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New-York Historical Society clipper ship card collection

Call Number

PR 116

Date

1858-1880, undated (bulk, 1850s-1860s), inclusive

Creator

Extent

0.35 Linear feet (1 box, 122 cards)

Language of Materials

This collection is primarily visual. Any text is likely to be in English.

Abstract

Clipper ship cards were printed to inform prospective passengers and freight shippers of a vessel's impending departure.

Historical Note

The clipper ship was developed by American shipbuilders around 1840. "Clipper" was a generic term generally applied to very fast sailing ships; after about 1845 it became used to denote a standard rig and hull type and was used in conjunction with a word denoting the cargo carried or destination of the boat (tea clipper, California Clipper). The 1850s saw an increase in shipping and shipbuilding both within the United States and internationally. This was partly in response to new resources and new trading opportunities -- gold was discovered in California in 1849 and in Australia in 1850; 1849 saw the opening of the Asian tea trade.

The clipper ship's major attribute was speed. Before the advent of the clipper ship, sea journeys from New York or Boston to San Francisco took upwards of 300 days. Clipper ships were able to make the journey to San Francisco in 100 to 120 days. The return journey was a little quicker due to sea and wind currents. The clipper ship "Flying Cloud" set a record of 89 days to the west coast in 1851 and again in 1854. This record was tied by the "Andrew Jackson" in 1860. Speed did not always require a slim body construction: "Great Republic" was the largest and heaviest ship in the world when it was launched in 1853.

Production of clipper ship cards commenced in around 1852. They allowed shipping companies to directly advertise and circulate information about particular ships. These cards were handed out or mailed to prospective passengers or customers, and were often locally circulated by hand in the manner of handbills. Notices of ship availability and sometimes of sailing dates also appeared in windows and bulletin boards of agents and local shops.

The cards advertised the ship, shipping company, and other important information, such as the port of embarkation. Each card usually had an illustration of the vessel or its namesake. A few cards were decorated with stylized text of the ship's name, or a non-related (yet often nautical) image. Often, if not specific to the ship's name, the printed image could be used again for a different vessel.

The vast majority of clipper ship cards claim the vessel will sail "shortly." Although passengers were desirous of an exact sailing date, it was often difficult for the sailing companies to maintain a firm date. Often ships needed to be full in order to depart and thus were dependent on other sea-going vessels for shipments of cargo, as well as on an adequate number of passengers. The language on clipper ship cards shows the competitiveness of the industry. Cards make much use of superlatives; ships are touted as being the fastest, most beautiful, swiftest, or world renowned. The small size of ships was often highlighted as a desirable feature, in part because smaller ships could sail faster.

Technological advances in printing made it possible to print cheaply in color onto the enamel-coated surface of cardboard from about 1840. Clipper ship cards were letterpress printed on this coated stock, often overprinted with three to seven colors. Only a very few cards were lithographed. George F. Nesbitt, printer of the majority of these cards, is also known as the printer of the first U.S. government stamped envelopes. He worked from the corner of Wall and Water streets in the heart of New York's shipping district.

Clipper ship cards were mainly produced during the decline of the clipper ship industry, when companies needed advertising to drum up business. An economic depression in the middle 1850s, and the ensuing panic of 1857, lowered the profits of the shipping industry. The early 1860s was the time of the heaviest clipper ship card issuance. The heyday of the clipper ship can be dated roughly as lasting from the 1840s to the late 1860s, as the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 helped to make clipper ships obsolete for passenger travel. Clipper ships were abandoned as cargo ships by 1881, largely in favor of steamships.

Historical information on specific clipper ships and printers of cards is available in the Department's Clipping files.

Arrangement

Cards are filed alphabetically by ship name. If more than one card exists per ship, each card is identified by the image on the card or other distinguishing information.

Scope and Contents

The Clipper Ship Card Collection spans the period from 1858-1880 and contains examples of 19th century maritime advertising. The cards advertise commercial ship sailings, most are for clipper ship trips between New York and San Francisco. The collection contains 122 different cards issued for 102 ships. The largest card is 8 13/16 x 5 13/16 inches in size; the smallest is 5 5/16 x 3 inches; the average size is about 6 ½ x 4 inches. The Collection was removed from the Graphic Arts File (PR 022) in 2002. Cards are housed in alphabetical order by ship name. An index of cards organized by shipping company follows this finding aid. A searchable database with detailed description of each card is available in the Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections.

Most cards do not advertise the year in which they were sailing. Cards in the collection issued by Boston's Glidden & Williams Lines are unique in that they include a year printed as part of the sailing date.

Most of the cards advertise routes from New York to San Francisco. Four are to Australia ("Fred Warren" and "Web-Foot" from Boston, "Eureka" and "Game Cock" from New York). Eight advertise travel to Europe ("Circassian," "Ericsson," "City of Rome," "Helvetia," "Old Dominion," and three unnamed ships.) Several other routes are represented. The "Drew" sailed from New York to Albany, the "Gen'l Whitney" from New York to Boston, and the "Gen'l Grant" from New York to New Orleans. The "Arizona" sailed, appropriately enough, from New York to "Arizona, Wyoming, Nevada, Wisconsin, Alaska, Oregon."

New York printers include George Nesbitt and [W.] Endicott & Co. Boston printers include Rand Avery & Co., Watson's Press, and Fred Rogers. Well-represented New York shipping companies include Babcock, Cooley & Co., Cornelius Comstock & Co., John I. Earle & Co., Randolph M. Cooley, and Wm T. Coleman & Co. Shipping agents advertised include Sutton & Co. in New York and De Witt, Kittle & Co., and Albert Dibblee, both of San Francisco.

The four "Prima Donna" cards show portraits, in several cases identified, of European opera singers who performed in the United States. The card for "S.S. England" has a saloon plan on the verso.

Subjects

Organizations

Andrew Jackson (Clipper-ship); Arizona (Ship); Asterion (Ship); Aureola (Ship); Belvedere (Ship); Black Hawk (Clipper ship); Blue Jacket (Ship); Celestial Empire (Ship); Challenger (Ship); Champion (Ship); Charger (Ship); Circassian (Steamship); City of Rome (Ship); Comet (Clipper ship); Conqueror (Ship); Cremorne (Ship); Daniel Marcy (Ship); David Crockett (Clipper ship); Derby (Clipper ship); Don Quixote (Ship); Dreadnought (Ship); Drew (Steamship); E. Southard (Ship); England (Steamship); Enterprise (Clipper ship); Ericsson (Steamship); Eureka (Ship); Franklin (Clipper ship); Fred Warren (Ship); Galatea (Clipper-ship); Game Cock (Ship); Garibaldi (Ship); General Grant (Steamship); General McLellan (Ship); General Whitney (Steamship); Golden Fleece (Ship); Governor Langdon (Ship); Governor Morton (Ship); Grace Darling (Ship); Great Republic (Bark); Harriet (Clipper ship); Haze (Ship); Helvetia (Clipper ship); Hornet (Clipper-ship); I.F. Chapman (Ship); James R. Keller (Ship); John Gilpin (Ship); Kate Bayes (Ship); Kentuckian (Ship); Ladoga (Ship); Lady Washington (Ship); Live Oak (Ship); Logan (Ship); Lookout (Ship); Malay (Clipper ship); Manitou (Ship); Marmion (Clipper ship); Mary L. Sutton (Clipper ship); Mary Robinson (Ship); Mattapan (Ship); Memnon (Ship); Messenger (Clipper Ship); Mindoro (Ship); Moonlight (Clipper ship); Morning Star (Ship); Neptune's Car (Clipper Ship); Ocean Express (Ship); Ocean Telegraph (Ship); Old Dominion (Ship); Orpheus (Ship); Parsee (Ship); Polynesia (Ship); Prima Donna (Ship); Rand, Avery & Co.; Richard S. Ely (Ship); Robin Hood (Clipper ship); Sam G. Glover (Ship); Sea King (Ship); Shatemuc (Ship); Shooting Star (Ship); Skylark (Ship); Smyrniote (Ship); Snow Squall (Clipper ship); Sparkling Wave (Ship); Storm King (Bark); Susan Fearing (Ship); Susan Howland (Ship); Sweepstakes (Ship); Syren (Clipper ship); Thatcher Magoun (Clipper ship); Twilight I (Ship); W. Endicott & Co.; War Hawk (Ship); Watson's Press (Boston); Web-Foot (Ship); Whistler (Ship); White Swallow (Ship); Windward (Ship); Wizard King (Ship); Zouave (Ship)

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as Clipper Ship Card Collection, PR 116, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Cards in the collection came from various donors (1911) and purchases: Naval History Society Fund (1962, 1963), Leonard Milburg Fund (1990).

Related Materials

Clipper ship cards may also be found in the Bella C. Landauer Collection of Business and Advertising Ephemera (PR 31).

Bibliography

Forbes, Allan, "The Story of Clipper Ship Sailing Cards," Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society (October 1949).

Roberts, Bruce. "Clipper Ship Cards: the High-Water Mark in Early Trade Cards," The Advertising Trade Card Quarterly (date unknown).

Shadwell, Wendy, "American Clipper-ship cards," The Ephemerist (March 1981): 180-181.

Shadwell, Wendy, "Commercial Printing and the Maritime Industries," in Thomas Hall, ed., American Maritime Prints (Portsmouth, N.H.: The Old Dartmouth Historical Society, 1985).

Shadwell, Wendy, "George F. Nesbitt: Maritime Specialist," in Billheads and Broadsides: Job Printing in the 19th-Century Seaport (New York: South Street Seaport Museum, 1985).

Shadwell, Wendy, "A Selection of A-1 Clipper Ship Cards," The Lookout (October/November 1980).

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:48:04 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from clipper.xml

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024