ORIENTAL PEARL & ORIENTAL JADE: 1945 - American ex-pats as Asian linersOrient Overseas Line: A fold out (15 by 18) brochure for the ORIENTAL JADE and ORIENTAL PEARL, better known by their original American Export names, EXCALIBUR and EXETER. The brochure shows the 1945 Henry Dreyfuss designed interiors in color with an Asian overlay of gold and red. Photos show two views of the Lounge, Dining Room, Smoking Room, Cocktail Lounge, Bar, Main Foyer, Swimming Pool, and six spacious cabins. Three decks' worth of color coded

Large color photos show off public rooms and cabins decorated in the muted pastels and flowery prints so favored by the Brits in the post-war era

Fully open

and that strange spiral staircase with the weirdly old-fashioned balusters

I feel like that with a flick of my finger I could scoot a chair out of the way or rearrange the Lounge

most cabins are identical in shape

The glowing text describes the success of the three previous ships as "immediate and outstanding"

Italian Line:  A foldout (25" by 27") deck plan for the Italian superliner twins MICHELANGELO and RAFFAELLO from 1966

Thanks to the Bibby-style

route maps

all familiar spaces but lacquered over in red

the Morgan Line's lyrical slogan that speaks of sunsets

but while at lay-up in 1980 a fire ravaged her for four days