room and a music room. The entrance and grand staircase was the largest that had ever appeared on a liner,
    [3]
    :xxiv
    and was panelled in polished maple and ash. It led down to the a landing on the main deck which featured a library. Twenty-four first-class staterooms were situated aft of this landing, while the first-class dining salon was situated forward. The dining salon could sit 220 of
    Servia's
    480 first-class passengers on five long tables, and was richly decorated with carved panels and carpets. In the centre was an open well that rose 17 ft to a skylight. Forward of the dining salon were a further 58 staterooms, followed by crew accommodation areas.
    On the lower deck was a servants dining room and a further 82 first-class staterooms. The forward section of this deck was reserved for 730 steerage passengers. This section was a large area of about 150 feet long, and included a dining area. The berths were grouped into separate male and female areas.
    [3]
    :xxiv
    Fate
    [
    edit
    ]
    With the appearance of the crack Cunard liners
    RMS
    Campania
    and
    RMS
    Lucania
    in 1893,
    Servia
    was relegated to intermediate service. She was later used to transport troops to South Africa
    [2]
    :70
    during the Boer war. She was broken up in 1902 by
    Thos W Ward
    .
    Notable passengers
    [
    edit
    ]
    Writers
    Jane Addams
    and
    Henry James
    both sailed on a crossing aboard
    Servia
    in August 1883, though it does not appear they met.
    [10]
    Edward Pellew
    , 4th Viscount Exmouth, and Viscountess Exmouth sailed aboard the
    Servia
    leaving New York City for Liverpool on 1 October 1884.
    [11]
    ____________________________________________________________________________________
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