Search Results

Research, Miscellaneous and Non-Maritime

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter describes miscellaneous and non-maritime research that has no suitable place in the previous chapters of the collection. It provides maritime related records compiled by The Liverpool ... More

This chapter describes miscellaneous and non-maritime research that has no suitable place in the previous chapters of the collection. It provides maritime related records compiled by The Liverpool Nautical Research Society; Merseyside Docklands History Survey; Alsop, Wilkinson, the solicitor’s firm specialising in maritime cases; The Bryson Collection, provided by the collector, Joe Bryson; Turner and Dunnett, a stationery manufacturer responsible for producing passenger tickets and receipts for all the leading Liverpool shipping companies; and includes the specific research collections of individual scholars, including Dr D.P. Birch and J. Gordon Read; Michael K. Stammers; William McQuie Mather; Leslie Harrison; and Maurice Rigby. The chapter also lists non-maritime related records provided by companies of manufacturing, theatre and engineering backgrounds.Less

Shipbuilding in the Northwest of England in the Nineteenth Century

Frank Neal

in Shipbuilding in the United Kingdom in the Nineteenth Century: A Regional Approach

This chapter examines the shipbuilding output in the major ports of Northwest England in the nineteenth century, spanning Chester, Liverpool, and Lancaster. Neal analyses the structure, output, and ... More

This chapter examines the shipbuilding output in the major ports of Northwest England in the nineteenth century, spanning Chester, Liverpool, and Lancaster. Neal analyses the structure, output, and various markets associated with the area, and pays particular attention to Merseyside. He concludes with suggestions for the Northwest shipbuilding industry’s rapid decline.Less

Pictorial and Audio

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter offers a brief summary of the scale and content of pictorial and audio records offered by the Merseyside Maritime Museum, and divides each resource into categories of maps; charts; dock ... More

This chapter offers a brief summary of the scale and content of pictorial and audio records offered by the Merseyside Maritime Museum, and divides each resource into categories of maps; charts; dock plans and drawings; ship’s plans; photographic records; postcards; film; and video and audio tapes.Less

Maritime Library

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter lists the collections of material on maritime history that are available in the reference library of the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

Records of Official Organisations Public Records Acts, 1958

Gordon Read and Michael Stammers

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 1

This chapter comprises of records of official organisations relating to Merseyside maritime history. The largest archive housed by the museum is that of the Merseyside Docks and Harbour Board (plus ... More

This chapter comprises of records of official organisations relating to Merseyside maritime history. The largest archive housed by the museum is that of the Merseyside Docks and Harbour Board (plus antecedent’s and predecessor’s) collection, a vital resource that covers the maritime history of the port of Liverpool from the eighteenth to late twentieth century. The MDHB collection includes over 100 years worth of weekly minutes; newscuttings; decision summaries; thousands of plans of docks, buildings, and ships; and hundreds of photographs. Other records include legal papers; deeds; financial records; operational reports; dock registers; staff and wages records; port defence material; labour committee material; pilotage; and public relations material. The records are subdivided and further subdivided as necessary, and introduced clearly, with the intent of making the enormous collection navigable.Less

Emigration

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter describes the opportunity Liverpool gave to people wishing to travel across the Atlantic in order to achieve a better life in North America. It charts Liverpool’s success in maintaining ... More

This chapter describes the opportunity Liverpool gave to people wishing to travel across the Atlantic in order to achieve a better life in North America. It charts Liverpool’s success in maintaining a dominant position as the main transatlantic and emigrant transhipment port from the early nineteenth century until the late nineteenth century, when ports with greater geographical advantages such as Southampton, Naples and Bremerhaven began to supersede Liverpool as the busiest emigrant ports in Europe. The article acknowledges the lack of sufficient official records on Liverpool’s emigration history, including passenger lists, but details the existing records, lists and images provided by the Merseyside Maritime Museum, which concern specific ships, sailing dates and the conditions of a journey. The chapter concludes with a detailed list of further resources regarding the emigration experience, including passenger diary extracts, surviving lists, advertisements and newspaper clippings.Less

Shipbuilding and Repairing, Engineering and other Maritime Trades

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter outlines the development of shipbuilding in Liverpool during the late seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century. It discusses the city’s initial success in the business but ... More

This chapter outlines the development of shipbuilding in Liverpool during the late seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century. It discusses the city’s initial success in the business but reports that due to high costs, competition from Sunderland and Canada, and a lack of demand, the 1890s saw the end of shipbuilding in Liverpool. The chapter also provides a detailed archive on Merseyside based shipbuilding, ship-repairing, and engineering companies, as well as a record on related trade businesses, such as supplying and manufacturing. Included in the collection of records are advertisements; wage books; engineering drawings; operational records; accounts; deeds; registers; ship specifications; and letters.Less

Seafarers and Other Individuals

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter provides a record on individual seafarers of all ranks, mostly originating from Liverpool, who held positions ranging from captain and lieutenant to sailmaker and greaser. The chapter ... More

This chapter provides a record on individual seafarers of all ranks, mostly originating from Liverpool, who held positions ranging from captain and lieutenant to sailmaker and greaser. The chapter provides an archive of resources concerning the seafaring career, including personal certificates, obituaries, diary extracts, interviews and correspondence letters. In doing so, it highlights the difficulties in obtaining official records from a British seaman’s career and analyses the usefulness and reliability of general registries and crew lists.Less

Merchants, Ship Brokers and Agents, Stevedoring and Warehousing Companies

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This introductory chapter provides brief descriptions of the roles of merchants, shipbrokers and agents, and defines stevedoring and porterage. The chapter focuses in particular on the maritime ... More

This introductory chapter provides brief descriptions of the roles of merchants, shipbrokers and agents, and defines stevedoring and porterage. The chapter focuses in particular on the maritime development of Liverpool from the eighteenth century and uses resources from Merseyside Maritime Museum to provide records and accounts of merchants, ship brokers and agents, and stevedoring and warehousing companies.Less

Maritime Charities, Missions and Educational Establishments

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter explores Liverpool’s charitable maritime history and dedication toward raising the interest of welfare provision for Liverpudlian seamen and their families. It lists specific nineteenth ... More

This chapter explores Liverpool’s charitable maritime history and dedication toward raising the interest of welfare provision for Liverpudlian seamen and their families. It lists specific nineteenth century Merseyside institutions with their respective mission statements and founding dates, and provides a detailed resource list of each charity’s archives, including official records, minutes taken, account books, annual reports and letters.Less

Special Collections: Titanic and Lusitania

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter provides a collection of original documents relating to the Titanic and Lusitania, two Liverpool-registered ships that both sank with an enormous loss of life. The report presents ... More

This chapter provides a collection of original documents relating to the Titanic and Lusitania, two Liverpool-registered ships that both sank with an enormous loss of life. The report presents personal and poignant items associated with the ill-fated ships, including telegrams; photographs; general arrangement plans; unused tickets; memorial service programmes; letters; news-cuttings; and pamphlets. The chapter is also complemented with the Merseyside Maritime Museum’s collection Floating Palaces of the Edwardian Age.Less

Maritime Families

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter contains a detailed record of seven Liverpool-based families and their involvement in the city’s historical maritime economy. The report focuses on the social and economic lives of the ... More

This chapter contains a detailed record of seven Liverpool-based families and their involvement in the city’s historical maritime economy. The report focuses on the social and economic lives of the Cropper, Earle, Crosbie-Oates, Danson, Stubbs, Mather and Laird families, and uses the family’s business and social affairs to provide an insight into slave trade; abolition; maritime law; shipping trade; the palm oil trade with West Africa; and emigration to Ireland and America. Resources featured include letters; minutes taken; estate deeds and family papers; business papers; newspaper clippings; accounts; diary extracts and travel journals; scrapbooks; and printed pamphlets.Less

“It’s Tough When You Have a Museum in a Mall”: How the Seaport (Almost) Succeeded

James M. Lindgren

in Preserving South Street Seaport: The Dream and Reality of a New York Urban Renewal District

This chapter examines whether the South Street Seaport realized its vision under Robert “Peter” Neill III's leadership. The Seaport was conceived as pure Sixties and its district as a “museum without ... More

This chapter examines whether the South Street Seaport realized its vision under Robert “Peter” Neill III's leadership. The Seaport was conceived as pure Sixties and its district as a “museum without walls” that would offer an open-ended, personal experience. Whitney North Seymour Jr. had wanted a building with conventional exhibits, but by 1984, the Seaport had been reduced to one gallery and a borrowed exhibit. This chapter considers how Neill redefined the Seaport, first by creating a 25,000-square-foot exhibition space, and how his exhibits and collections increasingly became the test of the Seaport's quality. It also discusses the Statue of Liberty centennial in 1986, Neill's plans for “World Port New York,” the public indifference to historic preservation, and the Seaport's partnership with Liverpool's Merseyside Maritime Museum to establish the National Maritime Museum. Finally, the chapter explores the South Street Seaport Museum's publishing of the Seaport: New York's History Magazine.Less

Transatlantic Slavery and Slave Trading

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter presents the involvement of Liverpool in the slave trade. As the European port most involved in slaving during the eighteenth century, much of Liverpool’s prosperity was due to the ... More

This chapter presents the involvement of Liverpool in the slave trade. As the European port most involved in slaving during the eighteenth century, much of Liverpool’s prosperity was due to the trade, which meant that there was no part of the whole port of Liverpool that went untouched by slavery. This chapter outlines the role of the city and its citizens in the slave trade by offering a breakdown of slavery records in the form of registers and archives that detail Liverpool slaving vessels and its masters and owners. It also discusses the effects of abolition and Liverpool’s subsequent trade with West Africa and America.Less

Addenda to Guide, Volume I

Dawn Littler (ed.)

in Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, Volume 2

This chapter concludes the volume with a description of recent additions to the collection since 1995, and includes records from the Radio Officers Marconi examination results; the Liverpool Shipping ... More

This chapter concludes the volume with a description of recent additions to the collection since 1995, and includes records from the Radio Officers Marconi examination results; the Liverpool Shipping Staff’s Association; London and Overseas Freighters Ltd; early MDHB miscellaneous papers; and John Holt and Co. (Liverpool) Ltd.Less

Port History: Some Thoughts on Where it Came from and Where it Might be Going

Adrian Jarvis

in Harbours and Havens: Essays in Port History in Honour of Gordon Jackson

This essay examines the discipline of port history - primarily British - to discuss what has been achieved and what further studies might contribute. It places the work of Gordon Jackson into ... More

This essay examines the discipline of port history - primarily British - to discuss what has been achieved and what further studies might contribute. It places the work of Gordon Jackson into context, and deems his works integral to the field. Port philosophy, progress, future achievements, financial crises, and a case study of the development of the Port of Liverpool, are scrutinised by the author, Adrian Jarvis, in order to conclude that the study of port history, whilst a thoroughly researched discipline in its own right, ought now to focus on integrating with maritime history and wider contexts in order to move forward.Less