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Fair Wind for Canton

The Empress of China in Canton harbor, 1784

The Pearl River was a major artery of the China trade, and its heart, 90 miles inland from the South China Sea, was Canton, for centuries one of China's main commercial ports.

In Massey's tribute to life as it was in 1784 Canton harbor, we see sampans, war junks, House of Joy boats, duck boats, and flower boats - all typical of the times. The only non-Chinese craft is the long boat of the Empress of China, the first U.S. ship to arrive in Canton.

Carrying the U.S. flag so that it can pass custom houses without being stopped and taxed by petty officials, the long boat, here just below the Green Fort, makes its way up river from the Whampoa anchorage, 10 miles south of the city and harbor.

23 x 29.5 in. lithograph - 275 edition (remarques available)