Charles J Lundgren (New York, Connecticut, 1911 - 1988) "Passenger Steamship - Assiniboia" Signed lower left. Original Oil Painting on Masonite. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the Canadian 14c block of four Icebreaker stamps issued November 15, 1978. From the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system to the dangerous channels of the Arctic, Canada's ice vessels were among the first to utilize the frozen waterways for freight and passenger transport. In fact, the Assiniboia was a truly magnificent paragon of the passenger steamship's golden age. Built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1907, the Assiniboia played a major role in the tourist cruise business which blossomed after WWI. For the leisure traveler, the passenger ship was a hotel grander than all hotels, a restaurant eclipsing all restaurants, a luxurious boulevard of fashion and festivity. This was particularly true of the transatlantic passenger liners but also of a few Great Lakes ships like the Assiniboia. From her home base of Port McNicholl, Georgian Bay, Ontario, the Assiniboia traveled to all the important cities of the Great Lakes including Windsor, Chicago, Buffalo, Montreal, and up the St. Lawrence Seaway. Among the most beautiful of all the world's inland waterways, the Great Lakes were widely traveled by tourists between the World Wars. The Assiniboia was one of the few ships to offer passenger fare for businessmen and tourists throughout the winter. But this was no simple task: severe icing blankets the Great Lakes' harbors and straits for several months during the winter. Frequent winter storms whip up icy waves and make travel hazardous, but the Assiniboia braved the savage chop of the Great Lakes on a scheduled passenger run for nearly sixty years. Image Size: 19 x 20 in. Overall Size: 22 x 26 in. Unframed. (B06161)