Carmania Press was founded by Anthony Cooke in 1991. He had recently finished writing his first maritime book, Emigrant Ships , for which he had signed a contract with a publisher. In the event, the publisher got into financial difficulties and was unable to go ahead. Cooke therefore decided to publish it himself. He chose the name Carmania Press because an old friend who had recently died had been the son of the last captain of the famous Cunard liner Carmania (1905-1932). It seemed a good name for a maritime publishing house.

The success of Emigrant Ships led other authors to approach him with book projects. They included two of the leading shipping writers of the day - Laurence Dunn and William H. Miller. Laurence Dunn's Thames Shipping has been continually in print ever since Carmania published it in 1992 and is now in its fourth impression. The American Bill Miller has now written eight books for Carmania, mainly about the great ocean liners on which he is a renowned expert.

In 1996, Cooke was approached by Maurizio Eliseo and Paolo Piccione, two brilliant young Italian authors who were working on an English language book about the Costa Line and its ships. Would he be interested? The answer was 'yes' and this started a close association which has continued to this day. Indeed, Eliseo has recently become a partner in Carmania. As a result of this connection, Carmania these days also imports some spectacular shipping books from Italy. Other important authors who have written for Carmania include Theodore W. Scull, Clive Harvey and Bruce Peter. And Anthony Cooke, himself, continues to produce shipping books when he can find the time to research and write them - notably his Liners & Cruise Ships series.

The firm has recently branched out into the art book field with Cunarder, a large hardback volume of fine reproductions of the ship paintings of Stephen J. Card which hang on board the QE2 and the new Queen Mary 2. High quality has always been one of Carmania's aims and its instantly recognisable softback books printed on the best art paper and with superbly reproduced illustrations, have achieved an enviable reputation. And recently published, Liners of the Golden Age: A Pictorial Record of Passenger Ships in the 1930s, is a substantial hardback - still, though, splendidly produced and illustrated with 300 amazing illustrations, many never published before. As one would expect of a book jointly authored by William H. Miller, Anthony Cooke and Maurizio Eliseo, Liners of the Golden Age is receiving golden opinions.

Following that success, Carmania has published a companion volume to Stephen Card’s hugely successful Cunarder. This features fine reproductions of Captain Card’s paintings of famous Holland America vessels. Most of these beautiful pictures currently hang on board Holland America ships, whilst others are in private collections. The book forms a handsome record of the development of this famous fleet, from the very early liners to the present-day cruise ships. Eighty-four paintings are faithfully reproduced and there are also sixteen pen-and-ink drawings. Each painting is accompanied by a page of text detailing the ship’s career. The book also contains a detailed fleet list, a biography of Captain Stephen Card and a chapter on the paints and other materials favoured by him. This is a major 2006 title for maritime enthusiasts.

Most recently, Carmania has published a major new look at the Fred Olsen Line: Fred. Olsen & Co. of Oslo is proudly Norwegian, but it also has strong British connections. Dating back to 1848, Fred. Olsen & Co. is currently involved in many aspects of the shipping and energy business, yet the firm is perhaps better known for its ferries and, above all, its cruise ships, which are among the most popular vessels in the British market.

And there are always more Carmania titles to come!