Clipper Ship Cards
The publication of clipper ship sailing cards began in 1853 and continued
through the Civil War, reflecting the enormous increase in commerce
between the east and west coasts after the discovery of gold at Sutter's
Mill in California. During the four years following the 1848 discovery, as
many as 160 ships were launched and set sail as opposed to only two ships
that regularly sailed from Atlantic ports to San Francisco before then. In
the one and one half years after 1848, seven hundred vessels stopped in
the California harbor with estimated cargoes of 100,000 people and
supplies. Allan Forbes in his AAS Proceedings article provides a great
deal of detail about the firms involved in this trade. Although most of
the sailing cards advertised the departures of clipper ships from the east
coast to San Francisco, other ports around the world were included in the
ships' itineraries. The onset of steam transportation both by rail and sea
caused the decline of the fleets of clipper ships. As the new modes of
travel developed, the clipper ship industry faltered.
Clipper ship sailing cards featured full color illustrations illustrating
the names of the ships, some of which created great opportunities for
designers. For example, a ferocious tiger ornaments the card advertising
the ship Bengal. A scene featuring a hot air balloon, a train on a bridge,
bustling mills, and two sailing and one steam vessel under the spread
wings of a bald eagle illustrates the advertisement for Comstock's clipper
ship Enterprise. The imprints of the cards reveal that just three printing
offices issued most of the hand-held advertisements: Nesbitt & Company and
Watson & Clark of New York and John H. Bufford of Boston. Many lack an
imprint. There is a pleasing mixture of styles that range from simple, but
attractive, black and white letterpress printing to magnificent pictures
of ships in full color. Generally, the cards were printed on one side of a
piece of glossy card stock measuring 4 x 61/2 inches. Rarely is anything
printed on the reverse, although occasionally information about the ship
is continued.
Whether or not these advertisements were successful has never been
determined. Employees of the shipping companies distributed them to
commission merchants and exporters as soon as a ship's schedule was
determined. Given the number of them, however, the owners of the ships
must have thought that they would be useful. The total number of examples
that were issued is unknown; they are, however, rare today and sought
after by collectors.
James F. Hunnewell (1832-1910) donated most of the cards in the AAS
collection. He acquired them in the course of his business in Boston from
the owners of clipper ships.
-Jane P. Neale
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bruce Roberts, "Selling Sail with Clipper Ship Cards," Ephemera
News 19
(Winter 2001).
Allan Forbes, "The Story of Clipper Ship Sailing Cards," Proceedings of
the American Antiquarian Society 59 (October 1949).
Allan Forbes and Ralph M. Eastman. Yankee Ship Sailing
Cards. (Boston: State Street Trust Company, 1948).
Allan Forbes and Ralph M. Eastman. Other Yankee Ship Sailing
Cards. (Boston: State Street Trust Company, 1949).
Allan Forbes and Ralph M. Eastman. Yankee Sailing Cards.
(Boston: State
Street Company, 1952).
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Clipper ship card for the BUNKER HILL. Nesbitt & Co., Printers
This card for the PRIMA DONNA was also printed by Nesbitt & Co.
* Clipper ship
card
inventory
For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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