Dr. Tamás Balogh told me his long journey with his new book `LINERS´ of scaled liner drawings.
William Francis Gibbs four day Transatlantic liner "doomed by destiny" - digital drawings by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©
Dr. Tamás Balogh, president of the Hungarian Association of Maritime History (sorry only in Hungarian), Modeling and Tradition, member of the R.M.S. TITANIC Hungarian Research
Group start to prepare a graphical presentation of the history of transoceanic
passenger liners by scale drawings in 2002. The author leads us through the
story from 1838 to the present day using more than 500 profile drawings of 280 liners
from 40 shipping companies, with descriptions of the individual liners and the operating
companies (FaceBook LINERS), which made the collection exceptionally abundant. The collection represents
such rarely discussed topics as the history of the late Austro-Hungarian ocean
liners or the planned, but ultimately cancelled giant passenger steamers.
Earl of Cruise talked with the author, Dr. Tamás
Balogh
From info to digital art work, here shown for the KOAN MARU - digital drawing by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©
Earl of Cruise : The last ship portrait
collection - which represented just a few liners or shipping companies and
still made by hand - were published in the 1960s and 1970s from painters like
Karl-Heinz Schwadtke, Gert Uwe Detlefsen, Karsten-Kunibert Kroeger-Kopiske and his MARAD vessels drawings, David Macauly´s wonderful explosion drawings of UNITED STATES,
which is not the same, and others (i.e. Benjamin Franklin Isherwood, LaurenceDunn (Amazon), etc.). Such book made by
digital technology is not published yet. Where did the idea came from?
Karl-Heinz Schwadtke´s yearly published book with drawings of the German civilian vessels - own collection
Tamás Balogh: The ocean-going passenger steamers arouse
enthusiasm in me since I first saw the famous graphic from the sinking TITANIC made by the German painter, Willy Stöwer. The shape and dimensions of the ship standing in an impossible angle
raised immediate interest which reinforced further by her tragedy. The entire
collection of my profile-drawings is the fruit of this love which started with
the first glance and is still feeling. The building of this collection originally
began by a single drawing made by me when I worked in Brussels during the
2002-2003 period. While initially I had not friends in the foreign milieu, I
spent my free time with the exploration of the town, visiting museums, traveling
and - as nice entertainment - drawing of course. I made the profile drawings of
the OLYMPIC-class liners then. First I made the profile of the TITANIC, in
order to test the technical capabilities of digital drawing and because of the
curiosity for the ship. Originally I did not want any more. But when I finished
the first drawing, I thought that I could have drawn the profiles of her sister
ships also; if the TITANIC had done, not left alone. The first series was followed
by a few profiles of the contemporary German liners, just for the sake of
comparability ... Everything would have remained so, if the R.M.S. TITANIC
Hungarian Research Group have not invited me among its members in 2013, and if
I have not found inspiring companion for my creative work in this group. Over
the past three years I made ca. hundred profile-drawings annually at first just
because of shared joy, but when I looked back at the quantity in November of 2014,
it became clear: the collection is too large for only a few people to know.
Then the idea of publishing was born. The huge set of drawings does not fit in
one volume as the 500 profile contains all rebuilding and other modification of
the represented 280 liners, so only the original appearance of the liners will be
published in the book, the rest of the drawings will be available in an DVD
annex of the book.
The world´s most famous liners - digital drawings by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©
Earl of Cruise: So what is the working stage now,
and when can we expect the release of the book?
Tamás Balogh: I recently finished those drawing which represents
the planned, but ultimately never built ocean liners. In parallel with the
preparation of the drawings I write the text: 71 description made out of 280 so
far and in these cases the English translation is ready as well. The preparatory
work of the book will completed by mid-2017 and the release is expected by the
end of 2017.
Earl of Cruise: Never-built liners ?! This is for perfection or a
kind of `perversion´?
Canceld liners "doomed by destiny" - digital drawings by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©
Tamás Balogh: My interest in the story of cancelled liners is similar
to my enthusiasm for the famous ocean liners. The cause behind that was another
iconic image similar to those what led me to start the process of the
publishing, namely the image of a six-stacker (!) transatlantic liner. The
plans of cancelled ocean liners placed the history of the transoceanic passenger
traffic into a different light and added more nuanced details than publically
known. These plans are interesting primarily because shed light in many cases on
the antecedents of a building of some famous ocean liners, so you may
understand what preconceptions and design considerations played role in the
background of the decisions about their building. By seeing these plans we have
a possibility to understand better the way of thinking of those people who lived
in different eras and life situations as well. The plan of the six-funneled
liner - mentioned in my book and came from November 1900 - for example, shows
that the engineers in America wondering how to build a giant steamer, which has
a speed of 30 knots (55.5 km/h) in order to shorten the time of the Atlantic
crossing from 5 to 4 days (the idea was realized only thirty years later, 1936,
when the British liner, QUEEN MARY reached this speed first). NORMANDIE did
reach this 4 day barrier in the previous year, 1935, did beat the QUEEN MARY,
which had beaten NORMANDIE again. Great contrast: while engineers living on east
coast of the United States tried to perfect the shipbuilding, on the other side
of the World, Far Eastern people who living in medieval conditions in China, tried
to destroy all results of this engineering perfectionism - like trains for
example what prohibited the work of previous livelihoods - during the Boxer
Rebellion in China (from this point of view, even if one of the last Luddite
movement) ended just two months earlier.
Earl of Cruise: Pardon for interrupting! This `Boxer Rebellion´
was indeed in first place an uprising against the European, no Western
influence, including massive interests from the USA, in China and not being
wiped out by this rebellion, the Chinese Empress used them against the colonial
powers on her own behalf. The result was a more than devasting `peace treaty´,
with more influence, and disgrace to China, and the seed for the Kuomintang and
their Revolution in 1911.
Proposed NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD four day Transatlantic liner "doomed by destiny" - digital coloured by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©, originally published in b/w at SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, 1900
Tamás Balogh: Of course. But, the story of the six-stacker liner
is also interesting from another point of view. Because reading the article
which reported about it, we realize what was imaginable for the people who had
advanced engineering knowledge around the turn of the century and what was not,
which imaginations failed and which approved by the time. Funny, for example,
that a steamship with the speed of 30 knots was reliable for the engineers, who
were able to anticipate all necessary technical solutions for a ship of this
kind, while the shape and general appearance of the ship could only imagine after
analogies of contemporary vessels built few years earlier however.
Earl of Cruise: As for William Francis Gibbs design of the BOSTON,
which displayed the funnel and boiler arrangement of the German KAISER class
vessels.
William Francis Gibbs four day Transatlantic liner "doomed by destiny" - Source: NEW YORK TIMES Aug 3rd 1919
Tamás Balogh: Yes! If we compare the picture made after this
initial idea of the six-stacker, or the Mentioned Gibbs liner, to the picture
of the first steamship which was faster than 30 knots built 36 years later, we
can understand somewhat from the strange dynamics of development. This is a
true adventure in the history of epistemology and intellectuality. Lots of similar
research lies behind of my book which collects the results of them and share
with all those readers who are interested in this kind of knowledge.
Nearly 4 decades of development for a four day Transatlantic liner - digital drawings by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©
Earl of Cruise: During your research, Tamás, did you come across
the common misunderstanding of which countries did subsidise their civil fleets
or which not? I am referring to that very misunderstanding, that as
Austria-Hungary and Germany had been ruled by emperors, that they would have
bested their and their countries egos with massive subsidies, which in fact had
never been given, except of minor paid mail contracts.
Tamás Balogh: Yes and surprisingly, as we both know for sure, the German Reichsregierung (government) did not
provide any subsidies to the lines to built their vessels. The only thing they
got, have been state guaranteed credits in the last years of peace.
Earl of Cruise: An exception
has been the colononial civialian shipping. Here, in total - to all lines, mail
subsidies had been given, but not in that amount as it has been done by e.g.
France, Italy or UK. These German subsidies hardly covered all costs of the lines,
especially those with less trade. And as we know, Albert Ballin was never a
friend of the `race horses´ at sea. So logically he started developing the
biggest liners ever built in Germany till that date - the IMPERATOR class
vessels. They had been the German answer to the British massively subsidised
MAURETANIA and LUSITANIA. The French, even if massively subsidised by the
government, never had the ambition to build the fastest North Atlantic vessels.
They swam in the `sharks basin´ with fast but more luxurious vessels. When it
came to the colonial liners of France and UK, these ships depended on the
subsidies for the maintenance, running costs and construction.
Tamás Balogh: And taking
the 20s and 30s liners, BREMEN and EUROPA had built with loans from the USA,
while CUNARD and COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLATIQUE and SUD ATLANTIQUE got their
ships financed by the state.
Les bateaux d´Etat de France - digital drawings by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©
Earl of Cruise: Thank you Tamás, for your time for the interview. You
are a real aficionado! And the books sound promising! I got hooked for. Until
the final chapters will appear, we share the article on the often mentioned six-funnelled
oceanliner:
Earl of Cruise: While we had been talking, I have got an idea ...
a few days ago I made an interview with Benjamin Fentens of HMV / FENTENSPRODUCTIONS about their models and novelties ... what about a cooperation with
them for an accompaning cardbord model with the books?
Tamás Balogh: I heard
they plan new transatlantic liners as cardboard models. I can imagine, of
course, that could be a win-win situation, helping both sides in the end if we
find an opportunity to cooperate in synchronized publishing, marketing and sale
of the cardboard models and the book.
More infos about the book:
Illustrated encyclopedia of the ocean liners:
From technical drawings to
paintings, physical mock-ups to virtual models, there just so many modes of
ship portrayal. Including cardbord models. However, one specific form is the
profile. Ship profiles had been made in varying details and for rather
different purposes. During warfare at sea, recognition silhouette illustrations
from booklets served marines by helping to identify enemy ships and assess
speed and firepower in time. In peacetime, line drawings, elevation plans and
longitudinal sections were produced for ship constructions. More often than
not, coloured versions of these fine profile drawings ended up on posters and brochures
as advertisement, while framed and hung on the wall they became spectacular
ornaments both in homes, travel agencies and offices.
Regarding resource, effort and cost
that went into manufacturing these ships, liners are indoubtably one of
mankind’s greatest technical achievements. Before the dawn of aviation, ocean
liners represented the sole mean of commuting between continents. In the
beginnings, this type of travelling, like many other, was rather dangerous than
comfortable. Over time though, as mankind’s technical and aesthetics abilities
further refined, and the 5-6 days long journey between Europe and America on
board of a great ship carrying thousands, was inevitably a memorable experience
for passengers. The best ships were elegant and comfortable, equipped with
splendid furniture and powerful machines that were designed to break records
for fastest transoceanic trip. It’s no surprise these liners frequently
elevated to the level of national symbols, especially in the late 20s and 30s.
The experience of today’s giant cruise ships is somewhat akin to this, though
the magic of a timetabled, week-long transoceanic voyage on board had vanished
forever in the sixties. Nowadays only objects - like well made ship profiles -
remind us of these times.
Each vessel is carfully researched, here depicting the differences between LUSITANIA and MAURETANIA - digital drawings by Dr. Tamás Balogh ©
Ship profiles are too a popular
feature of nautical books. In anthological series published in the last few
decades, however, these profiles are typically appear small scale and rough
thus providing ship lovers with merely a superficial glimpse into the rich and
visual world of ship portraying. The last great ship portrait collection book -
containing large scale, colour plates which could be removed from the book for
decoration purposes - had been published back in 1965, and only featured 12
ships. With the exponential growth taking place in digital imaging industries
and the availability of original shipyard documents, builder’s models, and
photo archives, ship portraying is now more accurate and spectacular than ever
before.
As myself, Earl of Cruise, Tamás
Balogh is a lover of ocean liners. According to his plans, a 280 large scale,
coloured ship profiles will be created, covering the most
famous liners of the 19th and 20th century. These profiles will appear in two
representative volumes, making a commemorative gesture to the golden ages of
transoceanic liners.
Thanks to the vast research the
author undertook from photo archives, plans and blueprints, to surviving
original shipyard mock-ups, Tamás’s profiles are realistic down to the minute
detail. As a result of his previous work and research, the author will realise
highly detailed ship profiles which are visually pleasing yet - together with
the short history of each ship collected in two comperative volumes, in English
language - offer a rare experience for liner lovers too.
Two volumes
of the encyclopedia, described above, will be ready by December, 2017. The
first volume contains profile drawings (including all alterations and
modifications) and history of the most famous ocean liners from 1838 to 2003.
The second volume contains the delicate topics for example the intended, but
ultimately cancelled ocean liners, and famous vessels of the minor fleets. The
two volumes contains a total of more than 280 full-page drawings.
A brief
summary of the significance of the publication:
The book is
special because:
·
provides the complete history of trans-oceanic passenger
traffic from the beginning to the present by technically accurate,
aesthetically appealing profile drawings which made by following the centuries-old
historical tradition of ship portrayal process
·
presents ocean liners from 1838 to 2003, a total of more
than 250 pieces, including all alterations, sister ships of each vessels, and
the intended but ultimately not built ocean liners also
·
provides information about a) technical specification and
service career of individual liners, b) the work of designers and developers c)
business strategy of the customer shipping companies
·
offers a unique opportunity to get to know a) evolution
some of the well-known ship type (how it evolved, how draw inspiration their
designers to them, and how the vessels influenced each other), b) what role
played by individual ocean liners in the history of mankind and the
trans-oceanic transportation, and c) how this way of long-distance transport has
shaped our lives over
·
last similar volumes in the world was made in 1965 and
1972, but they are either a) only focused on liners of one shipping company, or
b) only a few - less than a dozen - ship is selected for display, by contrast,
our book tells the entire story
Technical
parameters:
·
Size: 410x160 mm
·
Length: 512 pages (256 pages per volume)
·
Pressure: 4 + 4 colors
·
Binding: hardcover
·
Book distributors price: The two volumes of 160 pounds
We are delighted to serve you would work together with us in spreading the
book. If you are interested in, or have further questions, please contact with
the author, who will be at your disposal.
Dr. Tamás Balogh,
president
Association of
Maritime History,
Modelling and
Tradition, Hungary
mail: baloghtamas@ymail.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamas.balogh.73
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