Steamer Rug

This photo recently appeared on EBay advertised for sale @ $225. asking price. It is a steamer rug or a deck chair blanket of the USLines passenger service. The label shows a likeness of the liner vessel and was made by the Horner Woolen Mills of Eaton Rapids Michigan. When the SS AMERICA was taken out of service circa 1960s her surplus equipment was sold at auction from a warehouse in the Jersey City N.J. area. I was still in Philadelphia and with a pocket full of cash I drove up to Jersey City to see what it was all about. Most of the attendees were institutional people interested in bedding, dishes, cutlery, etc.
After I learned the bidding drill I was attracted to a carton of twenty-one 8 ounce glass water pitchers with the company Eagle logo etched thereon. When they came on the block I bid fifty cents each - was unopposed  - and carried them home for gifts to family and friends. They were great for martinis for one but who wants to drink alone. I have one left. The prize item in the catalog was the Steamer rugs - still in their wrappers - brand new. Everybody wanted them so the house set the price at $9.00 each with maximum six to a bidder - and I stuffed my half dozen in the car and drove home on a high. I have one left.
After the deck steward tucked you in to these blankets, occasionally they would suffer burns from cigar and pipe ashes - rendering them unusable. I recently learned that the company employed seamstresses on Chelsea Piers in Manhattan who surgically repaired these items for use in the dog kennel on board the passenger liners. So the passengers' dogs enjoyed the same comfort as their masters/mistresses. Just a bit of trivia I found interesting. Stay warm.
tjs
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