Collection Guide
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American-Hawaiian Steamship Company Records
mssAmericanh
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: American-Hawaiian Steamship Company records
Creator:
American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Identifier/Call Number: mssAmericanh
Physical Description:
1.66 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1901-1975
Date (bulk): 1901-1953
Abstract: The collection consists of the business records of the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. American-Hawaiian Steamship Company records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of John Kemble, December 1982.
These records were selected for marine historian Dr. John Kemble by Lewis Abbot Lapham, president of the company from 1947
to 1953 and by Thomas G. Plant, operating manager from 1923 until his retirement in 1948, from among their own papers.
The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company was founded in 1899 by George S. Dearborn and his brother-in-law, Lewis Henry Lapham
in New York City. The company grew to own the largest single fleet of freighters under the American flag in the trade between
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in the Territory of Hawaii. It was a pioneer in the building of large modern American
steam freighters, in introducing oil-fired boilers, in opening the steamer-railroad route across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
and in the early commercial transits of the Panama Canal. By 1930 the company operated over 50 ships and in World War II these
ships were called into government service. After the war, the bulk of the company's fleet was dispersed and because of growing
operating costs, intercoastal service was suspended in 1953.
The collection consists of business records related to the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, including circular letters
to masters, reports on finances and operations, information on construction of ships, sale of ships, and the final end of
service in 1953. Persons represented in the collection include: Dearborn Clark, John E. Cushing, Edward P. Farley, Lewis Abbot
Lapham, Roger Dearborn Lapham, and Walter S. McPherson.
Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by form and genre as well as topic.
Former call number: mssAmerican Hawaiian Steamship.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cargo ships -- Pacific coast
Cargo ships -- United States
Shipping -- Pacific coast -- History -- Sources
Shipping -- United States -- History -- Sources
Shipping companies (Marine transportation)
Hawaii -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Business records -- United States -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Circular letters -- United States -- 20th century
Reports -- United States -- 20th century
Clark, Dearborn
Cushing, John E.
Farley, Edward Philip, 1883-1966
Lapham, Lewis Abbot
Lapham, Roger D. (Roger Dearborn), 1883-1966
McPherson, Walter S.