


Chinese Schoolcirca 1880The American sail/steam ship City of Peking arriving off China 12 x 17-1/2 in. (30.4 x 44.4 cm.)
Sold for US$4,750 inc. premium
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Chinese School, circa 1880
oil on canvas
12 x 17-1/2 in. (30.4 x 44.4 cm.)
Footnotes
The S.S. City of Peking was an iron-hulled steamship built in 1874 by John Roach & Sons for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. The City of Peking and her sister ship City of Tokio were at the time of construction the largest vessels ever built in the United States, and the second largest in the world behind the British leviathan Great Eastern. Construction of the two Pacific Mail ships was plagued with financial difficulties, which threatened to bankrupt the shipbuilder. However, City of Peking would go on to have a long and successful commercial career. In addition to her cargoes, City of Peking brought many Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the United States, and later served as a troopship in the Spanish-American War. On 21 September 1903, the aging vessel was finally retired from transpacific service by Pacific Mail.