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Historical Materials

Historical Materials  »  Vessels (Specific / Named)  »  "America" (Schooner Yacht)

"America" (Schooner Yacht)

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While the schooner yacht "America" was built in 1851 for a syndicate of New York yachtsmen to race in England, her design concept appears to have originated in the previous year, when Fitz Henry Lane happened to be in New York City. Lane's painting, Yacht "America" from Three Views, c.1851 (inv. 395), shows details he surely would have corrected had he seen the vessel as built in 1851, pointing to the likelihood that he was portraying the schooner in its design state. His later painting, based on the Dutton lithograph from a sketch by Brierly, clearly points out his attention to subsequent changes in the schooner's design. 

– Erik Ronnberg

Related tables: New-York Yacht Club »  //  Regattas »  //  Yacht & Small Pleasure Craft »

model
Model of yacht "America"
Model and photography by Erik A.R. Ronnberg. Jr.
2012
Wood, metal, cordage, Egyptian cotton sail cloth
Scale: 3/8" = 1'
Private collection

Plaque reads: "Schooner Yacht America. Designed by George Steers and built by William H. Brown at New York City, 1851 Winner of the Royal Yacht Squadron £100 Cup in a race around the Isle of Wight, August 22, 1851." 

 

Also filed under: Ship Models »

illustration
Bound to Beat
Serrell & Perkins, Printer and Publisher
c.1851
Cartoon
9 1/4 x 13 3/4 in (23.495 x 34.925 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

Jonny and a Yankee:

Jonny: "Ho my Hi! 'ow she goes!! it his'nt fair I ham sure t'aint!!! She must 'av an engine hunder the keel..."

Yankee: "Where are your yachts now, Jonny? s-a-y- Do you think your wash tubs can come up to a real Yankee Clipper? Sorry for you, Jonny, but it can't be helped... A Yankee Ship a Yankee Crew, you know Jonny."

publication
Clipper Polka
Aborsong, publisher
1851-1856
Paper, ink
13 x 10 in (33.02 x 25.4 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum (M26784)

"composed and inscribed to Colonel Baquiere, Owner of the "America" Schooner, 1851-1856"

model
Half model of "America"
19th century
Wood
New York
35 1/2 x 37 x 5 1/2 in. (90.17 x 93.98 x 13.97 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum

Also filed under: Ship Models »

artwork
The "America" Winning the Match at Cowes for the Club Cup
Thomas Dutton
1851
Lithograph
21 x 29 inches
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass., Gift of Mr. D. A. Newhall, 1968
M13340
illustration
The America Schottisch
Wm. Hall & Son, publisher
Late 19th century
Ink, paper
13 x 10 in (33.02 x 25.4 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum
illustration
The Clipper America Polka, sheet music cover
J.O. Sheppard, publisher
late 19th century
Ink on paper
13 x 10 inches
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass. (M26750)
object
Tiller
1851
Wood
105 x 5 x 4 inches (266.7 x 12.7 x 10.16 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum

Tiller used in navigating the yacht "America" across the Atlantic in 1851.

Also filed under: Objects »

object
Tiller plaque, close-up
1851
Wood
105 x 5 x 4 inches (266.7 x 12.7 x 10.16 cm)
Peabody Essex Museum

Tiller used in navigating the yacht "America" across the Atlantic in 1851.

artwork
Yacht "America"
Unknown
1851
Oil on canvas
22 1/8 x 30 1/8 in.
New-York Historical Society, Gift of Henry O. Havemeyer (1949.47)

While this painting of "America" might be regarded as "primitive," it contains much accurate detail of the sail plan and rigging which agrees closely with surviving documentation of these aspects. Note the jib and jib-boom which were set during the Cowes regatta, only to be quickly taken in when the jib-boom broke, and never used again.

– Erik Ronnberg

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Citation: "Historical Materials." Fitz Henry Lane Online. Cape Ann Museum. http://fitzhenrylaneonline.org/historical_material/index.php?section=%22America%22+%28Schooner+Yacht%29 (accessed October 8, 2024).
Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
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