Attrib. Walter Thomas. - French Line CGT Poster.

French Line CGT Poster showing the Normandie cruise ship travelling from Southampton to New York, advertising an express luxury service on both the Ile de France and the Normandie. The design attributed to Walter Thomas (1894-1971)
The ultimate transatlantic ocean liner, SS Normandie’s purpose was threefold: to be the largest liner afloat (over 60,000 tons and 1,000 feet long), to be the fastest and, thirdly, to be an extraordinary floating example of ‘everything French’ – from food to decor to style and fashion.
The luxurious interiors were created by architect Pierre Patout (1879-1965) and included works by René Lalique, Jean Dunand, Paul Follot and other luminaries of the Parisian interior design world of the 1920s and 1930s.

With the start of World War II in 1939, the SS Normandie was stationed in the port of New York.

The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (known overseas as the French Line), was a French shipping company. Established in 1855 by the brothers Émile and Issac Péreire under the name Compagnie Générale Maritime, the company was entrusted by the French government to transport mails to North America. In 1861, the name of the company was changed to Compagnie Générale Transatlantique.