Alaska Steamship Company, The Inside Passage, 1936
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The Inside Passage, extending about a thousand miles from Seattle to Skagway, is the longest and most scenic, sheltered ocean highway in the world. Carved by millions of years of glacial activity, it is praised for its vast, limitless and ever-unfolding beauty.
There are dramatic snow-capped mountains, steep fjords and massive tidewater glaciers and it is a prime destination for spotting orcas, humpback whales, seals, bald eagles, and brown bears.
In 1936, this woodblock print, that perfectly captures the raw beauty and spirit of the Inside Passage, was on the front cover of a menu aboard the Alaska Line. It was one of a series of illustrations by the artist Glen Sheckles.
The Alaska Line typically refers to the historic Alaska Steamship Company, a maritime giant that dominated shipping and passenger travel between the Pacific Northwest and Alaska from 1894 until 1971.
‘Winding through deep, fjord-like passages where snow-mantled mountains rise sheer from the water’s edge to glacier-capped peaks, among fairylands of enchanted islands, past lower foothills, along close-hugging shores that are lined with regiments of spruce and pine – shores interspersed with small totem-guarded villages and huge glaciers that push their way to the sea… you pass through the most magnificent scenery in the world that may seen from the deck of a ship,’ said the notes on the back of the menu.
It also observed that the enchanting ocean lane won for itself the fitting name of the Lover’s Lane of the Seven Seas.
Passengers could request clean copies of the menu to keep and frame or to send to friends.
Today, about 25 cruise ship companies, ranging from mega-ships to expedition vessels, ply the Inside Passage that also provides marine access to remote towns and indigenous villages—such as Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway—and are otherwise only accessible by boat or plane.
Each order includes a print of the interior menu.
All printed in USA.
