The 2c. Liberia stamp depicts very clearly the Thomas Coutts, of the Honourable East India Company and the motorship Aureol of Elder Dempster Lines, the last large passenger liner to sail out of the port of Liverpool.
The Thomas Coutts was one of the most celebrated of the company's ships. She was built in the Blackwall yard of the company in 1817 and was a ship of 1,334 tons. She crossed three skysail yards and would have been a fast ship in any company of her day. Under the command of Alexander Chrystie in March 1826, carrying goods and mail, she left England and arrived in Bombay harbour three months later, on June 2, only 82 days from the Channel. From Bombay she went on to China, leaving the Indian port in August and calling at Singapore and Macao. She left China on November 23, reaching St. Helena late in January 1827, finally arriving in the Downs on March 2, 1827. This was the fastest voyage on record, out and home in 10 days less that a year. These vessels reached perfection during the early 19th century. When the company's charters expired in the 1850s and the ships were sold. The Thomas Coutts was bought by Joseph Somes, whose houseflag differed from the White Ensign in having an anchor in the canton instead of the Union Jack. SG1187