Lion Rampant Duncan Dunbar and the Age of Sail (Hard Copy)

Follow the rise of Duncan Dunbar from Thames wharf to prominence as one of England’s greatest shipbuilders and shipowners, boasting a fleet larger than the Royal Navy’s and a presence that was global.

A third of all arrivals to Australasia were on Dunbar’s ships, with his ships also present at the Crimea, Indian Rebellion and Second Opium Wars. With an agent in every port and a house flag recognised on the seven seas, he also founded insurance companies and banks. In the day, his name was as recognisable as Cunard and P&O.

Moving in elite circles, his contemporaries included Jardine, Matheson, Rothschild, Lord Panmure, Baring, Hankey and several prime ministers including Gladstone.

At the time of his death in 1862, his estate was estimated at £1,600,000, (more than £61,600,000 in today’s money), the third largest Probate ever granted in England.