SALE Wooden Lidded Box with Moore-McCormick Lines Emblem

Collectibles : Maritime : Memorabilia : Steamships : Oceanliners : Historical

 

This a wooden gift box that was sold on the ocean liners, S.S. Argentina and S.S. Brasil as a souvenir. It is a cigarette box made by Ronson and was originally sold as a set, box and lighter. I only have the box.

S.S. Argentina and S.S. Brasil were ships of the Moore-McCormick Lines. There is a lot of very historic and interesting information about them on a great website at moore-mccormick com.

It was there that I found this information: The most important step in the company's history came in 1938, when its bid for operation of the Maritime Commission's American Republics Line service to the East Coast of South America was accepted. It involved the acquisition of ten cargo vessels and the former Panama Pacific intercoastal liners Virginia, Pennsylvania and California.

These three large ships were completely rebuilt into the luxury liners Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Simultaneously the company's name was changed to its present title of Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc.

In January 1942, the S.S. Argentina and the S.S. Brasil became United States Army Transport ships ("USAT") for the War Shipping Administration.

On December 11-24, 1942, USAT Brazil and her sister, USAT Argentina, departed Fort Dix, New Jersey, arriving at Casablanca, Morocco. Both ships carried units of the 2nd Division. During World War II, Moore-McCormack Lines operated more than 150 ships, lost 11 vessels, transported 754,239 troops, and carried 34,410,111 tons of war cargo. USAT Brazil survived the War with only minor mishaps.

In 1956 through 1958, two new sister ships, the S.S. Argentina and the S.S. Brasil, were built at Ingalls Shipyards, Pascagoula, Mississippi, for Moore-McCormack Lines to replace the ships built in 1928. They were built as luxury ocean liners, later becoming cruise ships and were the last passenger ships built in the U.S.

Over the years, both of these ships had their names changed - and in 2004 and 2005, both were scrapped and sunk in Alang, India.

This wooden box measures 7 1/2" x 4 3/4" and stands 2 1/2" tall. It stands on four metal feet and has a 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" color emblem of a ship with the M (for Moore-McCormick) on the funnel. The hinged top opens and it has two compartments inside. The top has some light discolored spots on the lid as well as two scratches. Otherwise the box is in very good condition and stands sturdy on its legs.

Item ID: CL-MMSS-01