MARCH/APRIL 1857

Charles Braddock Gifford, artist; Harrison Eastman and Hugo Wilhelm Arthur Nahl, lithographers; Louis Nagel, printer, Lombard, North Point and Greenwich Docks, San Francisco., n.d. Hand-colored lithograph on paper, color image 33 13/16 x 23 7/16 in., overall print 39 13/16 x 29 7/16 in. Reproduced by Anchor Brewing Co. from the original, courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Gifford’s undated northward view of San Francisco Bay (including Alcatraz) was undoubtedly drawn in March/April 1857, from a spot above the intersection of Sansome and Greenwich Streets. On the right, at the end of Battery Street, is the 302-foot four-masted clipper Great Republic, originally built in 1853 by Donald McKay, Boston. The mammoth ship's March 9, 1857, San Francisco debut—just "91 days from New York," according to the local paper—was a major event. Discharging commenced March 12 and included 1504 tons of coal, 22 iron safes, reapers, threshers, lumber wagons, and hops. At the end of Sansome is the 215-foot clipper Hurricane, built in 1851 by Isaac C. Smith, Hoboken. She arrived March 13, 1857, from Hong Kong and began discharging her cargo—mostly rice, tea, sugar, and opium—March 19. The middle ship is the 144-foot Zenobia, built in 1838 by Jotham Stetson, Medford, Mass. She arrived from Sitka, with 900 tons of ice, on April 4, 1857—the same day the Great Republic sailed for Callao. The Zenobia continued in the ice trade until April 30, 1858, when she (and her frigid payload) broke up on the rocks off Point Bonita. The Great Republic and her captain, Joseph Limeburner, would not reappear in San Francisco until the following December.

More about the Great Republic 

Our 2004 Calendar is now available as a poster. Visit the Posters and Books section of our Steam Gear Store.