{"product_id":"detroit-cleveland-navigation-co-1926-framed-print","title":"Detroit \u0026 Cleveland Navigation Co. — 1926 | Framed Print","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetroit \u0026amp; Cleveland Navigation Co. — SS \u003cem\u003eGreater Buffalo\u003c\/em\u003e, Detroit, MI — 1926\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Floating Palace That Became a Warship.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA museum-quality framed print of an original 1926 on-board stationery from the SS \u003cem\u003eGreater Buffalo\u003c\/em\u003e, flagship of the Detroit \u0026amp; Cleveland Navigation Company — a steel-engraved portrait of the largest sidewheel steamer ever built, at the peak of the Great Lakes' golden age of passenger travel. Includes a companion postcard with QR access to a fully narrated audio story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn 1924, a naval architect named Frank Kirby launched the largest sidewheel steamer ever built. He had been designing ships for the Detroit \u0026amp; Cleveland Navigation Company for nearly fifty years.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eGreater Buffalo\u003c\/em\u003e was 536 feet long, carried 625 staterooms, and cost nearly $70 million in today's dollars. D\u0026amp;C called her the Majestic of the Great Lakes. Passengers boarded at dusk, dined under frescoes depicting the maritime history of the lakes, danced to a live orchestra, and woke up somewhere else.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe company that built her had been running night boats across the Great Lakes since 1852 — founded by a sea captain, built into an empire by a U.S. Senator, and sustained for nearly a century by the simple promise of a glorious crossing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1942 the Navy requisitioned the \u003cem\u003eGreater Buffalo\u003c\/em\u003e and rebuilt her as a freshwater aircraft carrier. More than 17,000 naval aviators qualified on her flat deck before the war ended. She was sold for scrap in 1948. The D\u0026amp;C Line dissolved three years later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis stationery survived.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe art is not inspired by history. It is history.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery image in The Ephemera Collective began as a real artifact. This one was created by a master engraver over 100 years ago, long before computers or any digital tools, at a time when the main instruments of design were a skilled hand, a steel plate, and time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe engraving on this letterhead depicts the \u003cem\u003eGreater Buffalo\u003c\/em\u003e herself — rendered in precise detail at the peak of her glory, by craftsmen who had no way of knowing what was coming. Pulled from the archive, not conjured from a prompt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story doesn't stop at the frame.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery print ships with a QR code that unlocks a full narrated audio history — researched, written, and produced by Chronicles \u0026amp; Color. Hear the story of Captain Arthur Edwards, James McMillan, Frank Kirby, and the floating palaces they built together. Hear what happened to them. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow it feels to own this.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not only decoration. It's a conversation starter — the kind of wall art that stops guests in their tracks and invites the question: 'What's the story behind this?'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd now you have the answer — researched, documented, and narrated in full. This is a boutique piece, only available from Chronicles \u0026amp; Color, from a collection you won't find on a shelf at any big box store or scrolling through an online marketplace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWho this is for.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor the person who has stopped settling for decoration\u003c\/strong\u003e and started looking for meaning on their walls.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor the collector\u003c\/strong\u003e who understands that the difference between a print and an artifact is research, provenance, and story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor the maritime enthusiast\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Great Lakes historian, the student of American industrial ambition — anyone who knows that the story of the inland seas is one of the great untold chapters of American life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor the person who wants their home to hold something worth explaining\u003c\/strong\u003e — to a guest, to a child, to anyone who pauses long enough to ask.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnd for the gift-giver\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e looking for something genuinely rare.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe details.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrame size\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e21¼ × 17¼ inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVisible window\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16 × 12 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrint\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEMA 200gsm fine art paper\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMount\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSnow White 2.4mm, 2\" border\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGlazing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePerspex — shatter-resistant, UV protective\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrame\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlack box frame\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncludes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCompanion postcard with QR audio access\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShipping\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFree shipping\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOwn a piece of the story.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chronicles \u0026 Color","offers":[{"title":"Black","offer_id":47890206228667,"sku":null,"price":179.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0680\/6487\/0587\/files\/DetroitAndClevelandNavigationCo_1926_Hero-1x1.jpg?v=1780178362","url":"https:\/\/chroniclesandcolor.com\/products\/detroit-cleveland-navigation-co-1926-framed-print","provider":"Chronicles \u0026 Color","version":"1.0","type":"link"}