Falkirk is a town in Scotland almost exactly midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is an old town. Parts of the Roman Antonine’s Wall pass through it, the battle of Falkirk took place in 1315, and Bannockburn is only just up the road. It is well known for the Carron Iron Works, Alexander’s buses, the Falkirk Bairns football club, and latterly, the Falkirk Wheel.
Falkirk was also the birthplace of Robert Dollar, and this is where our story starts. Robert Dollar was one of those remarkable Scottish/American entrepreneurs who left Scotland to make a fortune in the New World, in his case, lumber and shipping, and such was his dominance of the Pacific costal trade at one time, he was named “The Grand Old Man of the Pacific”.
He started in shipping to move his lumber and moved to carrying freight around the Pacific. Later he moved into passenger traffic. His ships were under the name of the Dollar Steamship Company, had a big “D” on their funnels, and issued several matchboxes featuring their vessels.
Later a big “$” was a feature. All labels were “Made in Japan”. except for the miniature $, which was made in Sweden. A label headed “Over Sea” was issued for the New Zealand market, and this label exists “Made in Japan”, and “Foreign Made”, and even overprinted “Made in Japan”, as shown. The “Foreign Made” label is scarce, and the overprint even more scarce. It appears as if they had an office in New Zealand.
Dollar was also associated financially with the American Mail Line, who issued a similar label. All these labels date from the 1930s.
The packet label is 111cm x 64, all box labels are 52 x 33, or 33 x 52 if vertical, except the American Mb ail Line with a yellow background, which is 54 x 35, and the miniatures are 38 x 23.
The line is now part of Singapore based NOL, which is owned by Temasek Holdings.
Falkirk Local History Society 