1936 Polish Gdynia-America Line Advertisement of MS Pilsudski

This is a c. 1936 Polish Gdynia-America Line promotional broadside of the MS Piłsudski, a Polish ocean liner named after the Polish statesman that served the trans-Atlantic route from Gdynia, Poland to New York City. The Polish Coat of Arms is depicted along the bottom of the view and is flanked by the draped flags of Poland and the United States and views of New York City and Gdynia.

The Gdynia-America Line

The Gdynia-America Line was a merchant ocean company formed by the Polish government in 1930 to transport cargo and passengers between Gdynia, Copenhagen, Halifax, and New York. In 1936 a service to the South American cities Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires was inaugurated as was a Mediterranean route calling at Constanza, Haifa, and Istanbul. The South American route stopped operations in 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II and never resumed, but service to New York began again in 1947. It appears that the line was operational until at least 1990.

Józef Piłsudski

Józef Klemens Piłsudski (December 5, 1867 - May 12, 1935) was a Polish statesman who held the positions of Chief of State (1918 - 1922) and First Marshal of Poland (from 1920), and is viewed as a fatherof the Second Polish Republic (1918 - 1939). Piłsudski was also considered the de facto leader of the Second Polish Republic as the Minister of Military Affairs (1926 - 1935). At the outbreak of World War I, Piłsudski formed the Polish Legions and fought on the side of Austria-Hungary against the Russians, believing that the war would see the defeat of both the Russian Empire and the Central Powers. After Imperialist Russia began faultering, Piłsudski withdrew his support from the Austro-Hungarians and was promptly imprisoned. Following World War I, Piłsudski served as the Chief of State of Poland from 1918 until 1922, and, during the Polish-Soviet War, was responsible for leading Polish forces in throwing back the advance of the Russians during the 1920 Battle of Warsaw. Piłsudski retired from politics in 1923 and concerned himself mainly with foreign and military affairs until his death in 1935.

Publication History and Census

As this broadside is untitled and undated, it has been extremely difficult to trace. Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to trace any other known examples, which suggests that this is a piece of some rarity.