Booth Line, shipowners

From the Guide to the Records of Merseyside Maritime Museum, volume 1: Booth Line. After a business apprenticeship with Lamport and Holt and then as a leather merchant, Alfred Booth, with his brother Charles, started a two ship steam service from Liverpool to north Brazil and the Amazon in 1866. In 1881 it became a limited company with a substantial Holt (Ocean) shareholding; and by 1903 it dominated the Amazon trade after taking over the Red Cross Line and the Liverpool and Maranharn S.S. Co. Its cruises up the Amazon were a popular feature. Their fleet was reduced to four ships through enemy action during the Second World War and in 1946 it was taken over by the Vestey Group. It continued to run to north Brazil with chartered tonnage until 1989. The bulk of its records are currently held in the Liverpool Record Office. The museum holds four models of its ships including the Lanfranc of 1884 and some paintings of the Line's Amazon cruises. For further details see the attached catalogue or contact The Archives Centre for a copy of the catalogue.