It grew out of a bankrupt sailing ship line to become the fastest-growing and most famous of all shipping companies.
White Star Line’s first steam ships set a new standard for transatlantic travel, a standard that was to remain for as long as the company existed.
The company’s most famous ships are undoubtedly the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic but the other 70 or so ships of the line also helped the White Star become the most famous line of all time.
The White Star Line never had the fastest ships, but they were the most luxurious. From Oceanic of 1871 to Georgic of 1932, there have been many ground-breaking ships from the company.
White Star Line – A Photographic History charts the progress of the company until 1960, when the last liner, Britannic, was scrapped. Today, only the passenger tender Nomadic survives from this once great fleet. Using photographs and ephemera, Janette McCutcheon tells the story of White Star Line and their ships, transporting her reader back to a time of luxury travel that has gone forever.
Janette McCutcheon lives in Gloucester and has one of the finest collections of Cunard memorabilia in the UK, she has written four shipping titles for Tempus Publishing.
The book pictures adverts White Star Line used to promote their steamers and their destinations. It also shows plans of the ships and their layouts and pictures of the grand staircases and dining halls. The pictures are mainly in black and white and chart in chronological order the history of White Star Line and its vessels.
Thomas Henry Ismay, the founder of the White Star Line as it is known today, was born in Maryport, Cumbria in 1837 and became a shipowner and director of the National Line, before purchasing the bankrupt White Star Line in 1869. From his £1,000 investment grew one of the most famous of all shipping lines.
Ismay agreed to have his ships built by Harland and Wolff, the shipbuilders received their first orders on 30 July 1869. The agreement was that Harland and Wolff would build the ships at cost plus a fixed percentage and would not build any vessels for the White Star’s rivals.
White Star Line – A Photographic History
By Janette McCutcheon
Published by Tempus
ISBN 0 7524 3147 1
Paperback 96 pages
Price £19.99
