THE National Maritime Museum looks back to the heyday of cruising this winter with a new exhibition of photographs, some of which are on public display for the first time.
Taken between 1925 and 1970, conga lines, shark fishing, lifeboat drills, greasy pole competitions, Victorian fancy dress and sumptuous banquets all feature in a series of images which give a fascinating glimpse into life at sea.
From posed holiday snaps taken in a time when tourists did not routinely own their own cameras to more candid shots of overworked crew, Waterline depicts the joys, trials and peculiarities of a bygone world.
The exhibition draws on the Greenwich museum's world renowned archive of historic photographs and will be supported by a special evening of screenings on December 3, where cruise line films from the museum's archives will evoke 1960s glamour and provide an eye opening introduction to a sometimes surreal world of deck games, discotheques, jet-setting, jazz and...Sid James.
Waterline. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. November 27 to April. Free. Call 020 8312 6565 or visit nmm.ac.uk
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