Cunard Line / The British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company / Cunard Steamship Company, Limited

Founded in 1840 as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the name was changed to the Cunard Steamship Company, Limited in 1878 but that was soon shortened to the Cunard Line. The first trip was made by the Britannia on July 4, 1840, in 14 days and 8 hours. Cunard sailed from Liverpool to New York and Boston with a stop, for some years in Halifax. Queenstown was also added to the route for the mail service.

By the 1880s, the voyage was taking less than 6 days, in the faster ships, from Liverpool to New York. Cunard also added routes to various other countries. They ran weekly, sailing on Saturday, with their mail vessels and fortnightly, sailing on Tuesdays, with other vessels.

In 1934 the Cunard and White Star Lines were merged forming Cunard-White Star Limited but White Star ships continued to sail under their own livery and are included in the White Star Line fleet list. Another name change took place in 1949 to the Cunard Steam-Ship Company Limited and, in 1962, to Cunard Line Limited. The rise in popularity of air travel caused the demise of transatlantic passenger ship travel and Cunard concentrated on pleasure cruising and cargo operations after 1970.

The British & Foreign Steam Navigation Co was formed in 1855 by Cunard investors into which they consolidated all their Mediterranean activities. The eight ships which were passed into the ownership of the new concern were - ALPS, ANDES, BRITISH QUEEN, DAMASCUS, LEBANON, KARNAK, TENERIFFE and TAURUS. For the purpose of this list, they have been included as Cunard ships.

Many thanks to Ted Finch for his assistance in collecting this data. The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide. If you would like to know more about a vessel, visit the Ship Descriptions (onsite) or Immigrant Ship web site.

Routes: 1840 Liverpool - Halifax - Boston (with feeder services Quebec - Pictou - stage - Halifax) 1847           Liverpool - Boston - New York 1851-1966 Liverpool - New York. 1853-1978 Liverpool - Gibraltar - Malta - Mediterranean ports. 1858-1870 Connecting service New York - Nassau - Havana - West Indies. 1859          Queenstown (Cobh) calls commenced. 1872-1874 Glasgow - West Indies. 1911-1966 Southampton - Quebec - Montreal. 1913-1966 Liverpool - Quebec - Montreal. 1919-1978 Southampton - Cherbourg - New York. 1922-1940 London - Southampton - New York. Occasional calls at Hamburg, Rotterdam. Antwerp, Bristol, Fishguard, Glasgow and Belfast. Funnel: Red with two or three narrow black bands and black top Fleet:

Ad for Cunard From The Atlantic Ferry, by A. Maginnis, 1892 (dated 1854), pp 249-251

British and North American Royal Mail Steamships [now the Cunard Line]
Appointed by the Admiralty
To Sail Between
Liverpool and New York (Direct)
and Between
Liverpool and Boston,
The Boston Ships only Calling at Halifax to land and receive
Passengers and Her Majesty's Mails.

	Captain		Captain
Arabia	C.H.E. Judkins	Africa	Wm. Harrison
Persia	Alex. Ryrie	America	W.J.C. Lang
Asia	Edwd. G. Lott.	Niagara	John Leitch
Canada	James Stone	Europa	Neil Shannon
Cambria		Captain W. Douglas

The under-noted or other Vessels are appointed to Sail

The Passengers and Goods for New York are intended
to be landed at Jersey City, within the jurisdiction
of the Custom-house of New York.

Chief-Cabin Passage to Halifax and Boston, £25.
Second-Cabin Passage, £15.
Chief-Cabin Passage to New York, £30.
Second-Cabin Passage, £20. These Rates include
Steward's Fee and Provisions, but without
Wines or Liquors, which can be obtained on Board.

Dogs charged £5 each.

These Steamships have accommodation for a limited
number of Second-Cabin Passengers.

Apply, in Halifax, to Samuel Cunard:
in Boston, to S.S. Lewis;
in New York, to Edward Cunard;
in Havre and Paris, to Donald Currie;
in London, to J.B. Foord, 52, Old Broad Street;
in Glasgow, to G. and J. Burns; and
in Liverpool to D.and C. Mac Iver, 14, Water Street.

Note:-All letters and newspapers intended to be sent by
these Vessels must pass through the Post Office,
and none will be received at the Agents' Office.

The Owners of these Ships will not be accountable for
Gold, Silver, Bullion, Specie, Jewellery, Precious Stones,
or Metals, unless Bills of Lading are signed therefor,
and the value thereof therein expressed.

Passengers will be charged Freight on their personal
Luggage when it exceeds Half-a-Ton Measurement.

To prevent disappointment or difficulty, Passengers are
respectfully informed that Packages of Merchandise
will not be allowed to be shipped as Luggage, or with their Luggage.

Passengers are not permitted to go on board
by the Steamer that takes the Mail.

Parcels will be received at the office of the Agents
here until Six o'clock on the Friday Evenings previous to Sailing.

The Canada, for Halifax and Boston, will start on Saturday
next, the 22^nd instant [July, 1854].
The Steam-tender Satellite will leave the Landing-Stage,
opposite the Baths, George's Pier, at Eight o'clock,
morning, of that day, with the Passengers for the Canada.

Cargo for the Alps is now being received at the Huskisson Dock, according to priority of arrival.
Steam To New York And (via Jamaica) To Chagres.
The undernoted or other first class Screw Steamships will sail
From Liverpool For New York,

Once a Month until further notice, the extended service being Twice a Month, when the Ships now building are completed:

Passage Money to Boston, beyond which Port Passengers cannot be booked, £18, including Provisions and Steward's Fees, but without Wines or Liquors, which can be obtained on board.

Freight on Fine Goods to America, £3 per Ton Measurement; other Goods by Agreement. Freight will be collected in America at the rate of $4.80 to the Pound Sterling.

Apply in Halifax to Samuel Cunard; in Boston to S.S. Lewis; in New York to Edward Cunard; in Havre and Paris to Donald Currie; in London to J.B. Foord, 52, Old Broad Street; in Glasgow to George and James Burns; or in Liverpool to D. and C. MacIver, 14, Water Street.

As soon as Goods are going for Canada, and any quantity offer for Portland, these Vessels will call there.

Victualling Requirements and Stores of an Atlantic Liner

The following interesting particulars, for the year 1886, of the victuals put on board a Cunard liner for the round voyage, and also of the staff employed by the Company, are given in the "Life of Sir George Burns," by Edwin Hodder, 1890; these figures must now be considerably increased owing to the continued expansion of the traffic:--

"For a single passage to America the Etruria, with 547 cabin passengers and a crew of 287 persons on board, carries the following quantities of provisions:-12,550 lbs. fresh beef, 760 lbs. corned beef, 5,320 lbs. mutton, 850 lbs. lamb, 350 lbs. veal, 350 lbs. pork, 2,000 lbs. fresh fish, 600 fowls, 300 chickens, 100 ducks, 50 geese, 80 turkeys, 200 brace grouse, 15 tons potatoes, 30 hampers of vegetables, 220 quarts ice cream, 1,000 quarts of milk, and 11,500 eggs (or at the rate of one egg per minute from the time the ship sails from Liverpool until her arrival in New York.

"The quantities of wines, spirits, beer, etc., put on board for consumption on the round voyage, comprise 1,100 bottles champagne, 850 bottles claret, 6,000 bottles ale, 2,500 bottles porter, 4,500 bottles mineral waters, 650 bottles various spirits.

"Crockery is broken very extensively, being at the rate of 900 plates, 280 cups, 438 saucers, 1,213 tumblers, 200 wine-glasses, 27 decanters, and 63 water-bottles in a single voyage.

"As regards the consumption on board the whole Cunard fleet for one year, the figures seem almost fabulous:-4,656 sheep, 1,800 lambs, 2,474 oxen are consumed-an array of flocks and herds surpassing in extent the possessions of many a pastoral patriarch of ancient times-besides 24,075 fowls, 4,230 ducks, 2,200 turkeys, 2,200 geese, 53 tons of ham, 20 tons bacon, 15 tons cheese, and 832,603 eggs.

"Other articles are in extensive demand, and in the course of a year there is consumed:-one ton and a half of mustard, one ton and three quarters of pepper, 7,216 bottles pickles, 8,000 tins sardines, 33 tons salt cod and ling, 4,192 four-lb. Jars of jam, 15 tons marmalade, 22 tons raisins, currants, and figs, 18 tons split peas, 15 tons pearl barley, 17 tons rice, 34 tons oatmeal, 460 tons flour, 23 tons biscuits, 33 tons salt, 48,902 loaves of bread 8lbs. each.

"The Cunard passengers annually drink and smoke to the following extent:-8,030 bottles and 17,613 half-bottles champagne, 13,941 bottles and 7,310 half-bottles claret, 9,200 bottles other wines, 489,344 bottles ale and porter, 174,921 bottles mineral waters, 344,000 bottles spirits; 34,360 lbs. tobacco, 63,340 cigars, and 56,875 cigarettes.

"The heaviest item in the annual consumption of the Company is of course coal, of which 356,764 tons are burnt-nearly equal to 1,000 tons for every day in the year.

"This quantity of coal, if built as a wall four feet high and one foot thick, would reach from Land's End to John o'Groats' House.

"With regard to the aggregate employment of labour by the Cunard Company, it includes 34 captains, 146 officers, 628 engineers, boilermakers, and carpenters, 665 seamen, 916 firemen, 900 stewards, 62 stewardesses, 42 women to keep the upholstery and linen in order, with 1,100 men of a shore gang, or about 4,506 people to run the ships, which traverse yearly a distance equal to five times that between the earth and the moon!"

pp. 294-5 of Atlantic Ferry, Maginnis, 1892

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