July, 1923 SSreEs tt fl Hn PE GEE HH 47 SOME INTERESTING FACTS AND FIGURES ILES of linens, mountains of silverware and glassware, and acres of china and other articles, enough to supply a town of several thousand popu- lation, were required for the Leviathan, and, with the exception of the linens, all were of American Manu- facture in keeping with the policy of the United States Shipping Board. S one of the original contractors with the Govern- ment, Gimbel Brothers were chosen to furnish the library, the furnishing and supplies for the dining rooms, galley and restaurant, as well as the linens, blankets, and other supplies for staterooms and crew. To produce the vast quantity of widely assorted prod- ucts required, arrangements were made with more than 200 sub-contractors throughout the country. Lee strict specifications covered each article needed and these specifications were carried out to the minutest detail. Gimbel Brothers, in order toinsure perfect system in delivery, secured a ware- house on the waterfront at Boston, laid this out to conform as nearly as possible to the space aboard ship, inspected each shipment as it arrived and stored it in its proper place. When the Leviathan came to Boston for drydocking, everything was ready for immediate delivery and supplies were put aboard and installed in record breaking time. The trucks used in their de- livery made a line twice as long as the vessel itself. 1 the final check-up it was found that not a case or crate was missing, and though tons of delicate china and glassware were handled, often over hundreds of miles, the breakage was trifling. EARLY five tons of metal were required for the 50,000 pieces of flat silver and about as much more for the 9,000 to 10,000 pieces of hollow-ware. Laid end to end, the silverware, made by R. Wallace & Sons Co., Wallingford, Conn., would cover a stretch of more than seven miles, with some to spare. Raised into the air it would mount to seventy times the height of the Washington Monument, or would tower 9,000 feet above Mt. Everest, the highest mountain peak. A ton and a half of nickel silver wire and 650 feet of solid silver nickel rod were used in making the mounts and other applied pafts. Each piece of silver, china and linen bears the Leviathan crest, specially designed. OR the various dining rooms, 102,000 pieces of china have been provided. There are five differ- ent services for the several classes of passengers, officers and crew, the chinaware differing only in weight and decorations. Forty tons of clay and several tons of flint and spar have gone into its manufacture. Very thin china with coin gold and royal blue decorations will be used for the Ritz restaurant, and the a /a carte service. For the first-class passengers the china is of very attractive plain-edged ware with underglazed decorations. The individual coffee and tea pots, sugar bowls and creamers are of rich cobalt blue. Vitrified cooking china is used for the great dining-room and restaurants. : ‘HERE are 52,000 pieces of glassware, ranging from the dainty tumblers, etched with the ship’s crest, up to the elaborate cut glass in handsome effects. MIiGk than 75,000 yards of the finest linens have been used in the table-cloths, napkins, sheets, pillow-cases and other articles, these being woven in and near Belfast, Ireland, and in Dunfermline, Scot- land, these being the only articles made abroad. The thousands of blankets, woven of the finest wool, were made in Minnesota. There are six-and-half miles of them. The cotton sheets and pillow-cases for second and third-class passengers would cover a path five feet wide and twenty miles long. There are nearly a thousand steamer-rugs, 600 for first-class, 350 for second-class passengers. Two thousand dozen towels were ordered from one factory, and thousands more from others. Bath-mats, laundry-bags, and_ other articles have been supplied by hundreds. There are 1,200 deck chairs. HERE are seven complete galleys, or kitchens,, and four complete bakeries. The equipment for galleys and pantries totals 41,857 pieces. If each sep- arate utensil were set side by side, they would extend in an unbroken line the length of Manhattan Island. IVE thousand volumes are comprised in the library, which will be one of the most complete ever carried by any ship. This embraces books to suit every. taste, from standard reference works to the latest popular fiction. Games of all kinds have been provided; and there are a number of pianos, phono- graphs and other musical instruments. With the theatre, with its well-equipped stage, and a battery of moving picture machines; the passengers will be fur- nished with nearly all forms of amusements found ashore. os original plans and model of the Leviathan were purchased in Germany by Gimbel Brothers, and this famous model, which was displayed in the Grand Central Palace during National Marine Week, is the centre now of an interesting window-display, showing various features of the greatest of steamships. GIMBEL BROTHERS PHILADELPHIA NEW YORK MILWAUKEE