SS Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse Archival Collection

SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen (North German Lloyd). Cassiers Magazine, January 1898. GGA Image ID # 1d76298aed

Content Links

• Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) North German Lloyd Ship's History (Brief)
• Passenger Lists
• Menus
• Sailing Schedules
• Title Pages
• Senior Officers and Staff
• Photographs
• Books Referencing the SS Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse
• Illustrations and Paintings
• Postcards
• Luggage Tags

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) North German Lloyd

Built by "Vulkan", Stettin, Germany. Tonnage: 14,349. Dimensions: 627' x 66' (648' o.l.). Propulsion: Twin-screw, 22 1/2 knots. Triple expansion engines; 14 boilers; 104 furnaces. Masts and Funnels: Two masts and four funnels. Launched March 4, 1897. Displacement of 23,760 tons. Coal Consumption: To obtain 22 1/2 knots she consumed 22 tons of coal per hour. Passengers: 332 first, 343 second, 1,074 third. Maiden voyage: Bremen-Southampton-New York, September 19, 1897, doing the crossing in the record time of 5 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes. Best days' run was 580 nautical miles. Pier Fire: Involved in the great dock fire at Hoboken, June 30, 1900, but managed to be towed away from the blazing piers, thus escaping damage. WW1 Service: Fitted out as a commerce raider at beginning of First World War. Fate: She was destroyed by the gunfire of the British cruiser Highflyer at Rio de Oro (Spanish Colony), August 27, 1914. Running mates: Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kronprinzessin Cecilie.

Passenger Lists

Menus

Sailing Schedules

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-New York, Bremen-Baltimore, and Bremen-Galveston, from 6 October 1903 to 13 December 1904. Ships Included the Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Friedrich der Grosse, Grosser Kurfürst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Köln, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Oldenburg, Rhein, and Willehad. SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 1ebbf5ff3c. Click to View Larger Image.

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 24 December 1904 to 18 June 1905. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Grosser Kurfurst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Prinzess Alice, and Rhein. North German Lloyd Bulletin, January 1905. GGA Image ID # 1eeab8ebe7

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-New York, from 16 May 1905 to 7 November 1905. Ships Included the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Kronprinz Wilhelm. SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse First and Second Class Passenger List, 23 May 1905. GGA Image ID # 21083b4d39

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 19 September 1905 to 25 March 1906. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Brandenburg, Bremen, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Gorsse, Grosser Kurfurst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Gorsse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Oldenburg, and Rhein. North German Lloyd Bulletin, October 1905. GGA Image ID # 1eeb04fb9e

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 13 March 1906 to 24 August 1906. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Frankfurt, Friedrich der Grosse, Grosser Kurfurst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilehlm, Prinzess Alice, Rhein, and Trave. North German Lloyd Bulletin, March 1906. GGA Image ID # 1eeb93d276

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York, from 23 October 1906 to 12 November 1907. Ships Included the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, and Kronprinzessin Cecilie. SS Bremen Passenger List, 27 October 1906. GGA Image ID # 213ddb0867

Sailing Schedule, Genoa-New York-Genoa, from 5 October 1906 to 24 May 1907. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiser Wilehlm der Grosse, König Albert, Königin Luise, Neckar, and Prinzess Irene. SS Bremen Passenger List, 27 October 1906. GGA Image ID # 2141608721

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen. Mediterranean Service: Genoa-Naples-Gibraltar-New York and New York-Gibraltar-Naples-Genoa, from 1 November 1906 to 23 April 1907. Ships Included the Brandenburg, Breslau, Cassel, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Grosse, Grosser Kurfurst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Rhein, Wittekind, and Yorck. North German Lloyd Bulletin, December 1906. GGA Image ID # 1eebb9208d

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York, Twin-Screw Express Mail Steamers, from 26 March 1907 to 10 December 1907. Ships Included the Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Kronprinzessin Cecilie. SS Chemnitz Passenger List, 6 April 1907. GGA Image ID # 1f762f3062

Proposed Sailings, Europe-New York, from 21 January 1908 to 23 June 1908, and Mediterranean Sailings from 23 January to 10 October 1908. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Bremen, Buelow, Friedrich der Gross, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Gross, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Knoenig Albert, Koenigin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, Luetzow, Main, Necktar, Prinzess Irene, Rhein, Roon, and Scharnhorst. North German Lloyd Bulletin, February 1908. GGA Image ID # 1dde6667a4. Click to View Larger Image.

Attention is drawn to the fact that the steamers of the company running between GENOA and NEW YORK, which almost without exception touch at NAPLES, afford an opportunity of making the voyage from Genoa to Naples and vice versa. The steamers also touch at GIBRALTAR on the outward and homeward trips. Some weeks before starting, it can be determined whether there are berths vacant for the voyage to Naples or Gibraltar. The North German Lloyd is. However, in no way responsible if any of the steamers in question: do not start or if the departure is postponed. Potential passengers must likewise apply for passage on these steamers to Messrs. LEUPOLD FRATELLI, GENOA, 10 Piazza San Siro.

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York, New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, Genoa-Naples-Gibraltar-New York, and New York-Gibraltar-Naples-Genoa, from 9 December 1908 to 23 July 1909. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Berlin, Brandenburg, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Grosse, Gneisenau, Grosser Kurfurst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Koenig Albert, Koenigin Luise, Kronprinzessin Cicilie, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Prinzess Irene, Rhein, Yorck, and Zieten. North German Lloyd Bulletin, January 1909. GGA Image ID # 1f519dd3c6. Click to View Larger Image.

Sailing Schedules, (A) Twin-Screw Mail Steamers, Bremen-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 14 March 1911 to 14 August 1911, (B) Barbarossa Class Twin-Screw Mail Steamers and Mail Steamers, Bremen-Boulogne-sur-Mer-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York and New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Bremen, from 11 March 1911 to 31 July 1911. Ships Included Barbarossa, Bremen, George Washington, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Königin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Rhein, and Roon. Ocean Gazette, Kaiser Wilhelm II Edition, 9 April 1911. GGA Image ID # 1ebbaab891

Proposed Sailings, Bremen-New York and New York-Mediterranean Services, from 10 November 1911 to 13 September 1912. Ships Included the Baarbarossa, Berlin, Bremen, Breslau, Chemnitz, George Washington, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Koenig Albert, Koenigin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Prinzess Irene, and Rhein. North German Lloyd Bulletin, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 1e304c62cd. Click to View Larger Image.

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-New York, from 6 January 1912 to 10 September 1912. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Berlin, Bremen, Breslau, Chemnitz, Friedrich der Grosse, George Washington, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, König Albert, Königin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cicilie, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Prinzess Irene, and Rhein. SS Berlin First and Second Cabin Passenger List, 20 January 1912. GGA Image ID # 20d7a7de48. Click to View Larger Image.

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Boulogne-Southampton-New York and New York-Plymouth, Cherbourg-Bremen, from 11 October 1913 to 7 February 1914. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Bremen, Friedrich der Grosse, George Washington, Grosser Kurfürst, Hannover, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, König Albert, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, Main, Neckar, Prinz Friedrick Wilhelm, Rhein, and Scharnhorst. SS Grosser Kurfürst Passenger List, 8 November 1913. GGA Image ID # 1f66b98b01. Click to View Larger Image.

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Boulogne-Southampton-New York and New York-Plymouth, Cherbourg-Bremen, from 18 January 1914 to 8 June 1914. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Bremen, George Washington, Gneisenau, Grosser Kurfürst, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, König Albert, Prinz Friedrick Wilhelm, and Seydlitz. SS Grosser Kurfürst Passenger List, 8 Novmeber 1913. GGA Image ID # 1f67b544a2

Sailing Schedule, Bremen-Boulogne-Southampton-New York and New York-Plymouth, Cherbourg-Bremen, from 19 May 1914 to 29 September 1914. Ships Included the Barbarossa, Berlin, Bremen, Friedrich der Grosse, George Washington, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Königin Luise, Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kronprinzessin Cecilie, and Prinz Friederich Wilhelm. SS Grosser Kurfürst Passenger List, 8 Novmeber 1913. GGA Image ID # 1f67d45296

Title Pages

Title Page, SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Cabin Passenger List, 19 February 1901. GGA Image ID # 20dc3d9a01

Title Page, SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse First and Second Class Passenger List, 23 May 1905. GGA Image ID # 210802ae4c

Senior Officers and Staff

List of Senior Officers and Staff, SS Kaiser Wilehlm der Grosse Cabin Passenger List, 19 February 1901. GGA Image ID # 20dc413455

Senior Officers and Staff, General Agents, and Sea Post Officer. An Bord Befindet Sich Ein Deutsch-Amerikanisches See-Postamt / There Is a German-American Maritime Post Office on Board. SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse First and Second Class Passenger List, 23 May 1905. GGA Image ID # 210830eff3

Photographs

Passengers Gather on the Promenade Deck of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897). Cassier's Magazine, January 1898. GGA Image ID # 1d785ea8a6

First Cabin Pantry on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897). Cassier's Magazine, January 1898. GGA Image ID # 1d787260d7

View of a Kitchen on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897). Cassier's Magazine, January 1898. GGA Image ID # 1d787844cc

Twin-Screw Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse of the Norddeutscher Lloyd. 14,000 Tons Reg. Spped: 22-25 Knots Maintaining the World Speed Record. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de051eab0

View from the Bridge Deck on the Express Steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de0591674

First Class Dining Saloon on the SS Kaiser Wilhlem der Grosse. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de09dbd97

First Class Drawing Room on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de0c65e48

First Class Ladies Room on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de0cd5644

First Class Promenade Deck on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de0fd97df

View of the Screws on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grossse. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de1180b8d

First Class Smoking Room on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Guide Through North and Central America, April 1898. GGA Image ID # 1de11ffd3d

SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) North German Lloyd. Original Photo by Daniel Chiswick. GGA Image ID # 1d78bdf15b

View of Smoking Room on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Gross of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen (North German Lloyd) circa 1900. Detroit Publishing Company Photochrome. Library of Congress LC # 2002720828. GGA Image ID # 1d6f886bb2

First Class Reading Room on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd. GGA Image ID # 1d7671a7ce

First Class Community Room on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen. GGA Image ID # 1d772a054a

First Class Dining Saloon on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd. GGA Image ID # 1d7743e808

Group of Part of the Crew of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, 1900. GGA Image ID # 1e973d83d8

The Fight Between the SS Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse and the SS Highflyer on 26 August 1914 Viewed From the Highflyer. Painting by Norman Wilkinson. Library of Congress LC # 2004671800. GGA Image ID # 1d76471689

Books Referencing the SS Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse

Guide Through North & Central America (Norddeutscher Lloyd) - 1898

🎩 “A Grand Tour by Steamship: Exploring the Americas with North German Lloyd”

Published in April 1898 by J. Reichmann & Cantor of Berlin and New York, the Guide Through North & Central America was more than a simple travel manual. Lavishly illustrated and distributed as a souvenir for passengers aboard North German Lloyd (NDL) steamships, it provided a snapshot of late 19th-century transatlantic tourism, immigration, and shipping excellence.

Intended as a companion piece to NDL’s acclaimed European guide, this first edition introduces readers to the cultural, geographic, and infrastructural wonders of the United States (and parts of Canada and Mexico in future editions). It captured the era of grand steamship travel, a time when visiting Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon involved weeks of planning and intercontinental coordination.

Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume One, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails

🌍 Transatlantic Titans: The Rise of Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Transformation of Ocean Travel (1857–1918)

Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970, Volume 1 by Edwin Drechsel is a meticulously researched chronicle of the origins and golden age of the Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), one of the most important steamship lines in global maritime history.

The book covers:

• The founding of NDL in 1857 by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann
• The transition from sail to steam, paddle to screw propulsion
• The increasing demand for transatlantic mail and passenger service
• The NDL’s competition with British lines for speed, prestige, and the Blue Riband
• The line’s crucial role in transporting millions of emigrants to North America
• Its involvement in global mail and freight services
• The impact of World War I on German shipping and commerce

Volume 1 concludes just before or during the war years that halted NDL’s rapid rise.

Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume Two, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails

Winds of Change: Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Final Era of Ocean Travel (1920–1970)

The second volume of Edwin Drechsel’s monumental work Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970 picks up in the aftermath of World War I, tracing five tumultuous decades through:

🌊 Postwar decline and slow recovery

🚢 The interwar years and the Blue Riband triumph of the Bremen (1929)

📉 The Great Depression’s toll on ocean travel

🌍 The transformation of global shipping under the shadow of WWII

🧱 Postwar reconstruction and the decline of passenger liners

📦 The pivot to container freight and the 1970 merger with HAPAG

Drechsel, drawing on his personal ties (his father was a North German Lloyd captain), maritime journalism background, and deep expertise in ship mails and German liner history, delivers a book that is both richly detailed and profoundly human.

Passenger Ships of the World - 1963

🎓 “A Global Voyage Through Steamship History for Historians, Genealogists, and Maritime Enthusiasts”

Eugene W. Smith’s Passenger Ships of the World – Past and Present (1963) is a masterfully curated encyclopedic reference that charts the rise, peak, and transformation of ocean-going passenger ships through nearly two centuries. Expanding upon his earlier Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific works, Smith offers a global maritime panorama that includes ships serving the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Oceania, as well as Canal routes and California-Hawaii shuttle lines.

🧭 This book is an essential resource for:

• Maritime historians seeking design evolution and fleet data
• Genealogists tracing voyages and shipping lines
• Educators and students studying transoceanic migration and tourism
• Ship modelers, naval architects, and enthusiasts interested in dimensions, tonnage, and speed

Illustrations and Paintings

Dinner Menu Cover, 1901, from the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) of the North German Lloyd. Version A. GGA Image ID # 1d77a2111f

Dinner Menu Cover, 1901, from the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd. Version B. GGA Image ID # 1d77ad7eed

Dinner Menu Cover, 1901, from the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen. Version C. GGA Image ID # 1d77bc6a01

Poster from the Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, Featuring the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, ca 1903. Painting by Themistokles von Eckenbrecher (1842-1921). GGA Image ID # 1d7820044c

SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, America, East Asia, and Australia Poster of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, c1905. GGA Image ID # 1e96161961

Postcards

Schnelldampfer Kaiser Wilhelm der Große Norddeutscher Lloyd. Länge 197 m, Breite 20,1 m, Tiefgang 8,69m, 2 Maschinen von zuszmmen 28,000 P.H. Geschwindigkeit durchachnittlich 23 Seemeilen. Express Steamer Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse of the North German Lloyd. Length 197 m, width 20.1 m, draft 8.69 m, 2 Machines with a total of 28,000 HP. Average speed 23 knots. Postcard ca 1910. GGA Image ID # 1d76dada48

Back Cover Images

Back Cover, SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Passenger List, 19 February 1901. GGA Image ID # 1de14d30d4

Back Cover, North German Lloyd SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Cabin Class Passenger List - 13 August 1901. GGA Image ID # 13fb9b7102

Back Cover, North German Lloyd SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Cabin Passenger List - 30 June 1903. GGA Image ID # 13fb1ff599

Back Cover, SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse First and Second Class Passenger List, 23 May 1905. GGA Image ID # 210936202a

Luggage Tags