A Liverpool museum has launched a £50,000 funding drive to buy an historic model of the RMS Mauretania, one of Cunard’s most iconic ships.
National Museums Liverpool wants to buy a 100-year-old, three-metre model at auction and hopes to display it at the Merseyside Maritime Museum, as the city prepares to celebrate the arrival of Cunard’s Three Queens in May.
Janet Dugdale, director of Merseyside Maritime Museum says: “It would be absolutely fantastic if we were able to purchase the model at auction, particularly ahead of this year’s fantastic celebrations marking 175 years of Cunard’s transatlantic crossings.
The auction for the original model, which was hand-built in 1906 to mark the launch of the ship, takes place days after the anniversary of the sinking the Mauritania’s sister ship, the Lusitania.
Janet adds: “We have already identified a space in the Museum to display the model, which is an incredible record of one of Liverpool’s most iconic and best loved ships. It is important to bring it home, even more so as we prepare to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, on 7 May.”
People donating via National Museums Liverpool’s website will receive a certificate and an acknowledgement on the RMS Mauretania donor webpage. They will also be invited to preview the Mauretania model once it is on display.
The Cunard liner sailed between New York and Liverpool for 22 years. Last week, the Atlantic Thistle Hotel on Liverpool’s waterfront announced it would rename six of its rooms after Cunard ships both past and present. The Three Queens – the Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth – will join the Lusitania, Mauretania and sister ship RMS Aquitania in lending their titles to the rooms.
