This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

A. Kirsten (German Shipping Company)

Hamburg-London Linie A. Kirsten & Co.

Last modified: 2012-06-26 by german editorial team
Keywords: kirsten | hamburg-london linie |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors


[A. Kirsten] image by Jarig Bakker, 3 Jul 2004 See also:

A. Kirsten

This is a Hamburg based company 1899 - 1969. Triangular flag, divided vertically into 5 red and 4 white stripes. From Ships and the Sea, Talbot-Booth, c.1936.
David Prothero, 4 Sep 2000

A. Kirsten. I have traced the company originated by Adolf Kirsten from 1895 (shown by Griffin of that date) through Lloyds to at least 1980 and up until the mid 1970s they are also shown as Hamburg-London Linie A. Kirsten & Co., A. Kirsten & Co. and Rhein-See- Schiffahrtges.
A. Kirsten & Co. As far as I can make out they all used the same livery and the vessel names all ended in "a".
Neale Rosanoski, 3 Jan 2003

A. Kirsten, Hamburg - the flagchart of the Amsterdam harbour has the same flag for the "Amsterdam-Hamburg Linie", guess it's the same company
Jarig Bakker, 3 Jul 2004

This newspaper? clipping (source, date, and author "Dr.Ko." unknown - obviously part of a series) offers additional information: In Sept.1854 the sons of shipbroker H.F. Kirsten flew a pennant with five red and four white stripes on their yacht during a regatta. It is assumed these stripes referred to the Hamburg colours.
In 1867, A. Kirsten adopted this pennant for his shipping company. Sailors gave it various nicknames, referring to striped bacon or the bathing costumes of the day.
Jan Mertens, 24 Sep 2010

A. Kirsten - Hamburg-London Linie

[A. Kirsten flag] image by Eugene Ipavec, 24 Aug 2008

Apparently Adolf Kirsten with Talbot-Booth stating that they were steamship owners from 1867 and they were still listed in Lloyds in 1980 before disappearing from the scene. Sources seem split as to whether the flag was a triangular rectangle or a proper pennant with the German sources plumping for the former. They also appear to have operated as the Hamburg-London Linie, formed 1928, with a different version of a similarly striped rectangular flag . After WW2 the latter seems to have become Hamburg-London Linie - A. Kirsten A Co. but indications are that only the pennant version was then used, likewise for Rhein-See Schiffartsgesellshaft A. Kirsten & Co. K.G.
Neale Rosanoski, 13 Oct 2004

back to K-companies main page click here