Henry W Peabody, Malta, 3 April 1862

Date1862

Object number00005648

NameStatuette

MediumChalkstone or terra sigillata

DimensionsOverall: 405 x 112 x 109 mm, 3.15 kg

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionThis is a statuette of the American merchant Henry W Peabody whose company established the Australia Line - a fleet of vessels which serviced passenger runs and import/export between America and Australia in the second half of the 19th century.HistoryHenry W Peabody was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 22 August, 1838. After working for a China/India merchant based in Boston, in 1859 Peabody assumed a clerkship with Samuel Stevens and his Australian trade buisness becoming a partner in 1862. In February 1867, Henry W Peabody established a company in his own name with his brother Alfred S Peabody. With its fleet of schooner and clipper ships called the Australian Line, Henry W Peabody & Co imported and exported a wide variety of commodities between America and Australia, China, South Africa and South America. The company is said to have been the first to guarantee shipping dates for goods exported from Boston. The company also serviced passenger runs - particularly in response to the Gold Rush. After 1890, the company concentrated on developing its hemp business, and has continued trading in textiles to the present day. Henry W Peabody died 7 December, 1908.SignificanceThis statuette represents a generation of American entrepreneurs who established shipping companies to facilitate trade import and export and passenger services between Australia and America in the 19th century.