A model of the SS Bremen in a bottle

Wood, glass and paint in a blue glass bottle with interior painted to depict the sea and the sky.
Collection of the Trustees of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor in the City of New York

The SS Bremen was a German-built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd Line (NDL) to work the transatlantic route.  Noted for her bulbous bow, high speed engines, and streamlined profile, at the time of her construction the Bremen and her sister ship the Europa were the two most advanced, high-speed, steam-turbine ocean liners of her day.

Under the command of Commodore Leopold Ziegenbein, she made her maiden crossing from Germany to New York in four days and 17 hours, capturing the westbound Blue Riband from the Mauretania. The voyage also marked the first time mail was carried by a ship-launched plane for delivery before the ship’s arrival.

Photographs by Michael Falco