US$5,633.32 Late 20th century model of The Cutty Sark ( 1869 ) by Longfords of London.RRc. 1970The Cutty Sark was once the most famous of the great clippers, the name ‘clipper’ referring to the fast sailing ships of the nineteenth century that traversed the world’s major trading routes. Commissioned by shipping magnate Jock ‘Whitehat’ Willis, she was built in a Scottish shipyard and launched at Dumbarton in 1869. The Cutty Sark’s unusual name derived from a poem by Robert Burns called ‘Tam O’Shanter.’ In this ode, a hero is chased by some witches, with the fastest one’s revealing shirt being known by the Scots as a cutty sark. The Cutty Sark was a masterpiece, the pinnacle of sailing ship design. Her composite hull of timber and iron was sleek and strong, while her three masts could hold a spread of canvas that propelled the ship at up to 17 knots. As a result, she spent the 1870s speeding across the high seas, establishing a reputation as one of the fastest ships afloat. Not only did her speed translate into prestige, it also translated into profits: the Cutty Sark brought the new tea crop from China, which was incredibly fashionable amongst the tearooms and parlours of Victorian Britain. The first batch of the new tea harvest was highly coveted and thus the first tea cargo to arrive fetched the highest price. Indeed, the annual tea race was a Victorian sensation: the ships’ progress was reported by telegraph and could be followed in the papers. Huge bets were laid on the outcome. The Cutty Sark was never first to the finish line, but she was still one of the fastest. In 1872 she was involved in one of the most famous tea races of all time, against the Thermopylae. The two ships...