Caronia's Cruise Lecturers
One key figure of cruises on board the “Green Goddess” was the Cruise Lecturer. He was certainly kept busy, giving regular illustrated lectures in Caronia's theatre prior to port arrivals. He'd also give live commentaries on the approach to a port or if the ship was passing famous landmarks.
Among the most notable of these in the early 1950s was Sheridan H. Garth, from Westport Conn. Born Sept. 1911 in St Louis, Missouri, he died Dec. 1989, in Greenwich, Conn.
Sheridan Garth, a graduate of Princeton and known as “Sherry”, was a competent linguist in Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. He was inlvolved in public relations, tour direction, writing travel guides, and lecturing on cruises.
[Right:]
Cover of Flyer for 1st European Spring Cruise
He'd had a lifelong connection with Thomas Cook and Son. From his book “Pageant of the Mediterranean” it's clear that this area of the World was the most fascinating to him.
It's quite probable that he wrote many of the port description entries for Caronia's brochures, especially those jointly produced by Cunard and Thomas Cook for the ship's Mediterranean Cruises. I will be including a few extracts from this book on the Timeline in his tribute.
James W. Kirk, another of Caronia's Cruise Lecturers in the early 1960s, wrote of him in the book's prologue…
On one cruise, Mr. Garth gave twenty-six lectures covering twenty-two countries but so relating the affairs of one country to the others that the effect was a pageant making for real continuity. The interest of the guests on this cruise was instantaneous and sustained, and it was at their insistence that that we embarked upon this 15 month project
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