This early, abstract image of New York combines an immediately recognizable skyline with the stars and stripes and red, white, and blue of the American flag. As part of its reparations after World War I, Germany was required to surrender many of its ships to the Allies, and its shipping industry was decimated. The Royal Mail Line filled the commercial gap by providing service across the Atlantic from Hamburg through Cherbourg and Southampton, dominating the route through the 1920s. This British company promoted itself as “The Comfort Route” on its international services, implying class, attentiveness, courtesy, and elegance.