Inman Line

The Inman Line which operated from 1850 until its 1893 absorption into American Line, was one of the three largest 19th century British passenger shipping companies on the North Atlantic, along with the White Star Line and Cunard Line . The firm's formal name for much of its history was the Liverpool, Philadelphia and New York Steamship Company, but it was also variously known as the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steamship Company, as Inman Steamship Company, Limited, and, for the last few years before absorption into the American Line, as the Inman and International Steamship Company.

By embracing new technology, the Inman Line was the first to show that unsubsidized ocean liners could profitably operate on the North Atlantic. With its first steamer, City of Glasgow of 1850, Inman led the drive to replace wood-hulled paddle steamers with iron-hulled ships equipped with screw propulsion. In 1852, Inman also established that steerage passengers could be transported in steamships. Inman's City of Paris of 1866 was the first screw liner that could match the speed of the paddlers. By 1870, Inman landed more passengers in New York than any other line. In 1886, the American-owned International Navigation Company purchased the Inman line and started renewal of the express fleet with two Blue Riband winners, City of New York and the second City of Paris, ushering in the double screw era that ended the need for auxiliary sails.