CLIPPER SHIP CARDS
ORIGIN
Clipper ships reached their heyday from the 1840s to the late 1860s.
At first they advertised their routes in newspapers.
But when gold was discovered in California, more people wanted to travel from the East (mostly New York) to the West (mostly San Francisco) as quickly as possible and so more clipper ships were built.
With over 160 ships making the journey, merchants needed a way to advertise their vessels.
As clipper ships declined during the 1860’s due to the introduction of the steamship and the transcontinental railroad, they also needed a way to drum up business.
They used CLIPPER SHIP CARDS.
DESIGN
This created great opportunities for artists to create eye-catching designs that represent some of the finest early American color advertising artwork.
Most were printed on one side of a piece of glossy card stock measuring 4 x 6 1/2 inches.
They had full color illustrations – often overprinted with 3 to 7 colors.
Most emphasized the ship’s namesake with stylized text of the ship’s name.
The imagery was often nautical, mythical, romantic, or patriotic.
Most show action scenes, but some offer pastoral images.
Few have California scenes, but those who do often depict gold mining.
Some have little or no illustration, but feature extravagant lettering.
WHAT INFORMATION WAS ON THE CARD?
The description on the card might include:
the name of the sailing ship
the shipping company
the approximate date of travel
information about the vessel’s passage and route
the destination
the captain
and the embarkation pier
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.
HOW WERE THEY USED?
Cards were handed out or mailed to prospective passengers or cargo customers, and were often locally circulated by hand in the manner of handbills.
WHO PRODUCED THEM?
Three printing offices issued most of the hand-held advertisements:
Nesbitt & Company of New York
Watson & Clark of New York
and John H. Bufford of Boston
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 are some of the most striking printed advertisements ever created.
