Normandie was launched on October 9 ,1932 as the largest ship in the world. After a few years of fitting out and final touches it took its maiden voyage on March 29, 1935. Normandie had a successful year but was quickly overtaken in size by the Queen Mary, losing the title of "Worlds Largest." A refit was made in 1937 where it was once again regained the title...the Queen Mary was quick to answer. This could have gone on for some time but WWII came. In 1940, after the fall of France, the US seized the ship who wanted to converted it into a troop transport vessel and rename it the USS Lafayette. It sat in Manhattan's Pier 88 for the conversion, in 1942 a welders torch sparked a blaze that torched and capsized the ship. It was scrapped in 1946. The SS Normanie had a short but prosperous life.

This rare full length colorful matchcover was more than likely made for France by New York's Lion matches to celebrate the maiden voyage.