SS City of New York Archival Collection
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- City of New York (1888) Inman Line Ship's History (Brief)
- City of New York (1930) American-South African Line Ship's History (Brief)
- Passenger Lists
- Menus
- Photographs
- Route Maps, Track Charts, Abstract of Logs
- Back Cover Images
- Title Pages
- Advertisements
- Article: The Inman Line Steamer City of New York - 1896
City of New York (1888) Inman Line
The SS City of New York of the Inman Line (1888). GGA Image ID # 1dcdd61926
Built by J. & G. Thomson, Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 10,499. Dimensions: 528' x 63' (560' o.l.). Propulsion: Twin-screw, 20 knots. Triple expansion engines. Masts and Funnels: Three masts and three funnels. Launched: March 1888. Made 20.2 knots on her trials. One of the first steamships to be equipped with twin-screws. Note: The Notting Hill built in 1881 had twin-screws. Several of the early French Line steamers were converted from paddle-wheels to twin-screw prior to that date. Maiden voyage: Liverpool-New York, August 1, 1888. Renamed: (a) New York (1893), (b) Harvard (1898) United States Government, (c) New York (after Spanish-American War), (d) Plattsburg (1917) U. S. Govt., (e) New York (1920). Sold to Polish Navigation Company in 1921. Fate: Scrapped in Italy, 1923. Sister ship: City of Paris.
City of New York (1930) American-South African Line
MS City of New York of the American-South African Line, 1937. GGA Image ID # 1dcf9e6d4c
Built by Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa. Tonnage: 8,272. Dimensions: 450' x 61' (470' o.l.). Propulsion: Twin- screw, 14 knots. Motorship. Masts and Funnels: Two masts and one funnel. Fate: Torpedoed and sunk off the American coast in 1942. Note: A pioneer vessel in the New York-South African service, of an American shipping firm.
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1891-04-01 SS City of New York Passenger List
Steamship Line: Inman Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 1 April 1891
Route: Liverpool to New York
Commander: Captain Frederick Watkins, LT, R.N.R.
Notable Passengers: Philip Argall, Annie Besant, Marion Manola, and Francis Davis Millet.
1937-07-21 SS City of New York Passenger List
Steamship Line: American South African Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 21 July 1937
Route: Beira to New York via Lindi, Dar-Es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanga, Mombasa, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Capetown, and the Island of Trinidad
Commander: Captain C. W. Schmidt, Lt. Cmdr. USNR
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1937-09-01 MS City of New York Farewell Dinner Menu
Vintage Farewell Dinner Menu from Wednesday, 1 September 1937 on board the MS City of New York of the American South-African Line featured Filet Seventy Fours, Andaluse - Parisienne Potatoes, Frogs Legs Princesse, and Plum Pudding, Hard and Fruit Sauce for dessert. Contains list of Senior Officers.
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SS City of New York of the Inman Line Under Construction. Stern View, Showing Twin Screws. History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation, 1896. GGA Image ID # 1dcea6da60
Twin-Screws of the City of New York, Inman Line. History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation, 1896. GGA Image ID # 2125396dc2
The Main Dining Saloon, City of New York, Inman Line. History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation, 1896. GGA Image ID # 1e77c2f6fb
Bulkheads of the City of New York and City of Paris, Inman Line. The Atlantic Ferry, 1892. GGA Image ID # 1e781050b6
City of New York (1888) and City of Paris (1889), Inman and International Line. First Twin Screw Express Atlantic Liners. The Atlantic Ferry, 1892. GGA Image ID # 1e7818c9dd
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Back Cover Included a Map of the North Atlantic Ocean and Memorandum of Log (Unused), SS City of New York Saloon Class Passenger List, 1 April 1891. GGA Image ID # 2124c60003
Track Chart, Farewell Dinner Menu on the MS City of New York of the American South-African Line, Wednesday, 1 September 1937. GGA Image ID # 17148c9220
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Back Cover Images
The Inman & International Steam Ship Company's New Steamers - City of New York & City of Paris, 10,500 Tons on the Back Cover, SS City of Berlin Passenger List, 11 September 1889. GGA Image ID # 15da5bf5bb
Back Cover, SS City of New York Cabin Passenger List - 21 July 1937. GGA Image ID # 16d5a3c88a
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Title Page, SS City of New York Cabin Passenger List, 21 July 1937. GGA Image ID # 1f710b040f
Title Page, City of New York Farewell Dinner Menu, 1 September 1937. GGA Image ID # 1f718ea561
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Advertisement, Inman Line US and Royal Mail Steamers, New York, Queenstown, and Liverpool. From New York Every Wednesday. City of New York and City of Parsm 10,500 Tons Each. City of Berlin, 5,491 Tons. City of Chester, 4,770 Tons. Rates of Passage: First Cabin $50 and Upward; Intermediate $35 and $40 According to Steamer and Location of Accommodations; Steerage to and from Europe at Low Rates. Plans of Steamers, Sailing Dates and Other Information Useful to the Tourist, Furnished Upon Application. Notice.--First Cabin Round Trip Tickets are Issued at a Reduction of about Ten Percent, and the Return Portion is Available by the Red Star Line from Antwerp. International Navigation Co., General Agents, No. 6 Bowling Green, New York. Cook's Excursionists and Tourist Advertiser, December 1892. GGA Image ID # 1e7781cb2d
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The City of New York commenced running in 1888, and the City of Paris in the spring of 1889. The Paris Exhibition of 1889 gave them a splendid business, and both were fine with a lack of attention from the United States press and the Telegraph Companies.
The City of New York was initially somewhat disappointed about speed owing to a defective air pump. Still, ultimately she made a record of 5 days, 19 hours, and 57 minutes from Sandy Hook to Queenstown (28.14 knots), being the first to do it under six days.
The City of Paris, from the first, proved herself to be a faster boat than her sister ship. In August 1889, she made a record from Queenstown to Sandy Hook of 5 days, 19 hours, and 18 minutes ( 27.88 knots).
This she gradually reduced until, in October 1892, she did it in 5 days, 14 hours, and 24 minutes (27.82 knots); this was not only the fastest passage ever made up to that time, but it continued so until beaten by the Lucania in October 1893.
The accommodation throughout is superb. The staterooms are large, lofty, and well-ventilated by fans and patent ventilators, which always admit fresh air, but exclude the sea. Single and double beds can be closed daily, as in a Pullman car, converting your room into a cozy little sitting room.
Instead of the rattling, noisy water jugs, you turn a tap and get a supply of hot or cold water; you touch a button, and your steward instantly appears without a word being spoken. Neat wardrobes enable you to banish your portmanteaus or trunks to the baggage room; you turn a switch and get an electric light, and if you want a nap or wish to retire early, you can turn it off in a moment.
If you have plenty of spare cash and are willing to part with some of it, forty rooms on the promenade and saloon decks are arranged in fourteen suites. Each suite comprises a bedroom with a brass bedstead, wardrobe, etc., a sitting room with a sofa, easy chair, table, a private lavatory, and, in most cases, a private bath. Here you can entertain your friends or enjoy a game in privacy. You can have the luxury of a morning bath and a promenade some 400 feet long.
To diminish sea sickness, you dine in a saloon near the middle of the ship, beautifully decorated with naiads, dolphins, tritons, and mermaids, lofty and bright. The arched roof is of glass, 53 feet by 25 feet, and its height from the floor of the saloon to its crown is 20 feet.
Besides the long dining tables in the center, many small ones are placed in alcoves on both sides for the use of families or parties of friends; revolving arm-chairs replace the benches, and electric lights the candlesticks with their lashings.
If you enjoy a cigar or a pipe, a luxurious smoking room, 45 feet long, is provided; its walls and ceiling are paneled in black walnut, and its couches and chairs are covered with scarlet leather.
There is an elegant "drawing room" beautifully decorated and luxuriously furnished. The " library " with its 900 volumes is lined with oak wainscoting, with the names of distinguished authors carved on it in scrolls, and its stained glass windows inscribed with quotations from poems referring to the sea.
The kitchen is isolated in a steel shell, the odors from which are carried off by ventilating shafts into the funnels.
The second cabin passengers are placed in the after-part of the ship, where they have a dining room, smoking room, piano, &c. The steerage passengers are also well provided for, having no less than 300,000) cubic feet of space.
Provision, too, is made for divine service on the Sabbath day; at each end of the saloon, there is an oriel window built under the glass dome over the dining saloon. The casement of one of these serves as a pulpit. The opposite contains an organ, and many famous organists and vocalists have taken part in the services and musical entertainments given weekly for charitable objects.
In truth, the ships were fitted with luxury and magnificence unequaled at the time and are said to have cost two million dollars each.
Henry Fry, "Inman Line: City of New York," in The History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation, With Some Account of Early Ships and Shipowners, London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company Limited, 1896: 121-126.
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