Rigged model of the Gold Rush clipper ‘ Challenge’

Rigged model of the Gold Rush clipper ‘ Challenge’

Gold Rush
California
Transport

From the east coast of the US the journey to the Californian gold fields was long and arduous whether undertaken by land or a combination of land and sea. ‘The Challenge’, the largest merchant ship at the time, was built in 1851. It was a clipper built by New York shipbuilder William Webb with the purpose of slashing the journey time via the Cape Horn route. Webb was offered a $10,000 bonus if the ship completed the journey from New York to SanFrancisco in under 90 days. The voyage was ill fated; poor weather, a mutiny and crew deaths resulted in the voyage taking 108 days and the captain, Robert Waterman, was relieved of his command in San Francisco. The wooden model (48 x 72 x 18 ins.) was made in 1965 to William Webb’s design by model makers Arthur G. Henning Inc. of Mount Vernon, New York.

Arthur G. Henning Inc.

Smithsonian, National Museum of American History

http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/collection/TR_326530.html

1965

Margaret Minchin

Smithsonian, National Museum of American History

N/A

Material object – wooden model clipper

19th century California