SS France was the French Line (Compagnie Generale Transatlantique) flagship from 1961 to 1974, combining regular transatlantic crossings, with occasional winter cruises, as well as two world circumnavigations. At the time of her construction she was the longest passenger ship ever built, a record that remained unchallenged until the construction of the RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004.
Canadian Cruises
The SS France's first cruise to Canada was in May, 1967. The cover below is a souvenir of that event.
Quebec, May 9 1967
Quebec, May 10, 1967
Slogan cancellation:
SEMAINE
DE LA FRANCE
A QUEBEC
4 - 14 MAI 1967
FRAMEXPHIL and Expo 67
In July, 1967, the France docked at Montreal's Ile Notre-Dame, the site of Expo 67, and acted as a secondary French Pavilion. The Framexphil stamp exhibition was held on board the France. To mark the occasion the Quebec City post office used a slogan cancellation:
FRAMEXPHIL PAQUEBOT FRANCE 18 JUILLET 1967
Quebec, July 11, 1967
France Expo Stamp : Framexphil Cachet
Framexphil Souvenir Booklet
A souvenir booklet (22 cm x 22 cm) was prepared for the event.
Front Cover
Expo 67 Canada Pavilion cancellation, June 30, 1967
French Expo stamp : Framexphil S.S. "France" cancellation
S.S. Flandre Montreal Sailing 1967
The FRAMEXPHIL announcement shown below states that the winning ticket number for a free trip to Montreal on board the S.S. Flandre was drawn on July 7, 1967.
The S.S. Flandre was built for the French Line and operated on the Atlantic run and Caribbean cruises from 1952 to the late 1960s.
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1971 S.S. France
The cover below from the S.S. "France" received the Quebec City paquebot machine cancellation.
Quebec to LeHavre, November 2, 1971
