ERICSSON paddle steamer 1853

[aukepalmhof]

Only the bell of the ship and the wreck-side is showed on the stamp.

Successful experiments by the famous Swedish inventor John Eriksson in the caloric principle were the reason that this ship was built.
April 1852 the keel was laid down on the yard of Perrine, Paterson & Stack, Williamsburg, New York for John B. Kitching the principle shareholder and others.
15 September 1852 launched under the name ERICSSON.
Tonnage 1.902 gross, dim. 253.5 x 39.7 x 26.6ft.
She was a wooden side paddle steamer, powered by the caloric (hot air) engines, manufactured by Hogg & Delameter. The machinery consisted of four working cylinders 4.27 meter in diameter by 1.83 meters stroke, and above them four air-compressing cylinders 3.48 meter in diameter by 1.83-meter stroke. The working cylinders arranged in pairs along the center of the vessel were suspended like enormous camp-kettles over the furnace fires. Eight piston rods, each 4.27-meter long, connected the mammoth pistons of each set of cylinders. Four stove-pipe funnels arranged two abreast.
She carried not a figurehead but on the stern a figure of Ericsson being crowned with a laurel wreath by two allegorical figures representing the United States and Great Britain.
Accommodation for 100 passengers.

After preliminary trials on 4 and 5 January 1853 and a public trial on 11 January under command of Capt. Alfred B. Lowber one of the shareholders, the engine generated only 250hp, and her maximum speed was only 6½ knots.
16 February she proceeded to Washington where Members of the Virginia Legislature under which President Fillmore inspected her.
After returning to New York the original cylinders were replaced by two new, double acting inclined ones, and the addition of blowers to force the draught.
15 and 17 March 1854 new trials took place and a speed of 11 mile was reached on 27 April. But on her return voyage from Sandy Hook and about two miles from New York she was hit by a sudden gale with much force on her portside, given the vessel so much list, that the lower portholes which were open were pushed completely under water, and water poured in. She sank in shallow waters within minutes, off the Cunard Line Dock at Jersey City.

She was refloated on 12 May 1854 and when Ericsson reported some weeks later that it would cost 12.000 dollar to repair the engines, the main shareholders decided that they could not longer underwrite Ericsson’s propulsion system.
The caloric engines were removed and a steam engine placed also designed by Ericsson.
08 May 1855 new trials took place and she reached a speed of 11 knots.

16 June 1855 she sailed for her first voyage from New York to Le Havre, ticket cost $130, arrived Le Havre 30 June. She carried these voyage only 29 passengers. She returned to New York on 22 August 1855 after a passage of 17 days.
Then she made one voyage between New York and Bremen before returning to the New York-Le Havre service but the vessel was operating on a loss.

13 March 1856 she was chartered to the Collins Line and the next 1½ year she made 11 round voyages for this line between New York and Liverpool. She was a replacement for the lost PACIFIC which vanished without a trace. Her last voyage from Liverpool to New York she carried only 12 passengers.

After the Collins Line returned her to her owners, she made an other voyage between New York and Bremen, sailed on 16 September 1857, carried three classes of passengers with fares of $80, $50 and $30.
After her return in New York she was laid up for the winter. The next spring she was advertised for a ‘pleasure voyage’ sailing on 1 May 1858 to Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Jaffa, Constantinople, Athens, Naples before returning to New York for a fare of $750, but bookings were so low that the voyage was cancelled.
08 May 1858 she sailed for Bremen again, returning on 20 June.

Then she made a voyage with troops, she carried the New York Seventh Regiment to City Point on the James River, returned to New York in ballast.
After arrival laid up.

07 October 1861 chartered by the U.S. Army’s Quartermaster Corps, for $1.200? per day, in the F. DuPont’s invasion fleet as a transport for Port Royal, South Carolina.
She was chartered for 46 months, but only used for 21 months.
13 March 1865 returned to owners, who are now listed as Edward Dunham & Co, who were already the managers of the ship from 1855.

Then chartered by Marshall O Roberts as a temporary replacement for the GOLDEN RULE who was wrecked in 1865. Used in the New York to Greytown leg of his North American Steamship Co’s New York-Nicaragua-San Francisco service. She made 4 round voyages, sailed in this service first on 20 July 1865 from New York and arrived for the last voyage in New York on 22 November 1865.
After arrival handed back to owners and the ERICSSON was shifted to the Sectional Dock in New York for repair.

Then chartered by the Ruger Brothers for the North American Lloyd Steamship Co., who ran a steerage service between Bremen, Southampton and New York.
15 March 1866 she sailed from New York for her first voyage by this line, made two voyages in the service, arriving back in New York in this service for the last time on 27 July 1866.

Then chartered by the short lived Continental Mail Steamship Co., for the service between New York and Antwerp, she made only one voyage, sailed 23 August 1866 and arrived back on 16 October with on board 350 passengers.

After her return she was put on the sale list, but not a buyer was found and on 14 August 1867 she was put up for auction.
Bought by W.W. Sherman, and the engines removed, rigged out as a three masted full rigged sailing ship.
As steamship she was slow, but under sail she was a fast sailer.
17 February 1868 she sailed from New York under sail and arriving at Liverpool 17 days later. From Liverpool she sailed for San Francisco where she arrived on 23 August after a passage of 109 days. 15 October she sailed again from San Francisco and after a passage of 103 days she arrived at Liverpool.

From 1868 through 1875 she was used in the grain trade from San Francisco and Liverpool, with one voyage via Callao, Peru to Mejilliones, Chile and another to Newcastle, Australia. At that time the owners were Howes & Crowell, New York.
1876 Made a voyage to Manila and Iloilo, Philippines, then she returned to New York.
Between 1878 and 1879 used in the coastal trade from San Francisco to Puget Sounds ports.
1879 She was owned by C.L.Dingley, Boston, USA, the registry port was changed from Boston to San Francisco. Her registered owner was then C.R. Dingley but a few years later was it altered again in C.L.Dingley, so most probably a typo.
1880 She made an other call in Australia, the next year one at Shanghai.
1882/83 Used again in the coastal trade.
1884 She made her last voyage to Liverpool, followed by other voyages to Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne, Australia in 1886 and 1888.
1888 Her owner given as George Plummer, he was already captain on the ship for a long time.
1889 She made a voyage to Valparaiso. Thereafter most her voyages were coastwise from San Francisco Lloyds gives her for the first time in 1890, her owner given as W.A. Boole, San Francisco.

She was lost on a voyage from San Francisco to Nanaimo in ballast; at that time Nanaimo was a coal export port. On 19 November 1892, she lost her sails off Cape Flattery, whereafter she drifted on the rocks on the seaward side of Folger Island, one of the Broken Group, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Her crew was rescued by the tug LOME, but the ERICSSON sank and was lost.
1984 The wreck was found back by divers, and the bell depict on the stamp was found then, sitting on the seabed.

Canada 1987 36c sg1250, scott?

Source: North Atlantic Seaways by N.R.P Bonsor. http://www.geocities.com/mppraetorius/com-er.htm
Info received from San Francisco Maritime Museum .