Lot Essay
The barque Anjer - named for the Javanese port in the Sunda Strait - was built at Newport in 1843. Owned by Bell & Co. and registered in Liverpool at 446 tons, she measured 121 feet in length with a 29 foot beam. Under Captain T. Bell, she left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to Calcutta on 9th December 1843 and arrived in India on 17th May 1844. Returning via St. Helena, she was back home on 22nd December, the round trip having taken fractionally over one year. Towards the end of her career she was operating out of Sunderland and on 30th August 1864, whilst carrying coal into Alexandria, she grounded on rocks outside the harbour there and sank in deep water although without loss of life.
The most likely candidate for the other vessel in this work would seem to be the 316 ton Bombay built in India in 1801 and still trading as late as the mid-1850's. The other possibility is the huge 1,280 ton Bombay built in 1809 although this seems much less probable since Heard creates the impression that his two ships are of roughly comparable size.
The most likely candidate for the other vessel in this work would seem to be the 316 ton Bombay built in India in 1801 and still trading as late as the mid-1850's. The other possibility is the huge 1,280 ton Bombay built in 1809 although this seems much less probable since Heard creates the impression that his two ships are of roughly comparable size.