***PLEASE NOTE, THIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD
OTHERS IN STOCK, SO PLEASE KEEP POSTED***
Three Piece First Class
Stateroom Dresser Set
From SS IVERNIA of 1955

Items from SS SALONA (ex IVERNIA, FRANCONIA, FEDOR SHALYAPIN)

Two Larger Three Door Units Measuring 28.5 Inches Tall by 22.5 Inches Wide by 17 Inches Deep
One Small Single Drawer Linking Unit Measuring 15 Inches Wide by 9 Inches Tall by 13 Inches Deep
Total Dimensions of Ensemble: 60 Inches Long by 28.5 Inches Tall by 17 Inches Deep
All Original Vintage Cunard Fittings and Materials
Burled Maple Veneer, Plastic Handles, Bakelite Fiddly Rails
Price: $700.00 USD plus shipping

Cunard brochure photos from the 1950s showing two first class staterooms with the same type of dressers. Peter Knego collection.

In 1955, when the SS IVERNIA joined her sister SAXONIA on the Canadian service to Montreal from Liverpool, she was actually a rather old-fashioned newcomer. Conceived as a staid, mainly tourist class passenger liner with a large cargo capacity, no air conditioning, many cabins without private facilities, and no lido for off season cruising, the four ships that ultimately formed the SAXONIA class (SAXONIA, IVERNIA, CARINTHIA, and SYLVANIA) were completely outclassed by most of their contemporaries (such as the new CP EMPRESSES, the Greek OLYMPIA, Holland Americas STATENDAM, NALs BERGENSFJORD, etc.). It is no small wonder that the SAXONIA and IVERNIA were sent back to their builders at John Brown and Company in 1963 for major overhauls to become the cruise ships CARMANIA and FRANCONIA, respectively, and that the CARINTHIA and SYLVANIA were sold to the Italians for complete rebuilding by the end of the 1960s.

The ensemble together and separated for easy shipping. Bottom, back side. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2005.

The traditional dowdiness of the four dome-funneled Cunarders seems very charming in retrospect. Their materials and style had hardly evolved from what was fitted on the prewar QUEENs. They had punkah louvre ventilators, burled maple veneered paneling in the first class staterooms (most trimmed in mahogany), mahogany and/or oak paneling in tourist class, exposed wiring in the ceiling recesses, ivoried plastic doorknobs, bakelite fixtures and trim, and various other fittings that can only be described as...shippy.

Skewed views of the side pieces revealing the unstained inner surfaces where the center piece is to be attached. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2005.

The conversion of IVERNIA into FRANCONIA left much of the original first class unaltered, although some of the dressers were modernized by moving the sunken center piece to the same level as the larger end pieces and placing a brass framed formica top on them to make the surface even and thus more practical. When the ship was sold to the Soviets to become FEDOR SHALYAPIN, nothing was changed, save for some soft fittings, and these lovely dressers survived all the way up until the ship was beached at Alang as the SALONA in February of 2004.

The outer sides of each end piece. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2005.

I rescued as many of these as I could afford and this is one of the finer specimens I have left. The drawer handles are in excellent condition and none of the fiddly rails are missing. The veneer is in very good condition, although there are some scratches and chips along the far edges, and, like most ship furniture, there is no back. Also, there is some sheer compensation (which can be corrected, if desired, by unscrewing the black bases and planing them down to equal height). Also, please note, on the writing leaf that slides out, there are two small cosmetic pieces of wood that are missing, but can be easily replaced with a minimum of skill and effort. The mechanism works perfectly well.
Once these dressers are gone, there will be no more original Cunard furniture available, unless something untoward becomes of the beloved QUEEN MARY. If old Cunard is your thing this may well be your cherished time machine!
I also have a very limited supply of bed sets, a good quantity of ottomans, and even some punkah louvres from IVERNIA if you want to make the ultimate retro transatlantic space come to life in your home.