Last modified: 2005-09-24 by rob raeside
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Wait & Pierce, Salem
One of the sailing lines operating out of Salem, Massachusetts, in the
early 19th century. I don't know anything more about it, but the flag was
distinctive: burgee-shaped with a deep swallowtail, the hoist yellow as
far as the fork with the blue letters WP, the upper tail red and the lower
tail blue.
Source: painting
at www.pem.org/archive/
Joe McMillan, 30 November 2001
Ward Line (New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co), New York (1856-1959)
The Ward Line was formed by James E. Ward of New York in 1856 as a scheduled
cargo and passenger service using sailing vessels. When the line began shifting
to steam after the Civil War, it officially became the New York & Cuba Mail
Steamship Company, but was always known as the Ward Line. After Ward's
death in 1894, his successors carried on until 1907, when they decided to sell
the company to Charles W. Morse's Consolidated Steamship Company. Consolidated
collapsed a year later, and Ward Line passed to the Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies
Lines, within which it operated under its own name. The line's reputation went
downhill and was severely tarnished by the shipwreck of the cargo-passenger ship
Morro Castle in 1934, the worst ocean disaster ever to occur to a U.S.-flag
merchant vessel. The Ward Line briefly regained its independence after World War
II. When AGWI went into liquidation in 1954, a group of outside investors bought
the Ward Line subsidiary. However, the new owners did not want to accept the
conditions imposed by the U.S. Maritime Administration for the receipt of
government subsidies, so they began shifting the Ward Line away from the U.S.
flag. In addition, as they diversified the company's businesses, forming Ward
Industries as a holding company, they paid less and less attention to shipping,
and in 1956 sold the name and assets to the Cuban company Cia Naviera García,
which renamed itself Ward-García. Ward-García kept the name alive until 1959,
but the combination of declining demand and the Cuban Revolution soon put it out
of business. The Ward Line flag was always a white swallowtail with a black W
inside a black ring.
Sources: Lloyds 1912, Wedge (1926),
National Geographic (1934), Talbot-Booth (1937),
US Navy's 1961 H.O.
Joe McMillan, 1 December 2001
Ward changed their house flag after the Morro Castle (1930) disaster in 1934, and adopted at least 2 more under AGWI until they were liquidated in 1953.
Michael Alderson, 6 May 2003
Ward Line. Talbot-Booth (1936) mentions that the original Ward flag was done away with although he does not give it happening until 1939 and does not specify it being replaced. Up until 1938 he showed the flag given by Joe but with his announcement of the change in his 1942 Merchant Ships he shows a tapered version but it is not clear whether this is meant to be a replacement In fact Brown 1929 and 1934 and the National Geographic (1934) all show such a version anyway. More to the point in view of Michael's comments is that Talbot-Booth shows a second flag of a blue tapered swallowtail with a white star within a white ring [see above] under the name of the Cuba Mail Line.
Neale Rosanoski, 27 April 2005
For post WW2 Brown 1951 (Wedge (1951)) under New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co. shows blue with a broad white horizontal band bearing a red star which happens to be that used by Clyde-Mallory Lines, an AGWI associate
Neale Rosanoski, 27 April 2005
Thomas Wardle & Co., New York (mid-19th century)
No information on this company. The flag was a blue burgee-shaped pennant with a
white disk.
Source: chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 1 December 2001
Thomas Wardle. The Mystic Seaport Foundation dates him 1840 on the East Indies and California service also showing the same design, but as a normal rectangular flag, as an alternative.
Neale Rosanoski, 27 April 2005
Warren Petroleum Co., Houston (1922-present?)
Warren Petroleum was established by William K. Warren in Oklahoma in 1922. It
became a subsidiary of
Gulf Oil in 1956 and seems to still be in operation as a
division of
Chevron, which merged with Gulf in 1984. I do not believe it still
operates ships, however, as it seems to be mainly in the natural gas
distribution business in the Midwest and Southwestern U.S. The house flag was
green with a white W circumscribed by a white ring.
Source:
US Navy's 1961 H.O.
Joe McMillan, 1 December 2001
Waterman Steamship Corporation (Mobile, later New York, now New
Orleans)(1919-present)
Until the 1970s, Waterman was exclusively in the business of providing ocean
transportation between the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean. Since then it
has diversified its services. It was founded by John Waterman as the Mobile,
Miami & Gulf Steamship Company, with the motive of building up the port of
Mobile, which had long been overshadowed by New Orleans. Waterman got his start
managing war surplus ships that belonged to the U.S. Shipping Board. Because of
good management and effective lobbying in Washington, it flourished despite
vicious competition from
Lykes Brothers. After World War II, Waterman became the
third largest fleet under the U.S. flag, with 55 ships in service in 1949.
Malcolm McLean bought the company in 1955 and put it into danger of bankruptcy
by drawing on its assets to fund other shipping ventures, but it was rescued by
new buyers in 1965, survived reorganization under bankruptcy court protection.
It now focuses on servcie from the U.S. east coast to the Middle East and South
and Southeast Asia. The flag as shown on the company website is a slightly
tapered blue swallowtail, with a black W on a white lozenge. Other sources show
the same design on a rectangular field, and Talbot-Booth (1937) shows a red field.
Sources:
Stewart (1953),
US Navy's 1961 H.O.;
www.waterman.com
Joe McMillan, 1 December 2001
Waterman Steamship Corporation. Talbot-Booth noted the change from red to blue for the flag field in his 1938 "Ships & The Sea".
Neale Rosanoski, 27 April 2005
Webb & Knapp, New York
Webb and Knapp is a New York real estate development and architectural firm, and
I have no idea why they would have had a shipping fleet, but this flag--white
with a wide blue horizontal stripe bearing a white diamond with a red P--shows
up in the U.S. Navy's 1961 house flags book. The initial "P" suggests that this
may have been a successor to some other line that W&K bought for diversification
purposes, but I really have no idea.
Source:
US Navy's 1961 H.O.
Joe McMillan, 1 December 2001
Webb & Knapp Inc. The obvious answer would seem to be Penn Shipping Co. Inc. who existed from the latter 1950s to c.1980 as it is unlikely that there would be two New York companies at the same time using identical livery. The only shipping connection that I can trace for Webb & Knapp Inc. is that they held hull insurance and assume that the shipping interest was an offshoot to the main property development in which Webb and Knapp were a major player under the control of William Zeckendorf.
Neale Rosanoski, 27 April 2005
Benjamin Webster, Portland, Maine
No information on this company. Flag was a blue trapezoid with a white star in
the hoist.
Source: Flaggenbuch 1905
Joe McMillan, 2 December 2001
West Coast Line, New York
No information on this line, either. The flag was red with a white H, clearly
shown as shadowed in black in Wedge (1951). I don't know what the H might have stood
for.
Source: Wedge (1951)
Joe McMillan, 2 December 2001
Wells & Emanuel is apparently a New York company as reported by
Mystic Seaport.org. The flag is a red swallowtail with a blue cross throughout, in the cross’s centre a
white disk bearing the black initials ‘WE’ (may we suppose the letters were
readable on the reverse?). This flag is among the “Private Signals of the Merchants of New York”
(clickable chart - the seventh one on row four).
The same image is on the card (“burgee”): at
http://www.mysticseaport.org/library/initiative/SignalImage.cfm?PageNum=2&BibID=36294&ChapterNo=14
(14.2.1 - first flag on this page) described as: ‘Wells & Emmanuel (sic), New York (1850) Empire Line’, refs. given are 5, 18, 35, 66, and 76
(see further).
Two different versions are shown on this page (“swallowtail”):
http://www.mysticseaport.org/library/initiative/SignalImage.cfm?BibID=36294&ChapterNo=27
- the first one (first flag on this page) has tapering edges and does not
show the initials: 27.1.1;
‘Empire Line’ is not mentioned; refs. given are 2, 14, and 52
- the second one, third on the same row and bearing no. 27.1.11, has the
initials; refs. given are
54 and 62 (now ‘Empire Line’ is added but I do not suppose that the name
has any influence
on the presence or absence of initials).
The references given are:
2. "House Flags of New York, 1800's". Booklet, Seaman's Savings Bank, NY; 1944
5. House flags described in "The Clipper Ship Era" by Capt. Arthur H. Clark
14. House flags of New York, 1800's poster in the "The Clipper Ships"
18. House flags on sailing ship cards, etc. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
35. House flag data from New Bedford Whaling Museum, Pennsylvania paintings, etc
52. "Shipping House Flags" by Capt. H. Percy Ashley
54. House flags books unpublished, Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport, Maine
62. "The Shipbuilders of Essex" by Dana A. Story, published 1995 by Ten Pound
Island Book Co., Gloucester
66. Private signals of the merchant(s) of New York and San Francisco, South
Street Seaport Museum
76. House flags from Mystic Seaport Library (Part 1 of 2 - part 2 is in Mystic).
All I can add now is a reference from Mystic Library Manuscript Collection 4
“Records of the Ship HOUND”:
http://www.mysticseaport.org/library/manuscripts/coll/coll004/coll004.html:
“The clipper ship HOUND was built at Mystic, Connecticut, by Charles Mallory,
in 1853. She was owned during this period by Charles Mallory, Charles H.
Mallory, David D. Mallory,and George W. Mallory. The HOUND sailed for the Empire
Line and was managed by Wells & Emanuel, of New York.”
Jan Mertens, 25 August 2005
West Coast Steamship Co., Portland, Oregon
An earlier line by this name was apparently bought out by Pacific Coast
Steamship, which later became part of the Admiral Line in the early 1900s.
This is obviously a different company given the source, but I have found nothing
about it. The flag was blue with a large white disk bearing a red W.
Source:
US Navy's 1961 H.O.
Joe McMillan, 2 December 2001
West Coast Steamship Co. Appears to have originally been West Coast Trans-Oceanic Steamship Line which would explain the flag shown by Brown 1958 where the red letters "T/O" are used instead of the "W". Apparently operated post WW2 until the early 1960s.
Neale Rosanoski, 27 April 2005