Hi Dyan,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

I can confidently rule out this being from the SS President, a famous "lost ship" of the early transatlantic period. Launched in 1839 for the British and American Steam Navigation Company, the President entered service in 1840 as the largest passenger vessel in the world, measuring 243 feet long and approximately 2,350 gross tons. She was intended to challenge established Atlantic packet lines by offering faster, more luxurious steam-powered travel. Lacking the central smokestack shown on this pillow, she had other design features that made her top heavy and its engines were underpowered for its size. On 11 March 1841, the President departed New York for Liverpool carrying 136 passengers and crew. She was heavily laden with cargo and entered a severe Atlantic gale. The following day she was sighted by the packet ship Orpheus, rolling violently and struggling in enormous seas between Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank. She was never seen again.

P.C.S.S. stands for "Pacific Coast Steamship Company, one of the largest passenger steamship operators on the American West Coast from 1876 to 1916. Originally organized as Goodall, Nelson & Perkins and reorganized in 1876 as the Pacific Coast Steamship Company (PCSS), the line connected virtually every major Pacific port. At its height it carried tourists, business travelers, gold seekers headed north to Alaska, mail and freight. The company became synonymous with luxury coastal travel before the rise of automobiles and rail competition.

The SS President was one of the company's premier passenger liners, operating the famous Seattle–Victoria–San Francisco–Los Angeles–San Diego route during the early twentieth century. Introduced in the first decade of the 1900s, she was marketed as a fast, comfortable, and remarkably steady vessel for coastal travel.

Maritime souvenirs from the Pacific Coast Steamship Company are considerably less common than those from Atlantic lines such as Cunard or White Star.

Leather souvenir pillows of this type were extremely popular among tourists visiting Niagara Falls, the Thousand Islands, the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River resorts, as well as Canadian and northeastern U.S. steamship destinations.

Collectors are drawn to these pillows because they combine folk art, maritime history, early travel memorabilia and decorative Arts & Crafts aesthetics.

Most surviving examples are satin or silk, making your leather pillow unusual and rare. While rarity does not always translate into significantly more value, because this ship was lost at sea it will carry a premium. Other maritime-themed pillows that have sold at auction usually sell for less than $50, though I could see two interested collectors pushing this upwards of $200.

If you are looking to sell this privately, a reasonable listing price would be $300; if you don't get buyers you can lower your price but at least you won't risk being undersold. If you're looking for an auction house to sell this to, or dealers of maritime collectibles that might be interested in buying this outright, let me know.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

Hand-painted leather or suede maritime souvenir pillow cover
circa 1900–1920,
decorated with a steamship identified as "P.C.S.S. President" and "New York," framed by flying swallows with ribbon banners. Featuring hand-cut fringe and folk-art painted decoration.
24 x 24 inches (excluding fringe)
CONDITION: this appears to be in good condition
PROVENANCE: acquired at auction
$ 150-200*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia