New-York Historical Society collection of ships and shipping records
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Abstract
The collection includes a wide variety of documents compiled around a loosely-defined thematic connection to ships and shipping. Roughly 175 ships are represented in the collection, though often with just one document. Documents include bills of lading; invoices, receipts, account statements, and other financial papers; passes for ships; cargo manifests; depositions and other statements; sailing instructions and agreements; records of prizes won from captured ships; logbooks; crew lists; insurance policies; import certifications; and others. The collection also ranges widely over time, from a 1660-1663 journal (in Dutch) kept aboard the ships Golden Beaver and Golden Otter to a 1942 transcript concerning a fire aboard the S.S. Normandie at New York's Pier 88.
Arrangement Note
The bulk of the collection is arranged in alphabetical order by name of ship. At the close of the collection are three folders with documents related to various ships. Two of these folders have a rough theme (Hudson River ships and import certifications). The third folder includes miscellaneous documents, which are itemized by ship in the container list.
Scope and Contents Note
The collection, which was formed by New-York Historical Society over time from various donations and purchases, includes a wide variety of documents with a loosely-defined thematic connection to ships and shipping. Roughly 175 ships are represented in the collection, though often with just one document. Bills of lading and invoices, receipts, account statements, and other financial papers are most commonly found, though other documents include passes for ships; cargo manifests; depositions and other statements in connection with legal or other matters; sailing instructions and agreements; records of prizes won from captured ships; logbooks; crew lists; insurance policies; import certifications; and others.
The collection also ranges widely over time, from a 1660-1663 journal (in Dutch) kept aboard the ships Golden Beaver and Golden Otter to a 1942 transcript concerning a fire aboard the S.S. Normandie at New York's Pier 88. Most documents, though, seem to date from the second half of the 1700s and the first half of the 1800s.
Despite the random nature of the collection and the lack of deep documentation for most ships, there are several folders that include particularly rich materials. These include, for example, the papers of the sloop Experiment (1785-1787), which document in detail the outfitting of the ship for a voyage from New York to Canton and back, along with payments to crew (portage bill), articles of association among its investors, and the eventual sale of the sloop and distribution of the proceeds. As another example, a folder includes the articles of association, stock certificates and other corporate documents concerning the Schuyler Steam Tow Boat Line and the Express Propeller Line (1847-1881). Although most ships are represented by only one or a few documents, these are often very rich documents, including an account of a British military expedition to the West Indies aboard the Boyne (1793-1794); signals to be used by the convoy of the Roman Emperor (1760s?); prize roll of the officers and seamen of the Constellation after the capture of the French frigate L'Insurgente (1799); logbook of the master of the Amphion on a voyage from New York to Montevideo (1820); the descriptive muster roll of the steamship General Grant (1864); morning reports of the prisoners in the brig of the St. Paul (1898); and orchestra programs and a captioned photograph of the band on the flagship Kentucky (1901-1904). Given the diverse nature of the materials in the collection, detailed scope notes are provided for each folder in the container list.
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Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation Note
This collection should be cited as the New-York Historical Society collection of ships and shipping records, MS 563, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition Note
The collection as a whole was compiled over time by New-York Historical Society from various donations and purchases, though the specific source is unknown for many of the items. When the source is known, it is noted at the folder level.
About this Guide
Processing Information Note
Volunteer Alison Barr compiled the detailed document list and entered the data to the collection management system. Archivist Larry Weimer added the overall descriptive notes to produce a finding aid.