Sep 15, 2011 - Sale 2253

Sale 2253 - Lot 196

Price Realized: $ 4,320
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 5,000 - $ 7,500
(JAPAN.) Design for the USS Macedonian, which accompanied Commodore Perry to Japan. Ink drawing, 25 1/2 x 36 inches, initialed by an unidentified engineer; moderate finger-soiling. [Brooklyn, NY?], 1852
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Additional Details

The frigate USS Macedonian was launched in 1836, and Matthew Perry had served as its commander during the 1840s. When he was ordered to command a fleet to open trade with Japan in 1852, the Macedonian was laid up at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for conversion into a sloop of war. Perry departed for Japan with a small fleet and succeeded in delivering a message to the Japanese in July 1853. When he returned in February 1854, his fleet was enhanced by the newly retrofitted Macedonian. Perry and the shogun of Japan signed the Convention of Kanagawa, ending Japan's long period of seclusion.
This profile drawing was apparently done at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as part of the Macedonian's conversion to a sloop of war. The ship's original design is in black ink, with changes apparently indicated in red. The ship was razeed, a process which involved the removal of an entire deck to accommodate smaller crews and fewer (but heavier) guns. Fortunately, the guns were never used in Japan.