WORLD SHIP SOCIETY

The ILE DE FRANCE was recognized around the world as an extension of French society. Conceived as a way of proclaiming the nation’s political influence and cultural achievement through her groundbreaking Art Deco interiors, over the course of her thirty-two year career the vessel found herself playing the role of trendsetter, cinema muse, troopship, and rescue vessel. Historian Christian Roden shared long-forgotten stories of the ILE DE FRANCE uncovered at the Association French Line archives.

Christian is an independent maritime historian, curator, and author, specializing in the French, Swedish, and American merchant marine. He has published in the Winterthur Portfolio and Magazine of the Decorative Arts Trust, and has guest curated exhibitions at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia and the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Wilmington, Delaware. He holds an MA from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and a BA in Art History and English from Washington and Lee University, and was a 2011-2012 Fulbright Research Fellow at L’Association French Lines in Le Havre, France. Christian currently works as the Assistant Director of Prospect Research for the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, and has previously held positions at the Decorative Arts Trust, SS United States Conservancy, and the Delaware County District Library in Ohio. (Image: Ted Scull collection)