Mary Patten Captains her Clipper around Cape Horn by G. Johnson, 1856

Reproduction of a painting. Published by the Atlantic Companies. Deck scene on board NEPTUNE'S CAR (ship, ?m). Additional information included inside the negative enclosure: "Mary Patten Captains her CLipper around Cape Horn[CR]Less than a month out of New York, hull down with cargo for California, the clipper ship NEPTUNE'S CAR encountered multiple misfortune. Captain Joshua Patten had to depose his chief mate for insubordination. Then soon after, he and the two remaining officers fell helplessly ill of malaria.[CR]One person remained able to command: Mary Patten, who as a bride had learned celestial navigation from her husband on her only previous voyage. She assembled the crew and announced her decision. They'd sail on. For 55 hard driving days she captained the clipper as it sped down the Atlantic, swept around the Horn, and skimmed up the Pacific. On November 13, 1856, the ship safely entered the Golden Gate. The cargo she delivered would be worth $10,000,000 today.[CR]An incident from the Disaster Books in the Marine Library of The Atlantic Companies.[CR]Atlantic Mutual - Centennial."