online exhibits

The Posner
Maritime
Art Museum

SEE THE SPECIAL Exhibits on display now in the SSHSA Maritime Virtual Art Museum
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publications

PowerShips

The authoritative magazine of the history of engine-powered vessels and the legacy of man's journey on the world's seas and waterways.

• Lives of the Liners: Holland America’s Ryndam of 1951
• The Hudson River Day Line

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Featured in the SSHSA Bookstore

Visit the SSHSA Bookstore to see the Extraordinary Historical Books Now Available... MORE >
 

About SSHSA

Cruise ship Franca C. dockside in Istanbul, Turkey, August 8, 1971. - Braun Bros. Collection, SSHSA Archives.
 

MISSION

The mission of the Steamship Historical Society of America is to record, preserve, and disseminate the history of engine-powered vessels. 

Our Background

SSHSA was established in 1935 as a means of bringing together amateur and professional historians interested in the history and development of steam navigation, past and present.  Today, our members include maritime collectors and artists, current and former crew members, historians and students, genealogists, scuba divers, cruise travelers, ship engineers and architects, and maritime history enthusiasts.

Incorporated in the State of Virginia in 1950 as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational corporation, SSHSA is the oldest maritime organization in America and a vital source and authority of the nautical and maritime history of engine-powered vessels, from the earliest steam-powered ships to modern ocean liners.

Today, with extensive collections of maritime photos, periodicals, artwork, official records, memorabilia and ephemera, SSHSA is the oldest and largest organization of its kind in the world.

Join the thousands of maritime enthusiasts who prize their memberships in the Steamship Historical Society of America.

Member Benefits Include:

• MEMBERS RECEIVE the official SSHSA newsletters and the quarterly magazine—PowerShips. This prestigious full color publication isn't just another maritime history magazine...it is the ship history magazine.
• ACCESS to more than 60,000 historic digitized photographs.
• DISCOUNTS on special cruises, conferences, research, photos, and museum visits.
• MEMBERS ENJOY special nautical events and programs at the SSHSA conferences and meetings throughout the year.
• OPPORTUNITY to network with peers at local and regional chapter events.

What Makes SSHSA Different

In 1935, amateur and professional historians interested in the history of the engine-powered vessels that forever changed the world of travel and commerce formed the Steamship Historical Society of America. SSHSA focuses on the powerful ships, legendary passengers and hardworking crews that have changed the course of human history.

Today SSHSA stewards a collection of hundreds of thousands of images, artifacts, periodicals, artwork, official records, memorabilia, and ephemera archived in more than 100 collections and devoted exclusively to the history of engine-powered vessels.  SSHSA also publishes the quarterly magazine PowerShips and has taken on the role of conservationist through our digital conservation project, the Image Porthole.

Our Founders

Click here to read biographies of SSHSA's Founders.