3-071-071 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Departure of a Cunard steamer from Liverpool: muster of the crew for inspection, 1881. 'The crew, as well as everything in the ship, the working of the pumps, manning of the boats, the engines, steering and signalling apparatus, undergo a minute inspection, before each voyage, and no ship would be allowed to start if the smallest defect were found in these particulars...In [many] respects, as well as in the perfection of the ship's equipment, the skill of her officers and the discipline of her crew (whose preliminary muster, for official inspection, is shown in [our] Sketch), the Cunard Liner may, at least, compare to advantage with any other mail and passenger steamships in the world'. From "Illustrated London News", 1881.