Fresh from the markets of Paris, these striking Antique French Silverplate Oceanliner Trays were used for onboard service by the great French ocean liner company Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). More recognizable outside France as the French Line, the grand vessels of CGT were lavish and symbolic works of art intended to represent the mystique and style of France abroad.

Produced by the premier silversmiths at Christofle, these handsome trays feature a bold streamlined design that perfectly captures the modern and adventurous spirit of the early 20th century. Artfully stamped with the Christofle hallmark, each each of these gorgeous trays boasts a wide graphic rim, featuring the prominent logo of Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. Rich in history, these branded artifacts from the Golden Age of Travel surely hold many a story and their fair share of secrets! With a well-earned shimmering patina from having proudly sailed the seven seas, these impressive trays promise to become treasured additions to any collection.

Each tray is strictly one-of-a-kind and subject to prior sale. Please make your selection from the drop down menu. In very good antique condition. Trays measurements: A - 11"; B - 8.75"; C - 14"W.

Learn More about Compagnie Générale Transatlantique

It was an era of "floating palaces", as the great ships that made up the fleet of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (known around the world as simply the French Line) crisscrossed the high seas.  The great SS France, the Paris, the Normandie, the Île de France - all iconic ships that set a new standard in luxury travel. 

With the beginning of steam ship travel in the early 19th century, the French remained n the background  - overshadowed by the great British ship builders and their mighty liners. This all changed in 1912, when France completed her first prestige liner: the SS France. The impressive ship, with her very 'French style', offered a new vision in ocean liner design. Indeed, what attracted passengers the most, were the fabulous interiors of the French Line ships.    

Following the global devastation of the first World War, none of the great ship-building nations was able to launch a ship that could match the luxury of their pre-war ocean liners. France saw an opportunity to expand its French Line beyond its already glamorous fleet with the launch of the Île de France in 1926. Never before was there a ship with an interior like the Île. Designed to represent the country of France on the high seas, it included an entire Parisian street side café, a grand first class entrance hall and a dining room never dreamed of before - all very French, and all in the new Art Deco style.

By 1939, World War II broke out and almost every ship was taken over by their countries' navy. The luxurious Île was not used by the French during the war, but instead was turned over to the British as a troop-transport ship and made several runs for them until she was decommissioned and handed back to the French Line in 1947. After the war, the ship underwent an extensive remodel and was again the prime ship of the French Line fleet when she went back into service in 1949. She was still the ship of choice for the rich and famous.

The French Line fleet continued to sail the great oceans around the world, very profitably. But by the end of the 1950s, air travel had begun to take many of the ocean liners' passengers. From the 1950s to the 1960s, transatlantic ocean liner service seemed to vanish at a rapid pace and by 1959, the once mighty Île de France was sold to Japan to be scrapped. She was renamed the Furansu Maru for this sole voyage and left Le Havre for the last time to meet her fate. Interestingly, before she was scrapped, she was hired by a Hollywood film crew who partially sank the ship and used her in the disaster film 'The Last Voyage'. Once filming was complete, the Japanese scrappers raised the mighty ship and towed her to the scrap yard.