Today, the shipowner David MacBrayne (1817-1907) is just as well-known as Samuel Cunard. Red-funnelled ships which bear his name continue to operate in the West Highlands a century after his death.
In "The Kingdom of MacBrayne" the authors tell the story of David MacBrayne, his ships and his company, his predecessors, rivals and successors. They explores the world of the early steamships, their successes and failures, as well as their contribution to the ever-changing social fabric of the Highlands and Islands. In addition emigrants, tourists, ordinary travellers and crew members, from engineers to pursers, speak to us in their own words of the ships and their impact on their world.
Lavishly illustrated with drawings, paintings and photographs, and other memorabilia in black-and-white and colour, most of them shown here for the first time, this new and expanded edition of "The Kingdom of MacBrayne" is a magnificent celebration of the whole 'MacBrayne phenomenon' from its beginnings right up to the present day.
Contents:
Dedication
Preface
1. In the Beginning
2. Energy and Enterprise: David Hutcheson & Company
3. The Coming of the King: Railways, Foreign Aspirations and Second-hand Shire
4. The Lancefield Quay to Village Bay: The Steamships of John McCallum and
Martin Orme
5. The Edwardian Summers: Cruise Yachts and Paraffin Engines
6. War and Peace: The First World War and its Aftermath
7. Refloating the King: Investment and the Coast Lines' Pocket Liners
8. Rationalisation and Rebuilding: Post-war Austerity, Two Classic Nail-Ships
and Three Fat Ladies
9. Hebridean Vibrations: Remembering the 'Claymore' (1955)
10. The Great End-loading Rush: Car-ferries and the Making of Caledonian
MacBrayne
11. Changing Islands: The Impact of the Ships on Perspective, People and Place
12. Surveying the Kingdom: Past, Present - and Future
13. The Return of The King? Leasing Ships and Delivering Services
Appendix A. Profiles and Designs
Appendix B. Letters from McCallum and Orme and Western Ferries
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index of Ships
