The Death of the Olympic (Sister to the Titantic), by D. Bell

From the preface: In May 1934 the Atlantic fleets of those two most deadly rivals, The White Star Line and Cunard, were forced into amalgamation in order to survive the economic hardships of the times. A severe rationalisation of the combined fleet was inevitable, and this sounded the death knell for many venerable and proud ships. One such ship was the Olympic, sister ship of the Titantic, which had been built at the same yard and had made her maiden voyage only months before her ill fated and more famous sister ship....

In August 1935 the ship was sold for scrap on condition that the work of dismantling was carried out at Palmers Yard in Jarrow, and this booklet tells the sorry history of that process. It recounts the arrival of 'Old Reliable' in Jarrow and her glorious reception by the people of Jarrow and Tyneside, and the excitement and numbers of people that subsequently visited the ship on opening days. The booklet also tells of the incredible auction that was held, when the contents of the ship were sold. Almost 4,500 lots were included, and the catalogue for the auction was itself over 350 pages! The booklet includes several small printed colour photographs, and six appendices (including a list of the hundred Gazette readers who won free tickets to visit the ship on her arrival in Jarrow, extracts from a letter by a former Shipyard worker, who writes about watching the ship arrive in Jarrow, the demolition of the vessel and the working conditions and pay of the men that did the work, as well as the Jarrow crusade, a brief account of the Olympic Room at the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, the principal dimensions and particulars of the Olympic, a brief biographical history of the ship, and an account of the 'Surrey Fund')

Condition of the booklet is generally excellent. The card covers are clean and bright, the staple spine is intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound.

Please note that this booklet was published privately by the author, and so lacks the 'finish' of a proffessional publication - but this in no way detracts from it's fascinating contents!