About this collection

The Morse Dry Dock and Repair Company was founded in New York City in the 1880s as the Morse Iron Works, a small shipsmithing business. Over time, the company grew to become one of the nation's largest ship repair and ship refitting facilities. The company merged with five other similar businesses in 1929 to form United Dry Docks, Inc.

The Morse Dry Dock Dial was an in-house monthly periodical for employees of the company. According to company founder and president Edward P. Morse (1859-1930), the magazine was intended "to bring our men closer together, to make them familiar with the doings in the yard and to arouse their interest in the welfare of the company". The magazine was staffed with professional journalists and commissioned work from a number of notable illustrators and artists, particularly Edward Hopper (1882-1967), who was responsible for the cover artwork of a number of issues.

Morse Dry Dock Dial is call number f VM301.M67 M67 in Hagley Library's collections. The Library's run of issues is incomplete, but dates from the first issue in 1918 to 1923.

Image: Cover of February 1919 issue. Click here to view in the collection.