A very fine cased scratch built model by Myron Van Ness. Van Ness was a well-known and respected maker of high quality ship models in Southern California.
SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, a clipper ship built in 1852, was a sailing vessel notable for setting the 1854 world record for fastest sailing ship Inches22 knots, a record the ship held for over 100 years.
Built by Donald McKay of East Boston, Massachusetts, SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS was the first ship to travel more than 400 nautical miles in 24 hours. On the second leg of her maiden voyage, she made a record passage from Honolulu, Hawaii to New York City in 82 days. She then broke the record to Liverpool, England, making the passage in 13 days 13.5 hours. In 1853 she was chartered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line, Liverpool for the Australia trade.
