The "Wide Awake" 1850's

The biggest shock to me in reading about those seraphically beautiful "extreme clippers" is how extremely evanescent they were in character. "Planned obsolescence" doesn't begin to describe those ships--"Made to self-destruct" is more like it. Most revealing maybe is the construction of the masts. I had thought that masts would have to have been formed of very tall, straight single trees, like the "Norwegian spruce" I think it is Milton mentions as being suitable for a "lofty Amiral." But no. Masts were made in three sections, fidded together with iron "fids"--immense, clumsy tinker toys--and they were meant to come apart under stress--rather than tear the whole ship up, apparently....