Dollar (Robert Stanley) Christmas card and Marco Polo club membership card., 19341934

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Summary

Title:
Robert Stanley Dollar Christmas card and Marco Polo club membership card
Dates:
19341934
Abstract:
The Robert Stanley Dollar Christmas card and Marco Polo club membership card collection (SAFR 23826, HDC 1667) consists of an unsigned Christmas card and a membership card in the Marco Polo club of circumnavigators.
Extent:
2 items
Language:
In English.
Preferred citation:

[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], HDC1667 (SAFR 23826), Robert Stanley Dollar Christmas card and Marco Polo club membership card, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Background

Scope and content:

The Robert Stanley Dollar Christmas card and Marco Polo club membership card collection (SAFR 23826, HDC 1667) consists of an unsigned Christmas card and a membership card in the Marco Polo club of circumnavigators.

The Christmas card is unsigned and has a printed 32 line poem written by Charlotte Ward of Perryvale, Alberta to Captain Robert S. Dollar and is with a blank envelope. The Marco Polo club honorary membership card for the society of circumnavigators is signed by Gregory Cullen with a handwritten note on the back from Gregory Cullen to R. Stanley Dollar. The note thanks Dollar for including Cullen in his message to Mr. Liddle and is dated 1934 January 31st. The collection is processed to the file unit level item level and is open for use without restrictions.

The Marco Polo club membership card was printed by the Dollar Steamship lines and was presented to guests on the PRESIDENT GARFIELD, a ship of the Dollar Steamship lines, that regularly circumnavigated the globe from east to west in the 1930's.

Biographical / historical:

Robert Stanley Dollar (1880-1958) was the son and successor to shipping magnate Robert Dollar (1844-1932). In 1894 Robert Dollar was the manager of Usal Redwood Company when he decided that maritime commerce was an easier way of shipping lumber from his mill to markets in San Francisco and along the California coast. By 1900, he had founded the Dollar Steamship Company.

The Dollar line was visually noticeable by the "$" sign on the funnels of all its ships. In 1923, Dollar purchased seven former World War I 502 President type liners from the U.S. Shipping Board. In 1925, Dollar took over the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, as well as the Admiral Oriental Line. In 1929, the company was changed to the Dollar Steamship Line Inc. Ltd. In 1929, two more 502 President type ships were purchased as round the world liners including the SS PRESIDENT GARFIELD. With the two new ships, the Dollar Steamship Line had the largest fleet of passenger and cargo liners operating under the U.S. flag.

On May 16, 1932, Robert Dollar died at the age of 88 and his son Robert Stanley Dollar took over the company. The Dollar Line suffered from the effects of the Great Depression, as well as the maritime labor strikes of 1934 and 1936, and by 1938 the line was so far in debt that the company was suspended from operation by bankruptcy proceedings. In August 1938, the Dollar line was taken over by the Federal Maritime Commission and was renamed the American President Line.

Acquisition information:

SAFR-02202

Field collection

Processing information:

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.

Arrangement:

2 items with no arrangement

Physical location:
San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Physical description:
.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard .

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by: Historic Documents Department Staff (Brogden).
Date Prepared:
2013
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid derived from ICMS database and converted into xml from a template revised and updated by San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department. 2/14/2013 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], HDC1667 (SAFR 23826), Robert Stanley Dollar Christmas card and Marco Polo club membership card, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Location of this collection:
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123, US
Contact:
415-561-7030
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