Ship That Brought Me Home Real Photo Picture Postcard Listing

Updated November 9, 2009

Most of these cards are real photo picture postcards. I suspect that they were created by enterprising photographers and sold to returning soldiers. They are almost always found unused. This is probably because they were bought and kept more as souvenirs, than as postcards to mail. Recently, I've seen some "ship that brought me" postcards that, while based on photographs, are printed picture postcards, and not RPPC's.

Note that soldiers were given Jewish Welfare Board postcards, so they could notify their families that they had arrived. These could be mailed postage-free before arrival or on the dock.

I know little or nothing about the photographers and publishers who created these cards. The only consistent feature of these cards is lettering placed in the negative by the photographer, to the effect "The Ship That Brought Me Home" or "The Ship That Brought Us Home". Note that these images were also sold as full-sized photographs, some even as panoramic photos.

In the following listing, it is noted if a JWB card is known for this ship. Some of the ships shown here are listed as having a JWB card, but I have not seen any example. Notations are similar to those for the JWB listing.

The Listing

Ship	Image	Notes
Antigone	RPPC [59k JPG] Another RPPC (dated) [61k JPG]	Former: Neckar Seen on JWB cards)
Canonicus	RPPC [56k JPG] Another RPPC [38k JPG]	American Cargo (Not known on JWB cards) Book Spelling: Cananocius
Eten	RPPC detail [Flickr]	Previously unknown ship, is listed on the Navy History web pages.
Finland	RPPC [54k JPG] RPPC (soldiers lining the rails) [47k JPG] RPPC [Flickr]	American Seen on JWB cards
Housatonic	RPPC [Flickr]	Unknown Ship
Huron	Photo [41k JPG] RPPC [40k JPG] RPPC [Flickr]	Former: Frederich der Grosse Seen on JWB cards
Koningin der Nederlanden	RPPC [43k JPG]	Probably Dutch (not in book) (Not known on JWB cards)
Leviathan	Non-Photo Postcard [60k JPG]	Ex-German Seen on JWB cards
Luckenback (Edgar F.)	RPPC [53k JPG]	American Cargo Listed as being on JWB cards
Matsonia	RPPC [47k JPG] Another RPPC [42k JPG]	American Passenger Seen on JWB cards
Maui	RPPC [29k JPG] Different RPPC [70k JPG]	American Passenger Seen on JWB cards
Mercury	RPPC [41k JPG] Different RPPC [22k JPG]	Former: Barbarossa Seen on JWB cards
Nansemond	RPPC [47k JPG] RPPC [54k JPG] RPPC [Flickr]	Postwar German Cargo Seen on JWB cards
Princess Matoika	RPPC [42k JPG]	Seen on JWB cards
Rijndam	RPPC [43k JPG]	Dutch Seen on JWB cards
Siboney	RPPC [Flickr]
Susquehanna	RPPC [43k JPG] Different RPPC [30k JPG]	Former: Rheim Seen on JWB cards
Zeppelin	RPPC [48k JPG] Different RPPC [44k JPG] Another RPPC [Flickr]	Post-War Seen on JWB cards

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