Navigazione Generale Italiana: Here is a remarkable opportunity to own interior brochures for all four classes aboard the largest Italian liner built in the 1920s. The AUGUSTUS was also the first big Italian liner to be fitted with diesel engines. Although slower than her steam-powered sister ROMA, the AUGUSTUS was far more reliable and had more interior space. NGI fitted in four classes - First, Second, Intermediate (equivalent to Tourist Third used on British ships), and Third. While ships such as the ILE DE FRANCE turned to modern design, the AUGUSTUS had ornate period interiors designed by Casa Ducrot of Palermo. The ship was one of the first to fit an opulent outdoor pool between the funnels on Sun Deck. While there is no date in any of these brochures, they are from the late 1920s. The First Class brochure is entitled "Masterpieces" and features 28 pages, each with a different interior photo and breathless text. The rich detail of rooms such as the Main Salon, Dining Room, Ballroom, Lounge, and Sicilian Winter Garden is amazing. Even a First Class cabin bathroom looks suitable for a palace. In fact, that was the intent of NGI. "Wherever you travel through this vivid land, your soul will be stirred by exquisite contours, designs, decoration and color of cities and palaces," reads the brochure intro. "You will sail the seas to them on a masterpiece of the Italy of today à in all the artistic splendor of the AUGUSTUS." The First Class brochure is in excellent condition. The 28 page Second Class brochure is also filled with photos and descriptions of ornate interiors. Public rooms such as the Dining Saloon, Smoking Room, Ladies Room, and even the cabins look comparable to First Class on most other ships of the era. As in First Class the design looks back to the Renaissance and the 18th century for inspiration. The brochure also has several photos of passengers cavorting around the pool or dancing on the decks in contrast to the more formal presentation for First Class. The brochure is in very good condition with a little wear around the cover. The "La Classe Intermedia" brochure has 16 pages with the text in Italian. This one has fine textured stock covers and is in excellent condition. It must have been produced while the ship was under construction because the illustrations are artists' rendering and show a quality equal to Second Class on any other ship. This class was designed to attract the growing number of budget tourists and it looks very comfortable. "La Classe Intermedia" was eliminated in 1933 and folded into Second to create a new Tourist Class. The final 20 page brochure is for Third Class. This is not the steerage of old - the many photographs show nicely decorated and simple public rooms. The large dining room had small tables rather than long communal ones. The Smoking Room, Ladies Room, and cabins look as nice as First Class on ships just 20 years earlier. This brochure, other than some wear around the edges of the cover, is in very good condition. The covers are a nice textured stock and the pages inside have a quality feel. NGI obviously spared no expense to promote even the lowlier classes on its new superliner. As to the history of the ship, well, do you really want to hear this? The AUGUSTUS sailed on the New York and South America route throughout the 1930s. But when WW2 started the Italian navy decided to convert her into an aircraft carrier. All the splendor was ripped out and the ship was cut down to the hull. Work stopped during the German occupation. When the Germans abandoned Genoa in 1944 the former AUGUSTUS was sunk to block the harbor. The wreck was scrapped in 1947. A sad ending to a glorious ship.