Lot 1841

1846 (Dec 16), a letter sent from New York to Canton China, addressed to Mess. Augustine Heard & Co., Canton, endorsed at its lower left-hand corner “Sea Witch”. On the reverse, cancelled by a red forwarder mark “FORWARDED BY / NEW YORK / GOODHUE & CO.”, together with a manuscript writing of “Ans. to receipt of letter of 21 July (1846)”. The clipper ship Sea Witch was one of the most celebrated American clippers during 1840-50s, and a symbol of the “China Trade” era. Built in 1846 by Smith & Dimon in New York for the firm Howland & Aspinwall, she was specifically designed to speed on the New York-China route. This mail was connected to the golden age of American clipper ships and to the intensified competition of China trade after the First Opium War. This mail is believed in the first year of Clipper Sea Witch trip to Canton.