Charles Barrie left the sea in 1882 he established a shipping company which, although never large, was to become very well respected, the Den Line of Dundee. Many years later, in 1966, Barrie’s company was to amalgamate with another local company, that of Boswell Nairn who opened a ship-broking office in Dundee in 1886. Today the firm of Barrie and Nairn is a leading member of the Dundee shipping community. Access to company records has allowed David Burrell to tell the companies’ stories in rare detail. The Den Line records Captain Barrie’s career at sea and the ship-owning era to 1923 during which 30 sailing ships and steamers were bought or built, including such famous names as the JUTEOPOLIS and LAWHILL. Nairn’s venture into ship-owning was on a smaller scale with just three ships between 1886 and 1908. 12 appendices record details of the partners’ Lloyds Agency and consular appointments, company data, a list of shareholders in the Barrie Shipping Co. Ltd. and the sources of the ships’ names. Voyage records of the ships INVERTAN and VULCAN illustrate typical trading patterns of the period. The Den Line’s 80 pages also include much material about the growth of Dundee and its jute trade. There are 42 illustrations, nine of them in colour, three builders’ plans and four pages from Barrie’s jute import book of 1878-79 and Nairn’s foreign consignment book of 1906.
Authors: D.C.E. Burrell
ISBN: 0-905617-59-2
Publication Date: March 1990
Member’s price: £1+p&p (£1.53 UK, £4.00 EU & Rest of the World)
Non-member’s price: £1.50+p&p (£1.53 UK, £4.00 EU & Rest of the World)