[M] CUNARD LINE, R.M.S. 'BERENGARIA' (EX-S.S. 'IMPERATOR') WHEELHOUSE SHIPS BAROMETER, CIRCA 1913

CUNARD LINE, R.M.S. BERENGARIA (EX- IMPERATOR) WHEELHOUSE SHIP'S BAROMETER, CIRCA 1913

a World War I era German bulkhead ship's barometer, by repute taken from Berengaria, with brass body and hinged glass fronted lid, central button for adjusting the needle alignment, white dial with German text, but no apparent maker's mark or dates -- 6¾ x 6¾ x 3in. (17 x 17 x 7.5cm.)

Information supplied by the vendor suggests that the item once sat on the bridge of the S.S. Imperator, later the R.M.S. Berengaria. The piece was acquired by a relative of the current owner and has thus been passed down through the family. S.S. Imperator was a German ocean liner, first launched in 1912 as part of the Hamburg America Line. At the time of her completion in 1913, she was the world's largest passenger liner. During World War I she remained in port at Hamburg and was seized in 1919 by the United States Navy. For a short time, Imperator was part of the U.S. Navy, and served as a troop transport ship, transporting U.S. servicemen back to the United States from the European theatre of war. As part of War Reparations, Imperator was handed over to the British Cunard Line company, by way of some compensation for the loss of R.M.S. Lusitania at the hands of the German Navy. She was renamed R.M.S. Berengaria and sailed as the flagship for Cunard from 1919 to 1939, later scrapped between 1939 and 1946.