Transportation

1955 Ford Country Squire

Americans have always been a people on the move—on rails, roads, and waterways (for travel through the air, visit the National Air and Space Museum). In the transportation collections, railroad objects range from tools, tracks, and many train models to the massive 1401, a 280-ton locomotive built in 1926. Road vehicles include coaches, buggies, wagons, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and automobiles—from the days before the Model T to modern race cars. The accessories of travel are part of the collections, too, from streetlights, gas pumps, and traffic signals to goggles and overcoats.

In the maritime collections, more than 7,000 design plans and scores of ship models show the evolution of sailing ships and other vessels. Other items range from scrimshaw, photographs, and marine paintings to life jackets from the Titanic.

Resource Type: Ships

Boat Model, Bushwhack Boat, mid-20th Century

This model represents a rowboat called a bushwhack boat, commonly used in Chesapeake Bay. Bushwhack boats were used for hunting waterfowl on the Susquehanna Flats, where the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay meet.
Description
This model represents a rowboat called a bushwhack boat, commonly used in Chesapeake Bay. Bushwhack boats were used for hunting waterfowl on the Susquehanna Flats, where the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay meet. They also were used as tenders by sloops and schooners, because they could navigate the rough waters of the Flats. The model represents a boat 18 feet long and about 5 feet wide, made by the Havre de Grace Marina in Maryland. The model was purchased by the Smithsonian in 1963.
Location
Currently on loan
date made
ca 1960s
ID Number
TR.322470
accession number
247837
catalog number
322470

Letter of Marque Topsail Schooner Lynx

Peter Kemp, Baltimore’s best known 19th-century shipbuilder, worked in the Fells Point area. He built the square topsail schooner Lynx in 1812 for just under $10,000. It measured 97 feet long and 25 tons, a bit larger than the swift pilot boats after which it was modeled.
Description
Peter Kemp, Baltimore’s best known 19th-century shipbuilder, worked in the Fells Point area. He built the square topsail schooner Lynx in 1812 for just under $10,000. It measured 97 feet long and 25 tons, a bit larger than the swift pilot boats after which it was modeled. Pilot boats had to be fast, for the first one that reached a vessel offshore won the job to lead it through local waters into the port facilities.
The Lynx was a letter of marque—a merchant vessel authorized to take prizes—rather than a privateer designed and built only to raid enemy shipping. Letters of marque were armed merchant vessels which were granted the authority to chase enemy merchantmen during the normal course of business, if an opportunity arose. Unlike privateers, letter of marque vessels paid their crews a regular wage, and their income did not depend on income from enemy ships. As a result, the Lynx carried only six guns and a 40-man crew instead of the many guns and big crews of privateers.
Lynx served less than a year before it was captured by a British fleet of 17 vessels while trying to run a blockade off the Rappahannock River, Virginia. Renamed the Mosquidobit, it served in the British naval squadron blockading Chesapeake Bay. At the end of the War of 1812, it served against France. In recognition of its superior sailing characteristics, its hull shape was recorded by the Royal Navy. In 1820, it resumed service as a private merchant vessel.
Date made
1964
Associated Date
19th century
shipbuilder
Kemp, Peter
ID Number
TR.323263
catalog number
323263
accession number
249753

Ship Model, Tanker Type T2-SE-A1

Although dry cargo freighters like the Liberty and Victory ships are probably the best-known emergency vessels of World War II, oil tankers were also mass produced in American shipyards and played an important role in the Allied victory.
Description
Although dry cargo freighters like the Liberty and Victory ships are probably the best-known emergency vessels of World War II, oil tankers were also mass produced in American shipyards and played an important role in the Allied victory. This model represents the most common type of tanker, T2-SE-A1, a commercial design that before the war started was already being constructed by the Sun Shipbuilding Company for Standard Oil. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Maritime Commission recognized that wet cargo like oil and machine lubricants would be just as necessary as guns and ammunition. The commission ordered this design to be built, in addition to the dry cargo designs.
Like the Victory ship, the T2 tanker was outfitted with a steam turbine engine that gave the vessel a speed of over 14 knots. Tankers were also built at some of the same shipyards as the other merchant vessels, and experienced a similar construction time average of about 70 days. But unlike the Victory or Liberty ships, no T2 tankers have survived to become museum ships, and only one remains afloat in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, mothballed in Beaumont, Texas.
date made
early 1940s
built tankers typical to this model
Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
purchased tankers typical to this model
Standard Oil
ID Number
TR.313036
catalog number
313036
accession number
173712

Ship Model, Sloop Mediator

During the period of North American colonization and early settlement, coastal commerce linked North America’s largest cities and towns.
Description
During the period of North American colonization and early settlement, coastal commerce linked North America’s largest cities and towns. Fast Chesapeake Bay sloops such as the Mediator regularly called at ports from New Hampshire to Georgia, and in many British, French, and Dutch harbors in the Caribbean.
Dating from around 1741, the sloop’s design was adapted from small, swift vessels developed in the West Indies. These maneuverable little shallow-draft vessels carried general cargoes, ranging from dried fish, timber products, slaves, rum, mail, wines, tobacco, sugar, molasses, and whatever paid the owners to transport.
Date made
1962
ID Number
TR.319818
catalog number
319818
accession number
241529

Ship Model United States Victory

United States Victory was constructed in 1944 for wartime cargo service at the California Shipbuilding Corporation, which was created specifically for the WWII shipbuilding effort. It measured 455 feet 3 inches in length, 62 feet in beam, and 10, 757 tons.
Description
United States Victory was constructed in 1944 for wartime cargo service at the California Shipbuilding Corporation, which was created specifically for the WWII shipbuilding effort. It measured 455 feet 3 inches in length, 62 feet in beam, and 10, 757 tons. United States Victory was used as a troopship during the war and in 1945/46 it exchanged prisoners, taking German POWS to Le Havre, France, picking up American troops in Bremerhaven, Germany and returning them to the United States. In 1947 the ship was sold into private ownership. It was scrapped in 1971.
The WW2 Victory ship was built to carry more cargo and operate faster than the earlier Liberty Ship. The first Victory was delivered in February 1944; by November that year, 82 of them were commissioned. After Pearl Harbor, many Victory ships were converted to transport vessels, and they saw heavy service in the Pacific. Liberty ships were designed for fast mass construction to meet the demand for the cargo space necessary to supply allied forces abroad. They were manned by merchant marine crews and also carried naval gun crews. After the war, some of the ships were scrapped, but many others were sold as surplus property and used to transport products around the world.
This model was built by the Boucher Model Company of New York in 1946 and acquired by the Insurance Company of North America by 1950.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
maker
Boucher, Fred
ID Number
2005.0279.090
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.090

Ship Model of Thomas Dana

The merchant ship Thomas Dana was built at Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1876—the 86th vessel constructed by shipbuilder John Currier, Jr. It measured 203 feet 5 inches in length, 38 feet 5 inches in beam, 24 feet 2 inches in depth of hold, and 1,445 tons.
Description
The merchant ship Thomas Dana was built at Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1876—the 86th vessel constructed by shipbuilder John Currier, Jr. It measured 203 feet 5 inches in length, 38 feet 5 inches in beam, 24 feet 2 inches in depth of hold, and 1,445 tons. According to Lloyd’s Register, the Thomas Dana was owned by Thayer & Lincoln, a Boston firm of merchants, ship owners, and operators; however, another source indicates that it was owned by W.H. Lincoln & Company. The ship traded throughout the Atlantic Ocean, with frequent stops in Liverpool, Great Britain. On 30 October 1883, the Dana was en route from Liverpool to the Azores when it collided with and sank the French brig Rocaley. The French vessel was transporting 102 fish salters from Newfoundland back home to France after the fishing season ended. The Dana managed to rescue 21 men and remained in the area for 4-1/2 hours, but was unable to find any more survivors. Captain C.C. Sisson of the Dana believed that the lost crew probably were asleep belowdecks when the ship sank. The Dana disappeared from the registry in 1895.
This rigged model was attributed to Captain Fredrick Williamson. Captain Williamson lived at Snug Harbor, a sailor’s rest home in New York, and in the 1920s he crafted ship models for the Insurance Company of North America, among other clients.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Williamson, Frederick
ID Number
2005.0279.075
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.075

Model of a Sampan

The model is of a sampan, a small trading vessel used along rivers and coastal areas in China. They are usually rigged for sailing, though some are propelled by oars. The model has a squared bow and a raised squared stern. It is made of teak and has a gold painted boot topping.
Description
The model is of a sampan, a small trading vessel used along rivers and coastal areas in China. They are usually rigged for sailing, though some are propelled by oars. The model has a squared bow and a raised squared stern. It is made of teak and has a gold painted boot topping. The keel and rudder are pierced by diamond shaped motifs. A single canvas sail is raised on a chamfered mast above an open hold with three transverse ladders across the opening. The model is fitted with two oars, four covered boxes and two anchors attached with chains to crank mechanisms on the bow. A brass plate attached below the mast is marked "made by/A. King/Hong Kong."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
maker
King, A.
ID Number
2005.0279.096
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.096

Ship Model of the British Warship HMS Centurion

Built in 1732, H.M.S. Centurion was a British 60-gun fourth rate ship-of-the-line—the fourth largest class of warship in the Royal Navy. It measured 144 feet in length, 40 feet 10 inches in beam, and 1,005 tons.
Description
Built in 1732, H.M.S. Centurion was a British 60-gun fourth rate ship-of-the-line—the fourth largest class of warship in the Royal Navy. It measured 144 feet in length, 40 feet 10 inches in beam, and 1,005 tons. Over the course of an extremely long and active 37-year career, Centurion contributed to the trials of the world’s first chronometer in 1736 and served as flagship for Captain George Anson’s circumnavigation (1740-44), after which it was rebuilt. In company with H.M.S. Norwich, Centurion escorted troops to America in 1754 to help the colonies with the uprising of Native Americans working with the French. The ship was broken up in Chatham, Great Britain, in 1769.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1840
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.076
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.076

Ship Model, Victory Ship Type VC2-S-AP

By 1943, the outlook for an Allied victory in World War II was steadily improving. The reign of the U-boats that had plagued Allied convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic was coming to an end.
Description
By 1943, the outlook for an Allied victory in World War II was steadily improving. The reign of the U-boats that had plagued Allied convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic was coming to an end. And the Axis powers were finally losing the tonnage war, which aimed to sink Allied merchant ships faster than replacements could be built. While the mass-produced Liberty ships were faithfully carrying cargo and troops to war zones, these ships were relatively slow. In response, the War Shipping Administration commissioned a new class of emergency vessels called Victory ships. This model represents one of the 534 Victory ships that were built alongside the Liberty ships in seven shipyards around the country.
Speed was the key difference between the Victory and Liberty ships. When Liberty ships were designed, all of the new steam turbine engines were reserved for naval vessels, leaving the Liberty ships with reciprocating steam engines. While these engines were reliable, the ships could only reach 11 knots, leaving them vulnerable to attack. As the war progressed, more turbine engines became available and were installed in the Victory ships, giving them a speed of over 16 knots.
Another improvement of the Victory design was a stronger and larger hull. This meant that more cargo could be transported at once, and improved the odds of the vessels continuing to serve in the merchant fleet during times of peace. After World War II, 170 Victory ships were sold as commercial freighters. About 20 were loaned back to the military and used in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Several Victory ships have been preserved as museum ships and are currently located in California and Florida.
date made
early 1940s
commissioned Victory ships like the ones this model represents
War Shipping Administration
ID Number
TR.313023
catalog number
TR*313023
accession number
170015

Ship Model, Lighthouse Tender Joseph Henry

This model represents the U.S. Lighthouse Tender Joseph Henry, a side-wheeled steamer built by Howard & Company in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1880. This 180-foot-long vessel was built for service along the nation’s inland waterways.
Description
This model represents the U.S. Lighthouse Tender Joseph Henry, a side-wheeled steamer built by Howard & Company in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1880. This 180-foot-long vessel was built for service along the nation’s inland waterways. Lighthouse tenders served both coastal and inland areas by delivering supplies, fuel, news, and relief and maintenance crew to lighthouses and lightships. They also maintained aids to navigation, including markers identifying channels, shoals, and obstructions. Based out of Memphis, the Joseph Henry worked along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers until 1904.
The vessel’s namesake, Joseph Henry, was America’s foremost scientist in the 19th century. His expertise was in the field of electromagnetism. Henry was a professor at the College of New Jersey (Princeton) when he was named the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a position he held from 1846 until his death in 1878. He also served on the U.S. Lighthouse Board (1852-78), and implemented various improvements in lighting and signaling during his tenure. This lighthouse tender was named in his honor at its launching two years after his death.
Date made
1880
1962
used
late 19th century
ID Number
TR.321486
catalog number
321486
accession number
245714

Ship Model, Santa Maria

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed a small fleet of three small ships west from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to find a shorter route to the riches of Asia.
Description
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed a small fleet of three small ships west from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to find a shorter route to the riches of Asia. Before his voyages, Chinese and Indian luxuries for European markets were transported over the long and hazardous overland route through Arabia.
The three-masted vessel Santa Maria was the largest of Columbus’s expeditionary vessels and his flagship. Measuring around 70 feet in length, it carried a crew of 40 men. The Santa Maria and Columbus’s other fleet members the Niña and the Pinta were older ships used for coastal trading rather than vessels designed for ocean crossings. Nine weeks after the little fleet left Spain, land was sighted in the Caribbean on 12 October 1492, but exactly which island Columbus’s crew first spotted remains disputed.
The fleet went on to explore the north coasts of the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (now Haiti). On Christmas Day 1492, the Santa Maria ran aground on a reef off Hispaniola and was declared a total loss. The ship’s timbers were salvaged and used to build a small fort on shore. Fortunately for Columbus, he was able to return to Spain on the Niña.
Instead of Asia, Columbus had landed in the Caribbean islands on his first voyage. Although they were already inhabited, he claimed them for Spain. Columbus made three more voyages to the western hemisphere between 1493 and 1504.
Waves of conquerors and colonists—both free and enslaved—followed. What was a triumph for Spain became a catastrophe for native peoples. New livestock, plants, diseases, and beliefs unsettled centuries-old communities and ecosystems, changing and destroying the lives of millions.
This model was built at the Museo Maritimo de Barcelona, Spain, under the supervision of museum director Jose Maria Martinez-Hidalgo y Teran, who published a book on the Santa Maria in 1964.
Date made
1965
ID Number
TR.325800
catalog number
325800
accession number
260040

Ship Model, George W. Neare

This model is incorrectly named after George W. Neare, a former steamboat captain who went into the insurance business in 1865.
Description
This model is incorrectly named after George W. Neare, a former steamboat captain who went into the insurance business in 1865. By 1889, Neare, Gibbs, and Company were the main river agents for the Insurance Company of North America, whose successor company CIGNA, donated this model to the Smithsonian.
According to a CIGNA article, this model constructed by the boat’s engineer is actually of the steamboat J. S. Pringle, which Neare captained in the 1850s. Measuring 307 tons, J. S. Pringle was built in 1854 in Brownsville, PA for Captain William Stoops, who ran a ferry service across the Ohio River. It was sold in 1855 and moved to the Missouri River. J. S. Pringle ran from St. Louis to St. Joseph under Captain William Conley. In 1861 it carried army supplies from Cincinnati to Nashville under Captain George W. Neare. Captain Hazlett ran it from Louisville on the Tennessee River in Spring 1862. In March 1865 it was acquired by the US Quartermaster’s Department. Steamboats on the western rivers were notoriously bad risks, having relatively explosive high-pressure engines, wooden hulls, and flammable cargo.
A gold finial, projecting uprights and four smokestacks painted black have red and gold spiked crowns. An eagle on a gold ball is on top of the captain's cabin. Two lanterns hang from the smokestacks, and there is a bell on the upper deck. A red, blue and gold emblem is on the bow and an American flag flies at the stearn.
date made
ca 1920
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.068
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.068

Rigged Model, Extreme Gold Rush Clipper Challenge

The extreme clipper ship Challenge was built at New York by the famous shipbuilder William H. Webb. At its launch in May 1851, the $150,000 Challenge was the largest merchant ship ever built, measuring 227 feet in length by 42 feet in beam and 2006 tons.
Description
The extreme clipper ship Challenge was built at New York by the famous shipbuilder William H. Webb. At its launch in May 1851, the $150,000 Challenge was the largest merchant ship ever built, measuring 227 feet in length by 42 feet in beam and 2006 tons. The high length:beam ratio of 5.4:1 was what made the three-decker an extreme clipper, and it set a few speed records over the course of its working life.
The Challenge was expected to set a record on its maiden voyage, and Capt. Robert H. Waterman was offered a $10,000 bonus if he could drive the ship to San Francisco in under 90 days. He pushed his 60-man crew hard, but poor weather and a mutiny by 50 crewmen off Rio slowed the Challenge to a 108-day trip. The mutiny and the unrelated death of seven crew on that maiden voyage gave the ship a bad reputation. Capt. Waterman was relieved of his command after reaching San Francisco, but the next master had to pay a signing bonus of $200 to lure new crewmen aboard for a China trip. Another mutiny on this second leg of the maiden voyage occurred as well—testament to how driven these men were to sail hard and fast.
Over the next decade as a China clipper, an additional mutiny, widespread crew illnesses, frequent dismastings and leaks, and other events cemented the bad reputation of the vessel. It was sold to its captain for $9,350 in 1861. The Challenge changed hands a few more times before sinking off the Brittany coast in February 1877.
Date made
1965
ship launched
1851-05
ship sold
1861
ship sank
1877-02
designer
Webb, William H.
captained the ship on its maiden voyage
Waterman, Robert H.
maker
Arthur G. Henning Inc.
ID Number
TR.326530
catalog number
326530
accession number
255036

Model of a Brigantine

This is a three-masted, wooden planked model of an unnamed 19th century French brigantine, fully rigged and armed with six cannons.
Description
This is a three-masted, wooden planked model of an unnamed 19th century French brigantine, fully rigged and armed with six cannons. A French description of the model in the original accession file indicates that this sort of fine-lined, swift vessel was used by pirates or as messenger vessels, due to its speed and maneuverability.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 19th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.067
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.067

Ship Model, Susan Constant

On April 26, 1607, three passenger ships reached the shores of modern-day Virginia. The largest, named the Susan Constant, carried 54 members of a 105-man colonization mission.
Description
On April 26, 1607, three passenger ships reached the shores of modern-day Virginia. The largest, named the Susan Constant, carried 54 members of a 105-man colonization mission. Arriving thirteen years before the Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Mass., this group of Englishmen came in search of gold and glory in the New World under the direction of the Virginia Company. Their founding of Jamestown began a long and checkered chapter in American colonial history.
Built in 1605 near London, and leased from Dapper, Wheatley, Colthurst and Partners, the Susan Constant was barely a year old when the Jamestown passengers spotted land near Cape Henry at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Under the command of Captain Christopher Newport, the journey from London to Virginia took approximately four and a half months. Following its departure on December 20, 1606, the Susan Constant spent six weeks floating idly in the English Channel, waiting for the right winds to carry the passengers to their new lives. Unlike the colonists, the Susan Constant did not stay in Virginia, but sailed back to England filled with timber.
In the past, there has been some confusion over whether the ship’s name was Susan or Sarah Constant. According to a 1625 manuscript transcribed by Rev. Samuel Purchas, when discussing the journey of the Jamestown settlers, His Majesty King James I’s Council on Virginia referred to a ship named Sarah Constant. However, multiple accounts given by the original colonists, as well as the leasing companies, indentify the ship as Susan Constant or, more simply, Susan. No record of a Sarah Constant has ever been found in sources from the time period, and historians have since chalked the confusion up to a clerical error on the part of the Council.
In 1991, the Commonwealth of Virginia financed a $2.14 million life-sized reproduction of the Susan Constant. The ship took a short tour of the Chesapeake Bay area in 2007 as part of Jamestown’s 400th Anniversary Celebration, and can now be seen in the Jamestown Settlement National Park.
This model of the Susan Constant was given to the Smithsonian in 1998 as a gift from its builder, John W. Chapman.
Date made
1998
Susan Constant departed London
1606-12-20
Susan Constant arrived in Jamestown
1607-04-26
life-size reproduction was built
1991
manuscript transcribed discussing ship and voyage
1625
captained the ship
Newport, Christopher
leased the ship
Dapper, Wheatley, Colthurst and Partners
transcribed a manuscript
Purchas, Samuel
maker
Chapman, John W.
ID Number
1998.0227.01
accession number
1998.0227
catalog number
1998.0227.01

Rigged Model, Massachusetts Privateer Rhodes

Although the Salem, Massachusetts privateer Rhodes was less than 98 feet long, it had a crew of 90. Privateers needed large crews not only to intimidate their prey and hopefully make them surrender quickly, but also to overpower their enemies if a battle occurred.
Description
Although the Salem, Massachusetts privateer Rhodes was less than 98 feet long, it had a crew of 90. Privateers needed large crews not only to intimidate their prey and hopefully make them surrender quickly, but also to overpower their enemies if a battle occurred. After a fight, the winner also needed to put a “prize” crew aboard to sail the captured vessel into port, where the ship and contents could be inventoried and sold. The auction proceeds were then distributed among the owners, the ship officers and the crew.
The three-masted ship Rhodes was sharply built for speed and heavily armed, with 20 cannon. Despite these features, it was captured on a cruise in the West Indies by H.M.S. ship Prothé in February 1782. It was taken back to England, where its hull shape was drawn on paper to document how it might have obtained its speed. The Royal Navy then purchased it and renamed it H.M.S. Barbadoes.
Date made
1962
privateer captured
1782-02
ID Number
TR.320667
catalog number
320667
accession number
245900

Model of World War II Liberty Ship Benjamin Rush

This is a model of the World War II Liberty Ship, Benjamin Rush, built in 1941. It measured 441 feet 6 inches in length, 56 feet 10 inches in beam, and 10,920 tons.
Description
This is a model of the World War II Liberty Ship, Benjamin Rush, built in 1941. It measured 441 feet 6 inches in length, 56 feet 10 inches in beam, and 10,920 tons. It was delivered from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore on July 11, 1942 and sailed from Norfolk, Virginia on its maiden voyage on August 2, 1942 to the United Kingdom. According to a letter from the War Shipping Administration dated June 4, 1945, it made nine successful voyages and completed a circumnavigation, having called at many ports carrying war materials, foodstuffs, etc. to Hull and Liverpool in England; Casablanca, Safi and Oran in Africa; Fremantle in Australia, Khorramshahr in Iran, and many others. It was scrapped in 1954.
Between 1941 and 1945, more than 2,700 Liberty ships were produced – ‘the cargo carrying key to victory.’ By the time the program ended in 1945, eighteen shipyards on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf participated in the effort. Two-thirds of all WW2 cargo that left the United States was transported in Liberty ships. Two hundred of the vessels were sunk, but there were so many at sea that the enemy could not stop Allied shipping.
This model was built by Boucher Models of New York after World War II and first appears in the collection of the Insurance Company of North America around 1950.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
maker
Boucher, Fred
ID Number
2005.0279.083
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.083

Model of Three-masted Ship Kate

This model is of the unrigged three-masted cargo ship Kate. It is in the style of a builder’s model, with open framing and decking. The rigging, lines, sails, upper masts and hardware are not attached, indicating that the model was unfinished.
Description
This model is of the unrigged three-masted cargo ship Kate. It is in the style of a builder’s model, with open framing and decking. The rigging, lines, sails, upper masts and hardware are not attached, indicating that the model was unfinished. A capstan or horizontal winch is mounted on a planked section in the center of the deck framing, and a work bar supports one at the front. These served to raise or lower sail or haul up the anchor. The bow is carved with foliage, scrolls and the name. A bowsprit extends beyond the bow, and there are chain plates for rigging in three channels on both sides.
The minutes of the Board of the Insurance Company of North America (INA) indicate that on 7 October 1851, the INA President was authorized to purchase the model for $50 from F. W. Hubbell, Esq. This model was used in the INA office or in court cases to indicate where insurance claim-related damage occurred, as in a collision with another vessel or a grounding. There were several three-masted ships named Kate in the Lloyd’s Register of Shipping for the period, and it is not known which one this model represents.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.086
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.086

Boat Model, Chincoteague or Sinepuxent Bay Skiff, 1905

This model represents a skiff, a type of sailboat used in Sinepuxent Bay, an inland waterway in Maryland. V-bottomed skiffs were built on Chincoteague Island by three different boat builders. This type of watercraft was used for fishing, as well as catching crab and oysters.
Description
This model represents a skiff, a type of sailboat used in Sinepuxent Bay, an inland waterway in Maryland. V-bottomed skiffs were built on Chincoteague Island by three different boat builders. This type of watercraft was used for fishing, as well as catching crab and oysters. They were commonly manned by two people, but could also be sailed singlehanded. The model represents a skiff constructed in 1905 about 20 feet long and 8 feet in beam. The model was built in 1963 by John W. Parker from plans at the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently on loan
date made
1963
ID Number
TR.322466
accession number
247836
catalog number
322466

Model of a Chinese Junk

Made of silver, this decorative model of a three-masted Chinese war junk with square sails, square bow and raised square stern is decorated with three round masks on each side. The deck is fitted with seven cannon, a scored rectangular cabin, three crew figures, and an anchor.
Description
Made of silver, this decorative model of a three-masted Chinese war junk with square sails, square bow and raised square stern is decorated with three round masks on each side. The deck is fitted with seven cannon, a scored rectangular cabin, three crew figures, and an anchor. Four pennants are at the stern, and a pennant flies from each mast. The model is mounted on a carved and scrolled ebony stand and enclosed in a glass top case.
V.I.G. Petersen, who acquired this model, served as an agent for the Insurance Company of North America (INA) in China during the WW2 Japanese invasion. For an account of his successful preservation of INA records and escape from the advancing Japanese troops, see William Carr, Perils Named and Unnamed, 1967, p. 183-200.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca early 20th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.088
catalog number
2005.0279.088
accession number
2005.0279

Ship Model of an American Two-Masted Brig

Donated by the CIGNA Corporation of Philadelphia, PA, this model is of an unknown but fully rigged 19th century American two-masted brig. Adapted from the British brigantine, American brigs were built as early as the 18th century and used frequently by the U.S. Navy.
Description
Donated by the CIGNA Corporation of Philadelphia, PA, this model is of an unknown but fully rigged 19th century American two-masted brig. Adapted from the British brigantine, American brigs were built as early as the 18th century and used frequently by the U.S. Navy. Brigs were extremely efficient and economical and were also used by coastal sea traders and in the West Indies trade.
This particular model was commissioned around 1924 by Captain Frederick Williamson of Snug Harbor, which was a rest home for retired sailors in New York. It was ordered at the same time as 2005.0279.069.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1924
maker
Williamson, Frederick
ID Number
2005.0279.072
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.072

Model of the Cargo Ship Del Norte

After WW2, the United States Maritime Commission, in cooperation with the Delta Line, arranged for the redesign of the wartime C-3 cargo ships by naval architect George Sharp.
Description
After WW2, the United States Maritime Commission, in cooperation with the Delta Line, arranged for the redesign of the wartime C-3 cargo ships by naval architect George Sharp. The Delta Line used the three resulting “Del-series” ships to reestablish postwar trade with South America. Del Norte and its sister ships Del Sud and Del Mar were all built in the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, which had built several C-3 vessels between 1940 and 1947. Del Norte was the first of the three sister ships to be completed and the first to leave the shipyard on November 26, 1946.
Del Norte measured 995 feet in length, 70 feet in beam, and 10,074 tons. It was equipped with new features not previously seen on other, similar vessels, like air conditioning for the passenger, officer and crew accommodations. It also was fitted with postwar radar. For twenty years, Del Norte sailed mainly between the United States, the Caribbean, and South America. In 1967, the Delta Line discontinued its passenger service because of financial difficulty, and the three sister ships were converted to express cargo liners. In 1972, Del Norte was chartered for a one-way trip to Indonesia. One source indicates that it was broken up for scrap after this; another implies that the ship merely disappeared from the record after completing the voyage.
This model was built by Boucher Models of New York after World War II and first appears in the collection of the Insurance Company of North America around 1950.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1946
maker
Boucher, Fred
ID Number
2005.0279.085
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.085

Ship Model, Transport American Merchant

The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Within days, the federal government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to construct a fleet of merchant ships.
Description
The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Within days, the federal government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to construct a fleet of merchant ships. The EFC hired the American International Shipbuilding Corporation to build and operate the largest shipyard in the world: Hog Island, near Philadelphia.
Most of the Emergency Fleet Corporation’s 122 ships were Type A cargo freighters. However, a few were Type B troop transports. Originally named Sisladobsis, this single-screw transport was completed in December 1920 by the American International Shipbuilding Corporation as Aisne for the US Shipping Board at Hog Island, Philadelphia. In 1924, it was renamed the American Merchant and later sold to the United States Lines. In February 1940 it was sold again to a Belgian holding company partly owned by the United States Lines and renamed Ville de Namur.
In mid-June 1940, the Ville was transporting a cargo of horses from Bordeaux, France to Liverpool, England. On the 19th, it was struck by two torpedoes from the German U-Boat U-52 and sank quickly. Fifty-four of its crew of 79 survived.
date made
1920
ID Number
TR.306999
accession number
64928
catalog number
TR*306999

Rigged Model, Packet Ship Ohio

The packet ship Ohio was built at Philadelphia, PA in 1825 and measured 105’-6” on deck and 352 tons. Its ownership changed several times, beginning with C. Price & Morgan’s Philadelphia–New Orleans route in 1825.
Description
The packet ship Ohio was built at Philadelphia, PA in 1825 and measured 105’-6” on deck and 352 tons. Its ownership changed several times, beginning with C. Price & Morgan’s Philadelphia–New Orleans route in 1825. In 1830, the Russell Line bought the vessel, running it from New York to New Orleans. Eight years later, Hand’s Line purchased the Ohio and resumed its original Philadelphia–New Orleans route. Its later career is unknown.
Packet ships derive their name from their original cargo—packets of mail. Unlike independent merchant vessels, packet companies maintained set schedules and routes, making it easier for merchants and industries to know when supplies would arrive and depart. The packet lines also received government subsidies for transporting the mails.
Cotton production in the United States coincided with the upswing in coastal packet lines. By the mid-1800s, the United States was the world’s largest cotton producer. Most raw cotton came from the South, sailing out of New Orleans. During cotton’s off-season, the Ohio probably carried goods like lead, molasses, tobacco, flaxseed, and furs.
Date made
1961
ID Number
TR.319025
catalog number
319025
accession number
236167

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