Nakajima was born in 1903, South of Tokyo in Kamakura. An honorary SSHSA member and maritime enthusiast, he began collecting at age 11 when a neighbor gave him maritime postcards. His interests broadened to include photographs, trunk labels, menus, and small house flags. He was questioned during World War II for espionage due to his frequent letters with foreign shipping agents and shipyards requesting material to add to his collection. The Mayor of New York’s office, The Imperial Chemical Industries (Japan) Limited, and the Chief of Tokyo’s Metropolitan Government External Affairs Division coordinated their efforts in 1963 to ensure the collection arrived in its new home at the Steamship Historical Society.
This collection is available to the public by appointment at the Steamship Historical Society. Objects that are fragile, significant, or require additional tools to access may require archivist assistance.
Use, reproduction, and/or publication of archival material is prohibited without prior approval of the Steamship Historical Society. Fees and/or restrictions may apply. Please contact the SSHSA archivist, Astrid Drew, at adrew@sshsa.org for more information.
Chujiro Nakajima Collection, Steamship Historical Society of America Archives, www.sshsa.org.
This collection comprises hundreds of picture postcards and paper ephemera covering Japanese ships, ports, and shipbuilding, ranging from the early 1900's to the late 1960's. Included in this collection are promotional postcard sets commemorating ship launches.
The Chujiro Nakajima Collection was donated to SSHSA in three installments between 1964-1969.