$23,700
F. & J. Tudgay (British, 19th Century) Portrait of the Clipper Ship "Emily Farnum" Off Dover. Signed and dated "F. & J. Tudgay J'Y 1862" l.r., vessel identified on bow and stern. Oil on canvas, 31 1/2 x 49 1/2 in., in a molded giltwood frame. Condition: Canvas laid down onto Masonite. Note: The clipper ship Emily Farnum, named for a sister of the principal owner, William Jones, was launched at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 1, 1854. She was a medium sized freighting ship of about 1200 tons. On October 3, 1862, she found her place in American Civil War history. She had left New York September 21, 1862, under Captain Nathan Parker Simes. She was laden with flour and grain and was bound for Liverpool, England. On the morning of October 3, about 300 miles southeast of Newfoundland, she was captured by the Confederate raider, Alabama. Having been found protected by certificates of neutral ownership, Captain Semmes of the Alabama, deciding that it would not be wise to destroy British-owned property, made an offer to Captain Simes. Rather than the Confederates burning the Emily Farnum, she would have to take all the prisoners kept on the Alabama, plus the crew of the Brilliant; a captured vessel, also neutral with no supporting documents, and deliver them in Liverpool. The Brilliant was subsequently burned. Captain Simes agreed to the proposal and the Emily Farnum took on the prisoners and was released. In 1872 the Emily Farnum was sold for $30,000 and rerigged as a bark. Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2008-11-01
