Thoughts of passenger steamships often conjure images of luxurious crossings of the Atlantic by the well-to-do, and perhaps the poor immigrants crowded in the steerage compartment on there way to make new lives for themselves in America—or perhaps the tragic ends to the Titanic and Lusitania. But if you lived close to any of the the Great Lakes in the first half of the twentieth century, passenger ships might have meant an affordable summer vacation, and yes, sometimes tragedy as well. This week our archive selections provide brief histories of the two most famous sets of steamships that could take you from Duluth to Buffalo, New York, and all points in between: The Canadian Steamship Line and the Anchor Steamship Line.

The Hamonic. (Image: Library of Congress)