Collection Guide
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A guide to the Robert Dollar and Robert S. Dollar business records, 1913 - 1967
HDC0144 (SAFR 18468)
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Title: Robert Dollar and Robert S. Dollar business records
Date: 1913 - 1967
Identifier/Call Number: HDC0144 (SAFR 18468)
Creator:
Dollar, Robert S.
Dollar, Robert, 1844-1932
Dollar, Robert, 1844-1932
Physical Description:
34.5 linear ft.
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Abstract: Robert Dollar and Robert S. Dollar business records (SAFR 18468, HDC 144) includes primarily bills of lading, correspondence,
stock certificate books, record books, minute books, logbooks, drawings as well as three family letters. The collections dates
from 1913 to 1967. A more detailed finding aid is available through the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Research
Center. The collection is available for research use without restriction.
Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s):
In English.
This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other
case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include
the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material and subject matter
experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors in this guide
please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.
Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.
[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item
Number], HDC0144 (SAFR 18468), Robert Dollar and Robert S. Dollar business records, San Francisco Maritime National Historical
Park
SAFR-00001
This collection was transferred from Golden Gate National Recreation Area to San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
Historical or Biographical Note
Captain Robert Dollar (1844-1932) was born in Falkirk, Scotland. By the age of 11, he was earning his own living as a shore
boy in a lumber camp in Canada, where he endured many hardships. Dollar's difficult childhood likely shaped his stringent
attitude toward life and work.
Robert Dollar purchased Usal Redwood Company on the Pacific coast, in 1894. Dollar Lumber Company was running out of timber
for their Guerneville mill at the time. Unfortunately, shipping schedules at the time were erratic, and Dollar, like many
in the lumber business at the time, found that he had little control over the transportation of his goods. In 1895, Dollar
acquired his first vessel, a single steam schooner called NEWSBOY, to move his lumber from the Pacific Northwest to markets
down the coast. This foray into shipping resulted in the founding of the Dollar Line in 1900, when Dollar was nearly 60 years
old.
When Dollar made a test run to the Orient with another of his ships, he was the first to bring the lumber business to a new
continent. Soon, the familiar Dollar Line smokestack, with its distinctive dollar symbol, was a familiar sight throughout
Asia. As the result of his success, he encouraged leaders from different industries in the U.S. to explore Asia as a potential
new market for their businesses. He was a pioneer in trans-Pacific trade in the 20th century.
By World War I, the Dollar Line was such an institution in Asia that his word alone was enough "collateral" to begin the construction
of ships in China that cost 30 million dollars.
In 1923, the purchase of seven "President" ships owned by the U.S. government allowed Dollar, then age 80, to establish his
successful round-the-world passenger service. In 1925, Dollar Line acquired the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and its trans-Pacific
routes including the Admiral Oriental Line. Ultimately, Robert Dollar made eight circumnavigations of the world and over 40
trips to the Orient.
In 1929, two more President type ships were purchased as round-the world-liners including the SS PRESIDENT GARFIELD. With
the two new ships, the Dollar Line had the largest fleet of passenger and cargo liners operating under the U.S. flag. The
company name changed to the Dollar Steamship Line Inc. Ltd.
By the late 1920s, Dollar passed the reins of management along to his son Robert Stanley, although he kept true to his work
ethic and remained involved in the business right up to the end of his life. On May 16, 1932, Robert Dollar died at the age
of 88.
The years after R. Stanley Dollar (1880-1958) assumed his father's role, the Dollar Line suffered from the Great Depression
and the maritime labor strikes of 1934 and 1936. In 1938, the Line was so far in debt that it suspended operation. In August
1938, the Dollar line was taken over by the Federal Maritime Commission and the Line was renamed the American President Line.
The U.S. Government owned the American President Lines. The Dollar family attempted through legal means after World War II
to recover the company but was unsuccessful. The line was sold and the money split between the Dollar family and the U.S.
Government.
Robert Dollar and Robert S. Dollar business records (SAFR 18468, HDC 144) includes primarily bills of lading, correspondence,
stock certificate books, record books, minute books, logbooks, drawings as well as three family letters. The collections dates
from 1913 to 1967. A more detailed finding aid is available through the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Research
Center. The collection is available for research use without restriction.
Arranged into three series: Series 1 - Bills of Lading by vessel name, 1924; Series 2 - Correspondence, business and miscellaneous,
1929 - 1946; Series 3 - Business Records includes receipts, minute books, logbook, typescripts, reports, legal briefs and
memoranda.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Passenger vessels
Dollar, Robert, 1844-1932
Dollar, Robert S.
Dollar Steamship Lines
American President Lines, Ltd.
Bills of lading
Clippings
Cruise lines