An Unimportant Ship, The Brig Pavilion, 1829-1863 (Paperback)

The Pavilion was a 79 foot, 3 inch long American sailing ship of no particular significance. She was one of many similar ships. The Pavilion spent half of her career carrying general cargo between merchants in New York City and their business associates in Baltimore. The second half of her career was spent hunting down whales. This book is the biography of that ship. It tells what is known of the ship and the ordinary people who worked with her. The story starts with details of ship construction at Higganum Landing, Connecticut along the Connecticut River, and ends in a struggle for survival after the ship was crushed by ice in the Canadian Arctic. Accurate details include how things were done, the names of 250 or so people who did the work, cargos carried, ports of call from Holmes Hole to Baia dos Tigres to San Francisco, and dates documented down to the day and sometimes even the hour. Current events of the time are included to provide insights into why decisions were made. On the front cover is a mid-1830's painting of the ship done by an apprentice sign painter who afterwards spent most of his life painting signs for shoe stores. It was the starting point for this book.