[OCEAN LINERS -- SS NORMANDIE].  Normandie. Plan 1rst class. [deck plans. Plan mobile “RAPAG” (Systeme brevete)]. by [OCEAN LINERS -- SS NORMANDIE] - ca. 1935].

[Paris, France; New York]: Compagnie generale transatlantique; French Line, Gaston Maillet et Cie, Imprimeurs, St. Ouen, Siene, ca. 1935]. Oblong 8vo. 7.6 x 5 in. triptych with [6 pp.] which folds out to 7.6 x 15 in., with each leaf contaiing back-to-back thick colour-illustrated card stock sleeves, 1 side containing die-cut holes, thumb notches to right fore-edge of each card, and then a printed card in red sliding between them with red dots and circles containing figures which serve as reference points for the passenger to identify the location of their cabins. Self-printed colour-illustrated, cover art by Albert Sebille of the Normandie, each segment of the triptych joined by blue cloth seams which allow for the piece to fold and unfold (minor soiling, edgewear, some rubbing), still a VG and remarkably inventive piece of paper engineering. First edition of this very scarce and inventive paper-engineered postcard deck plan for first class passengers traveling on the storied ocean liner, SS Normandie. Deck plans were commonly large unwieldy folding maps in which well-off first class passengers could identify whether there cabin would be close to the open deck and the weather, too close to the engine room or the propeller, both notorious sources of vibrations. This piece solves the difficulties by having a compact moveable deck plan constructed of cards with punch holes, and then you could slide the interior card with printed red dots and circles between revealing in the die-cut windows the number of the room or cabin, as well as all the nearby amenities such as the badminton courts, bars, swimming pool, baths, bookstall, cafe, chapel, dining rooms, flower shop, the Grand Salon, and more. The Normandie was famed for its lavish interior decorations, paintings, splendid Art Deco ornaments in metalwork and sculpture, and travel speed. In 1939, the Normandie was forced to seek refuge in New York following the German invasion of Poland, and later after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Coast Guard removed the French Captain Lehude, and his crew and took possession of the liner. The ship was renamed the USS Lafayette Dec. 20, 1941, and designated to be converted to a troop ship, and due to US Navy negligence in reducing the fire watch, when a welding torch ignited a stack of life vests, the ship became engulfed in flames, and US fire hoses were not able to fit onto the ship’s inlets so the ship burned and capsized. The extensive damage to her hull, and other World War II projects demanded critical manpower, so the Lafayette was eventually stricken from the Naval Register, and ordered sold for scrap. No copies located in Worldcat; 1 copy at the Osher Map Library; See: John Maxtone-Graham, Normandie: France’s Legendary Art Deco Ocean Liner (2007).