Mariners' memorabilia : a guide to the china of British shipping companies of the 19th and 20th centuries, volume 3 /Peter Laister.

"This book, the third in a series of four volumes, deals mostly with British coastal companies and a miscellaneous selection of foreign deep sea companies, together with two earlier volumes, is an attempt to illustrate examples of china used on board British merchant ships and covers the period from the beginning of the 19th century, through to the end of the 20th century. It also gives brief historical details of the companies themselves and the trades in which they were involved. Information about identifying patterns of china and details of the manufacturers are included. It also covers the difficulty of identification of china that is only marked with a monogram, initials, or a house flag. A total of 48 companies are dealt with individually and, in total, 226 companies are mentioned in the comprehensive index. These companies were so important to the lifeblood of the United Kingdom and traded to all parts of the world. Sadly, with one or two rare exceptions, they now remain only in memory. Whilst the name 'British' forms part of the title, the book also includes shipping companies that were owned in other parts of the world, these companies being of great importance to, what used to be the British Empire. Both the author and his wife are ex seafarers and met on the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company's vessel, 'STIRLING CASTLE', on the weekly mail service from Southampton to Cape Town in the 1950s, when he was a Deck Officer and she, a Children's Hostess."--Provided by the publisher.