Hamburg, Hamburg-South America Line, and private German tourists, 1929. Oblong folio (14.9 x 21.5 cm). Album with printed title page; and 18 cardboard leaves, with 18 professional photos, and 52 excellent amateur photos, all mounted. Original Art Deco full cloth.

A highly interesting account, with many unique, original photos, of a cruise in southernmost South America, in particular Tierra del Fuego, by a party of German tourists. Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego have become a very popular destinations for cruises today, but this is a very early example of a cruise through this region, showing the area as it was almost one hundred years ago, and in many ways much changed since then, but, then again, with many other places hardly altered, as can be seen by comparing the photos of, e.g., Harberton, or Ushuaia, with recent photos on the internet. Views include Magallanes (Punta Arenas), "Haberton" (Harberton, on the Beagle Canal), Ushuaia, Mount Darwin, Bahia Garibaldi and the Garibaldi glacier, the steamer Antonio Delfino, the expedition ship Feuerland, etc. The Antonio Delfino "was a Hamburg South America Line steamship built 1921 at Hamburg by Vulcan Werke. The ship was built to operate on the Hamburg - South America service. In 1932 the ship was chartered to the Norddeutscher Lloyd and renamed Sierra Nevada. In 1934 she was returned to the Hamburg South American Line and the name was changed back to Antonio Delfino. In 1940 she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine and used as a barracks ship at Kiel, and from 1943 at Gdynia [Gotenhafen]. In 1944 she became a command ship for the Admiral of Submarines at Gotenhafen. In 1945 she was used to evacuate refugees and wounded military personnel from Gdynia, carrying a total of 20,522 people in five voyages. In May 1945 she was seized by British forces in Copenhagen. She was taken over by the Ministry of War Transport and managed by the Anchor Line. The ship was refitted as a troopship by John Brown & Co, Clydebank. and renamed Empire Halladale. On August 31, 1946, she inaugurated a troopship service between Tilbury and Cuxhaven, during which period she also transported families of UK military personnel who were to live in Germany, later serving in the Middle East and Far East. Laid up in October 1955 at Glasgow. Scrapped in February 1956 at Dalmuir, West Dunbartonshire" (Heritage Ships website). Very rare. We found no record of other copies of the printed edition. All photos in very good condition, as are the original covers.