Aaron J. Westervelt Esq. builder of the New York, Clipper Ship "Sweepstakes."

Object summary

Title: Aaron J. Westervelt Esq. builder of the New York, Clipper Ship "Sweepstakes."
Object ID: CC-R-0016
Date made: 1853
Place made: United States, New York, New York
Lithographer and publisher: Currier, Nathaniel
Lithographer: Palmer, Frances Flora Bond
Object type: Lithograph
Major collection: Nautical
Named collection: Arthur H. Clark Collection
On view: No

Description

A starboard-side view of the 1853 clipper ship in the California trade. She was known for a record passage from New York To Bombay (74 days), and for a race around the Horn with three other clippers. She was built at the height of the American clipper ship boom resulting from a high demand of quick means of transportation to California during the Gold Rush. She made her final voyage in 1862 from Adelaide to Batavia, due to running aground a reef in the Sunda Strait. Directly behind and in the far distant background of the 'Sweepstakes' are several other clipper ships.