We're currently researching the mid to late 19th century vessel Silver Cloud. 

There are very few pieces to the puzzle, the model below being the most important piece. Captained by John McLachlan she sailed the oceans anywhere from around 1850 to 1900, transporting coffee from Rio de Janeiro to the Cape, South Africa. The captain's daughter, born in 1882, recounted that as a little girl, she watched as the ship's cargo was being unloaded at the Cape docks after returning from Rio. She also recalled that the smell of coffee was so strong that it gave people nosebleeds when not wearing masks.

The vessel may have been referred to as a clipper, ship or even a bark, although the model clearly shows a ship-rigged vessel. If you have any information on her, we would love to hear from you.

A model built by the captain's son Jimmy and donated in 1960 to the Africana Museum in Johannesburg,