"Sailing Cards," Early Clippers
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Very popular
with collectors interested in
postal history, Californiana, etc., are the colorful advertising cards
circulated long ago by shipping firms competing for business to the
Pacific
coast. The cards named the ship, master, sailing dates and
other
pertinent details regarding their departure from eastern ports and
ports
of call. These were the early "Clippers" making the trip
around Cape
Horn. One reads. "Shippers' Line for San Francisco.
The Clipper
Ship, FLYING CLOUD, J. P. Creesy, Commander, will have quick dispatch
for
the above port. This ship having repeatedly made the passage
within
90 days, as well as the shortest on record, shippers will have the
opportunity
of placing their goods in San Francisco, with the chance of early
spring
trade. For freight or passage, apply to the captain on board,
pier
10 East River, or to John I. Earle, 106 Wall-St." This is
accompanied
by a buxom female figure blithely floating over the waves.
The largest
collection, more than 700 varieties, is owned by The Seaman's Bank for
Savings, New York.
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George B. Sloane
Sloane's Column Stamps December 17, 1949 Posted August 26, 1999 Index of 508 Notes from the Past Note: If the link isn't returned the first try, try again. Comments? Send me an e-mail |