MIAMI BEACH, FL (December 18, 2008)―The Wolfsonian–Florida International University announces a substantial donation of ocean liner and cruise ship industry related materials by Laurence Miller, Ph.D., former executive director of libraries at Florida International University.

The materials, which will be known as the Laurence Miller Collection, comprise a comprehensive collection of promotional materials documenting the cruise line industry in the postwar period, ca. 1950-2000, enhancing the library’s strong holdings of ocean liner materials from the interwar period. The Laurence Miller Collection includes tens of thousands of printed materials including passenger accommodation and deck plans, advertisements, announcements, newsletters, schedules, price lists, menus, programs, postcards, promotional leaflets, luggage labels, and company stationery and letterhead. Dr. Miller also donated his extensive collection of reference books and periodicals, which will greatly assist scholars and researchers.

“This gift is a wonderful addition to the library. It is an extraordinarily rich collection, almost a comprehensive one, and it is the perfect complement to our existing holdings, enhancing our collection without duplicating materials,” says Francis Luca, Wolfsonian chief librarian and FIU adjunct professor of History. “Dr. Miller is a true aficionado, a serious collector of cruise line promotional literature for the past fifty years, and we’re thrilled to have received this significant donation.”

The collection documents an entire era of ocean voyages, including the transition from ocean crossing to cruising. Highlights include an emphasis on deck plans, brochures illustrating the ships’ accommodations and fares, and menus printed onboard the Atlantic Liners and cruise ships.

“I'm delighted to have found the perfect home for my collection,” says Dr. Miller. “The Wolfsonian has long had an extremely valuable collection of brochures, deck plans, and menus from the period of the 1930s and earlier. The collection I am contributing should provide the nucleus of a much larger collection that includes the postwar era and the evolution from crossing to cruising. The collection and the books that support it provide a rather complete description of the modern cruise industry's history and development.” Dr. Miller was the executive director of libraries at FIU from 1981 to 2005 and, following retirement, lives in Miami.

“This gift means so much to us not only because of the strength of Dr. Miller’s collection and how well it complements our former holdings in this subject matter, but because it is from an FIU colleague,” notes Cathy Leff, Wolfsonian director. “The materials are of great interest to established scholars but also to FIU students – for example, it will be wonderful to offer FIU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management students the opportunity to study materials such as the extensive menu collection that is part of Dr. Miller’s donation.”

Dr. Miller began collecting the materials in the mid-1950s, when as a teenager he would write to the chief stewards of ocean liners and ask them to send him menus. He is an avid cruise-goer who has been on well over three hundred ocean voyages and he has written frequently about the cruise line industry for over three decades for a variety of publications. He is a regular contributor to Cruise Travel Magazine and in the 1980s and ’90s wrote frequently for Travel Agent. His work also appeared in Travel Weekly and in more than twenty newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada. He is the co-author (with Giora Israel, a Carnival Corporation Vice President) of Dictionary of the Cruise Industry (2000).

Materials from the Laurence Miller Collection and other recent donations to the library collection can be accessed via the Internet at www.librarygifts.wolfsonian.org. The library has begun the process of cataloging and digitizing the collection in order to make it available to the public, and plans to showcase items from the Laurence Miller Collection in an upcoming exhibition in the library’s foyer.

About The Wolfsonian–Florida International University
The Wolfsonian–FIU is a museum and research center that uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, political, and technological changes that have transformed the world. The approximately 120,000 artifacts that comprise The Wolfsonian collection range from fine art, graphic design, and political propaganda to furniture, rare books, and ephemeral materials such as postcards and travel brochures. Since opening to the public just ten years ago, The Wolfsonian has developed and disseminated critically acclaimed exhibitions, publications, and educational programs that highlight the impact of design in shaping the modern world. Its vast patrimony of primary source materials provides unparalleled opportunities for scholarship and appreciation, making it a unique resource for local, national, and international audiences.

The Wolfsonian is located at 1001 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Fla. Admission is $7 adults; $5 seniors, students, and children six-12; free for Wolfsonian members, State University System of Florida staff and students with ID, children under six, and Miami Beach residents with ID. The museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from noon-6pm; Thursday and Friday from noon-9pm; and is closed on Wednesday. Contact us at 305.531.1001 or visit us online at www.wolfsonian.org.

The Wolfsonian receives ongoing support from the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Continental Airlines, the Official Airline of The Wolfsonian; the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation; and Pistils & Petals.

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