Last modified: 2003-03-01 by rob raeside
Keywords: united states shipping lines |
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Frederick Gerhard & Co., New York (Source: PSMNY)
White with a narrow red stripe along the upper edge and a narrow blue stripe
along the lower, with a black P in the center. No information on what the P
stood for.
Source: chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York
Joe McMillan, 12 October 2001
J. C. Gilchrist, Cleveland (Source: 1909 annex to [ruh05])
A Great Lakes line; white G on a red field.
Source: 1909 update to Flaggenbuch 1905
Joe McMillan, 12 October 2001
S. Gitcovich & Co., Galveston, Texas
Nothing on this one except white with a red lozenge and the monogram SL in
white.
Source: Wedge (1926)
Joe McMillan, 14 October 2001
Glidden & Williams, Boston (1852)
Glidden & Williams is described in Samuel Eliot Morison's "Maritime History of
Massachusetts" as the most important clipper firm operating out of Boston to
California (1840s-50s). My sources seems to show this flag as a triangular
pennant, as I've drawn it, white over blue with a red star overall, but it may
have been rectangular or existed in a rectangular variant.
Source: clipper card illustrated at
www.tenpound.com
Joe McMillan, 14 October 2001
Globe Navigation Co., Seattle
Among the last sailing ship lines. Flag blue with a white globe, latitude and
longitude lines shown in red. Similar emblem to that on the fly of the last flag
of American Export Line, but no connection known.
Source: 1909 update to Flaggenbuch 1905, Lloyds
1912
Joe McMillan, 14 October 2001
Goodhue & Co., New York
Founded 1809 as Goodhue and Swett; operated a line of transatlantic packets and
served as agents for the Canton firm of Russell and Co. Also part of the
consortium that ran the famous Black Ball Line, and later merged with Charles
Marshall & Co, the Black Ball's final operators. Flag divided vertically, red to
the hoist and white to the fly with a large black disk overall, possibly a
reference to the Black Ball Line.
Source:
chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 14 October 2001
G. Gordon, New York
Red with a white cross, overall on a black disk the letter B in white. I do not
believe this mid-19th century company was affiliated with the Black Ball Line,
but the flag would imply that it might have been.
Source:
chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 14 October 2001
Gordon & Talbot, New York
A mid-19th century firm. Flag burgee shaped, blue over red divided by a narrow
white line, and the initials of the firm also in white.
Source:
chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 16 October 2001
Grace Line (W. R. Grace & Co), New York (1882-69)
W. R. Grace and Co. was founded in Peru in the mid-19th century to engage in the
guano trade. William R. Grace relocated to New York in 1866. What later became
the Grace Line originated in 1882 as a line of sailing vessels between Peru and
New York. Grace established regular steamship service in 1893 with a subsidiary
called the New York & Pacific Steamship Co., operating under the British flag
because ships built outside the United States were banned from US registry until
1905. US-flag service began in 1912 with the Atlantic and Pacific Steamship
Company. The activities of both companies and the parent firm were consolidated
into the Grace Steamship Company beginning in 1916. The firm originally
specialized in traffic to the west coast of South America; then expanded into
the Caribbean. After World War II, the company gradually withdrew from holdings
in Latin America and finally abandoned the shipping business altogether to
concentrate on chemicals in 1969. It is still in business, but not as a shipping
concern. At its peak, the Grace Line was a major force in American merchant
shipping. Shortly after World War II it owned 23 ships totaling 188,000 gross
tons, plus 14 more on bareboat charters. The Grace Line flag was red with the
word "GRACE" in blue on a white lozenge.
Sources: Wedge (1926),
National Geographic (1934) (showing letters
with serifs), Talbot-Booth (1937),
US Navy's 1961 H.O.
Joe McMillan, 16 October 2001
Great Northern Steamship Co. (Great Northern RR subsidiary)(1900-17)
Great Northern Pacific Steamship Co., Portland, Oregon (1913-17)
Both lines these lines were founded by John Jay Hill to promote business for his
Great Northern Railroad, of which they were subsidiaries. The GNSS was a
trans-Pacific line out of Portland, while the GNPSS ran coastwise steamers from
Portland to San Francisco. The two lines were highly publicized and promoted,
but ultimately were business failures owing to Hill's lack of understanding of
the shipping business. Their flags resembled each other, the GNSS flying a blue
flag with a white saltire and overall a white star on a red disk, while the
GNPSS flew the same flag with the red and blue reversed. The Northwestern SS Co
of Seattle flew a similar flag during the same timeframe--white with a red star
superimposed on a blue saltire--but as far as I know was not related to these
companies.
Source: Lloyds 1912
Joe McMillan, 16 October 2001
Chiquita Great White Fleet (formerly United Fruit Company), Boston, then NY
(1899-present)
I list this under "G" rather than "U" because the line's official name is now
Great White Fleet. United Fruit, a merger of several smaller
Italian-American-owned firms in Boston, began operating its fleet of ships in
1899 to bring tropical fruits, especially bananas, and sugar from Central
America and the Caribbean to the United States. Its ships also carried
passengers as a sideline. In its heyday, United Fruit was a dominant political
and economic presence in several Central American countries. The parent company
eventually adopted the identity of its best-known brand name, Chiquita, although
it maintained the United Fruit name for its shipping line until 1990. At that
time, United Fruit was dissolved as a separate entity and the shipping line was
formally named the Great White Fleet,! from the long-time Spanish nickname, La
Gran Flota Blanca, that it had had for many years because of the paint scheme of
the ships--the white paint helped keep the cargo cool and prevent it from
ripening too quickly. The flag of the Great White Fleet has been in use since
the very beginning of the line. It is a distinctive burgee-shaped pennant, with
blue triangles based on the hoist, a white lozenge between them, and red scalene
triangles along the upper and lower edges and forming the points of the
swallowtail. Easier to depict than to describe.
Sources: Wedge (1926),
Stewart (1953),
US Navy's 1961 H.O.,
www.greatwhitefleet.com
Joe McMillan, 16 October 2001
Green & Co., New York
No information. Flag red with a black anchor arranged horizontally.
Source:
chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 17 October 2001
Grinnell, Minturn & Co.
This very prominent transatlantic packet company, which later had great success
in the California clipper trade, was founded in about 1822 as Fish, Grinnell &
Co (the senior partner of which had the memorable and improbable name of
Preserved Fish) and remained active until 1880. Its first major endeavor was its
Liverpool Line, known as the Blue Swallowtail Line (1822-1880) from its
distinctive blue and white swallowtailed house flag (in which the dividing line
between blue and white followed the shape of the swallowtailed fly) was
originally started by Fish, Grinnell and Co. in cooperation with Thaddeus Phelps
and called the "Fourth Line of Liverpool Packets." It originally sailed monthly
and, like the other Liverpool-New York packet lines, did a thriving business in
the wave of Irish immigration. The company entered the London market a y! ear
later with its London (Red Swallowtail) Line, which also endured until 1880. The
flag was the same as for the Liverpool line, but with red at the hoist instead
of blue.
Joe McMillan, 17 October 2001
After the start of the gold rush in 1849, G&M started a California Line of
clipper ships to take advantage. This line flew a flag that combined the other
two flags into a swallowtailed tricolor of blue, red, and white.
Source:
chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 17 October 2001
N. L. & G. Griswold, New York
Another prominent and profitable firm, also founded in 1822. Nathaniel Lynde
Griswold had earlier been a partner with John L. Griswold in a merchant house in
New Orleans. He and his brother George then set up this shipping firm, beginning
with West Indies routes. They later branched out into the China tea trade and
finally into supporting the California gold rush trade. The company initials
were jokingly said to stand for "no loss and great gain." The house flag was a
blue and white checkerboard flag resembling the modern "N" signal flag except
for having five blocks in each horizontal row rather than four.
Source:
chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 17 October 2001
Griswold's Black X
Line, New York (1846-67)
The Griswolds were a major force in New
York shipping in the 19th century. Their Black X Line served the New
York-London route and, as in the case of the Black Ball Line, was so called from
the flag design, a black X on red.
Source: chart of "Private Signals of the Merchants of New York"
Joe McMillan, 30 August 2001
J. M. Guffey Petroleum Co.
Gulf Oil originated in the J. M. Guffey Petroleum Company, which was organized
in 1901 to buy out the developers of the first high-volume oil well in Texas,
the Spindletop. J. M. Guffey owned 7/15 of the company bearing his name and the
Mellon family and their associates the remainder. The house flag of Guffey's
tankers was a white block-style G on a red field.
Source: 1909 supplement to 1909 update to Flaggenbuch 1905.
Joe McMillan, 18 October 2001
Gulf and South American SS Co., New Orleans (1947-1971)
A joint venture of Grace Line and Lykes Brothers connecting Grace's home turf
(west coast of South America) and Lykes's home turn (Gulf of Mexico). Company
split up when W. R. Grace & Co abandoned the shipping business in 1969. Flag
green with a white lozenge bordered in black and inscribed with green letters "GSA."
Sources:
Stewart (1953)],
US Navy's 1961 H.O.,
Stewart & Styring (1963) (Note:
US Navy's 1961 H.O. shows this company twice, once with blue in place of green on the
flag.)
Joe McMillan, 18 October 2001
Gulf Oil Corporation, New York (homeport of ships; corporate headquarters in
Pittsburgh) (1901-1984)
Gulf Oil originated in the J. M. Guffey Petroleum Company, which was organized
in 1901 to buy out the developers of the first high-volume oil well in Texas,
the Spindletop. J. M. Guffey owned 7/15 of the company bearing his name and the
Mellon family and their associates the remainder. The house flag of Guffey's
tankers was a white block-style G on a red field.
Source: 1909 supplement to 1909 update to Flaggenbuch 1905.
Later in 1901, the Gulf Refining Company was organized to refine and market the crude oil produced by Guffey Petroleum. In 1907, Andrew Mellon bought out Guffey's stake in the entire enterprise and reorganized it as the Gulf Oil Company. It was already operating a substantial tanker fleet before World War I. Until after World War II, these ships continued to fly a modified version of the Guffey flag, still red but with a Roman-style white G instead of the earlier block style. Sources: National Geographic (1934), Stewart (1953).
by Joe McMillan
By the end of the 1960s, Gulf was one of the largest oil companies in the world,
thanks in large part to its 55% stake in the Kuwait Petroleum Company. Since the
early days of the company, the principal trademark used in marketing was the
word "Gulf" in blue on an orange disk. At some point in the 1950s, the red and
white flag was replaced by a blue one with this logo on it. (Source: [usn61]).
by Joe McMillan
Later in the 1960s the logo was redesigned and the flag changed again, this time
to a white LOB with the new logo. (Source: Photo in a US Merchant Marine Academy
yearbook from the 1970s).
A series of corporate missteps put Gulf in financial trouble before the end of
the 1970s and an attempt by corporate raider T. Boone Pickens to mount a hostile
takeover in 1983 led instead to the purchase of Gulf by Chevron Corporation in
1984. At $13.2 billion, it was the largest corporate merger in history to that
time. (Various components were spun off and still retain the Gulf name and
trademark, but I do not know of any that are in the shipping business.)
Joe McMillan, 18 October 2001