Cunard White Star: Launch of No. “534” in the presence of their Majesties The King & Queen at the yard of John Brown & Co., Ltd., Clydebank, Wednesday September 26, 1934. Naming ceremony performed by Her Majesty the Queen. . . . by [QUEEN MARY]. [BENNETT, Ernest Pendarves Leigh, MASEFIELD, John] - 1934.

[Clydebank, Scotland]: Cunard White Star, 1934. Folio. 10.75 x 13 in. [32 pp (unpaginated).] With 4 tipped-in silver gelatin photographs sized 8 x 9.75 in., 6 printed photographs, 3 large folding pen & ink drawings of the construction & launch of the Queen Mary, decorated colour borders, historiated initials. Beige-coloured softcovers, Art Deco embossed borders in gilt & blue, decorative title printed on front cover, yapp fore-edges, punch sewn w/ blue silk braid at spine (some edgewear, minor soiling), still VG copy. First edition of this well-illustrated souvenir of the launching of the famed RMS Queen Mary Ocean Liner’s hull, which would require a subsequent two years in fitting our for her maiden voyage. Originally going to be named the RMS Victoria, a comment by King George V sealed the name of Queen Mary, which would later become one of the most popular transatlantic ocean liners during her career, featuring Art Deco fittings, swimming pools, libraries, nurseries, dining rooms, and the massive map in the cabin-class dining room. She now lives on as a hotel and tourist attraction in Long Beach, CA. The first issue of this souvenir bears the No. 534 in the title, while later printings substituted Queen Mary.