The Clipper RED JACKET was named after a Native American Chief of the Seneca Tribe and was unquestionably the sharpest, fastest and best looking of the Maine fleet of sail vessels. Chief Otetiani  earned his name for the red coat that he wore, a sign of his allegiance to the British during the American Revolution. He later made peace with the newly formed United States and in 1792 he was presented a medal by General George Washington. Chief Red Jacket died in 1830 on a reservation in Buffalo, New York at the age of 72. However, the sleek vessel that later bore his name was  built in the State of Maine. Her maiden voyage departed from Sandy Hook, NY on January 11, 1854. After a stormy trans-Atlantic crossing they passed Rock Light off Liverpool, England in a record time of 13 days, 1 hour and 25 minutes. Due to the rough weather, she only averaged 182 nautical miles a day for the first week, but for the final six days she averaged 353 miles in each 24 hour period. Capt. Eldridge then, refusing the aid of a tug, sailed her up the Mersey River to a Liverpool dock, threw her yards aback and, with precision that brought a roar from the awaiting crowd, lay the vessel alongside the pier head. It was a feat of no small magnitude. The RED JACKET created a sensation as the public came down to the docks in droves to inspect the vessel’s sleek lines and incredible figurehead and the transom, which also featured an elaborate carving of her namesake. Capt. Elbridge remained with the Collins Lines and turned over RED JACKET"s helm to Capt. Samuel Reid. RED JACKET’s next voyage under Capt. Reid, was from Liverpool to Melbourne, Australia in a respectable 69 days. She made the return trip in 73 days in spite of time lost negotiating the ice fields of Cape Horn. After this voyage she was sold to Pilkington & Wilson, agents for the White Star Line, for a reported thirty thousand English pounds. She continued the Melbourne run carrying passengers and general cargo outbound and gold dust and passengers on the return. When the Australian passenger trade began to slow she was used to carry general cargo in various trades including a run between Quebec and Liverpool carrying timber in the 1870s” (Sail, Power & Steam Museum, Rockland online).
John Charles Allcot (1888-1973), artist, was born on 14 November 1888 at Liverpool, Lancashire, England, son of George Allcot, mariner, and his wife Mary Elizabeth. Educated at Arnot Street Board School, at the age of 14 John was apprenticed to Tillotson & Son Ltd, lithographers, and attended classes at the Liverpool Institute and School of Art. In 1906 he worked in the Mersey tugboats and next year sailed as a deck-boy in the barque, Invermark. He loved painting and would scrounge ship's paint, sailcloth and handkerchiefs with which to depict the sea, ships and life on board. Arriving in Sydney in the Miltiades in 1909, Allcot signed on with the old clipper, Antiope. He worked in coastal, island and intercolonial vessels out of Sydney before giving up the sea in 1912. Supporting himself by painting theatre sets, he obtained commissions for ship paintings from Sydney photographers and toured the countryside, completing landscapes which he exhibited regularly with the Royal Art Society of New South Wales from 1920. He gained widespread recognition in the 1920s with a series of oil paintings on the founding of the Australian colonies, which were later acquired by the Australasian Pioneers' Club. Other commissions followed. Allcot also worked as an illustrator and wrote articles about the sea for the Sydney Mail. In the 1940s he painted the seas for ship-models built by the sculptor Robert Klippel. Allcot's painting of the Cutty Sark was presented to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954. Allcot was dark and diminutive, less than five feet (153 cm) tall. His studio became a meeting-place for those interested in ships, paintings and models. Regular visitors included maritime artists Oswald Brett and Ian Hansen who watched him work and listened to his colourful stories of seafaring. Allcot exhibited landscapes and still lifes at Beard, Watson & Co. Ltd (1962); his paintings of ships were shown at Underwood Galleries (1965) and those of twelve windjammers at the San Francisco Maritime Museum, United States of America (1969). In Sydney he held a successful exhibition (1970) at Proud's Art Gallery to celebrate the bicentenary of James Cook's landing in Australia; Allcot's last showing took place at the Copperfield Gallery (1973). Painting to tried and tested conventions, with impeccable attention to detail, Allcot used water-colour and gouache, and oils. His work was prolific and romantic. At a time of great change in the shipping industry, he specialized in nostalgic views of sailing ships and steamers, and found an appreciative market of ship-owners, captains, crews and their families. A Fellow (1956) of the local Royal Art Society, Allcot was a member of the League of Ancient Mariners and of the Shiplovers' Society. He was elected an honorary life member (1962) of the Australasian Pioneers' Club and appointed O.B.E. in 1970. His work is represented in private and public collections in Australia and abroad.
Done in Allcot's distinctive manner. An inscription on verso reads:
The Red Jacket "Along the Clipper Way".
John Allcot commisioned by R Barnett during early 1969.
Signed lower left. Inscribed RED JACKET lower right.
Bears Lot number from Leonard Joel Auction house.
365 x 440mm. Sightline.