Antique 1920's maritime steamship reference guide Brown's Flags and Funnels Of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge.. Published by Brown, Son, & Ferguson, Limited, Glasgow. Printed in Great Britain in 1929. by . Hardcover book, 37 pages of illustrations of steamship company flags and funnels + 19 page alphabetical index of steamship companies.  The book measures 9" x 5.25" (229mm x 133mm). 

The book is stamped inside with the original owner's stamp "United Fruit Company Steamships Division", and with the stamp of the 1920's bookseller "Kelvin-White Co. State St. Boston".

Condition:  The book is in overall fair plus to good condition.  There is noticeable wear, fraying, and splitting at the spine ends/joints, and internal hinge cracking (as visible in the endpaper photo), and weakening of the spine but there are no loose pages.The interior pages are in very good condition with some minor yellowing (see photos).

Synopsis: Brown's Flags and Funnels (1929) is a classic maritime reference guide compiled by Brown, Son & Ferguson that catalogs the distinctive house flags and funnel markings used by merchant shipping companies around the world during the early twentieth century. Intended for ship enthusiasts, sailors, port workers, and maritime professionals, the book illustrates hundreds of colorful flags and funnel designs alongside the names of the shipping lines that used them, making it possible to identify vessels at sea or in port at a glance. The 1929 edition captures the global commercial shipping industry during the interwar years, documenting many companies that have since merged, disappeared, or changed their branding.

More than simply an identification manual, Brown's Flags and Funnels serves as a valuable historical record of international maritime commerce. It reflects the diversity and reach of steamship companies operating in the late 1920s, including passenger liners, cargo carriers, and regional shipping firms from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Today, the book is prized by maritime historians, collectors, and model ship builders as an important snapshot of the world's merchant fleets just before the major changes caused by the Great Depression and World War 2.