1880's when the Red Swallowtail Line to London 

 ceased operation, the last sailing being completed 

 in 1881. 



Clipper Ships 



Though of less economic importance than either 

 the packets or the ocean freighters and coasters in 

 the age of sail, the American clipper ships are of very 

 great interest because of their part in the develop- 

 ment of American sailing ship design, with its em- 

 phasis on speed. The clipper-ship period was very 

 short, so far as building was concerned. The appear- 

 ance of the clipper ship was brought about by the 

 existence of trades in which high freight rates could 

 be obtained, particularly if fast runs were made. 

 This first developed in the China trade. China 

 cargoes brought good prices and could afford high 

 freight rates. The length of the voyage alone was 

 sufficient to encourage speed, for the individual 

 merchant's investment in a China voyage was large 

 and too long a voyage tied up capital and lost interest. 

 There was yet another factor, the American mania 

 for speed. This had become marked before 1800 in 

 shipping and was, of course, based upon the success 

 of the Baltimore clipper type in this respect. The 



Large American Medium Clipper Queen of Clippers, 

 from a French print in the Watercraft Collection 

 (USNM 159934). She was built by Robert E. Jackson 

 at East Boston, Massachusetts, in 1853. Her register 

 dimensions were 248'6" ,x 45' x 38', an unusually deep 

 ship for her beam. (Smithsonian photo 44628-a.) 



China trade gave free rein to this desire for speed and 

 the trade conditions permitted the operation of fast 

 sailing vessels of moderate capacity; even extreme 

 Baltimore clippers could be employed in the trade, 

 as they were after 1815. As the value of the China 

 trade gradually increased, the need for fast vessels 

 of greater capacity than that of the privateer models 

 of 1815-1820 attracted attention. Packet sliips were 

 tried with some success and their relatively large 

 capacity made them attractive to the China trade 

 merchants in the early 1840's, though their hull 

 design was not otherwise too well suited to the 

 weather and sea conditions of the run. 



In 1844, when the merchants were still seeking an 

 improved model of vessel for the China trade, Smith 

 and Dimon, prominent packet-ship designers and 

 builders, laid down the modified packet ship Rainbow, 

 designed by John W. Griffiths, a rising shipwright 



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