Collins Line
| New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company | |
| Ocean-going transport | |
| Fate | Bankrupt following recession and termination of government subsidy. |
| Founded | 1818 |
| Founder | Israel Collins, Edward Knight Collins |
| Defunct | 1858 |
| Headquarters | New York |
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Area served
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Routes: Transatlantic, Gulf of Mexico Ports of call: Liverpool, New Orleans, Veracruz |
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Key people
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Bankers: Brown Bros. & Co. |
| Services |
Shipping company |
| Ships owned | Arctic, Baltic, Pacific, two others. |
| Competitors | Cunard Line |
| Govt contracts | Mail contract |
| Govt subsidies | $385,000 annually (occasionally more) |
Shipping company
The Collins Line is the common name for the American shipping company started by Israel Collins and then built up by his son Edward Knight Collins, formally called the New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company. Under Edward Collins' guidance, the company grew to be a serious competitor on the transatlantic routes to the British Cunard shipping company.
The Collins Line, as it was commonly known at the time, were the ships and lines run by the shipping company, I. G. Collins (later I. G. Collins and Son). Israel Collins had left the sea in 1818 to establish the shipping company in New York City. The firm traded in a fairly small way. In 1824, Israel was joined by his son Edward. In January 1825, Edward took advantage of a cotton shortage in England to charter a schooner in order to get to Charleston, South Carolina, ahead of his competitors and corner the market in cotton. This was the turning point in the company. In 1827, the company started a line of packets sailing between New York and Veracruz on the Mexican coast. The line prospered. Israel Collins died in 1831, and Edward took over management of a New York-New Orleans packet line. He made a great success of this venture as well.
Up until 1835 the company had not seriously competed in the transatlantic trade, but in that year it received a new ship, the Shakspeare. The ship was dispatched to Liverpool and returned with the largest cargo yet brought to New York. From then on, the company was a serious competitor for the transatlantic trade. At that time, all of the competing shipping firms were American. Collins' ships predominantly carried cotton for the English cotton industry. The firm continued to commission the largest ships that it could, and three vessels, Garrick, Sheridan, and Siddons, were added to the fleet. In 1838 the 1,030-ton Roscius was added, larger than any competitor. At that time, Collins' main rival was the Black Ball Line, also of New York.
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