This pin is about Russia’s first steamship built in 1815.
On the top the pin says:”First Steamship” on the bottom it says:”Elizaveta”.
Charles Baird (1766-1843) was a Scottish engineer who played an important part in the industrial and business life of 19th-century St. Petersburg. His company specialised in steam driven machinery and was responsible for Russia’s first steamboat.
The Baird Works were responsible for the Elizaveta, Russia’s first steamship, launched in 1815, and this early start gave them a ten year monopoly on steamship routes from St. Petersburg, including the Elizaveta’s run to Kronstadt. They had their own wharves, and the St. Petersburg Times has said Baird helped “create a great industrial kingdom on the Neva River that is known today as Admiralty Shipyard (Admiralteiskiye Verfi), the shipbuilding company. Baird’s supplied the ironwork for several bridges, including the first cast iron arch bridge in Russia. The company also worked with the architect Auguste de Montferrand on the Alexander Column and Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, and were responsible for technical aspects of the cathedral dome design.