It's been quite a while since I've posted - cartoon work has kept me very, very busy. But ship modeling is never far from my heart or my mind, and I'm thrilled to say the date of the next visit to the HHR collection in Annapolis is scheduled for May 18th through the following Monday. I intend to spend a lot of time covering construction details of as many of the models as time permits, and I also hope to meet again with Mr. Grant Walker or Mr. Don Preul to guide us through our boundless questions. Once I have all the photos formatted, categorized and arranged in usable order, I'll get them posted here for the enjoyment and study of others who share this passion.
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I've been aware of the Navy Records Society for some time, and have purchased some of their excellent volumes, including Queen Anne's Navy and the Sergison Papers, but hadn't for whatever reason actually joined. Until yesterday. For those who have a passion for Naval history, you will find a treasure of records and research material. There are two levels for membership, 20 British pounds and 40 British pounds. I opted for the 40 pound option and immediately saw the value in the investment. There are PDF editions of their most well known works available for immediate download, many of which at no further cost to members. My particular area of interest is the English Navy from the reign of William and Mary to George I, and there are a lot of resources to help me better understand that period. I'm working on a model of the English Third Rate, 70 gun warship Elizabeth of 1706 as well as researching such things as Woolwich Dockyard, Master Shipwright Richard Stacey, a number of ship's masters and captains - all of which will be greatly aided by the Navy Records Society resources. The 70 gun Third Rate ship of the line Elizabeth of 1706.
I have a number of models that were photographed on my last trip to Annapolis that I'll be posting as soon as possible. These include the 80 Gun Sussex, the Grafton, the brig Irene, the Bonhomme Richard, and something dear to every Navy man, images of the crypt of John Paul Jones - all to be posted in the very near future, so stay tuned!
I've been busy with my professional cartooning career, with my "Spectickles" due out in my first book, and we'll soon be showing up in newspapers, so that's been keeping me pretty busy. Not to fear, my love for all things nautical won't allow me to be away for very long! If you want to check out my cartoons, I have a feature on my site called "Cartoon A Day" where a different cartoon is posted, oddly enough, each day. Thank you for sharing this passion with me, and check back often! One of my favorite models in the collection is the 70 gun Third Rate 'Prince Frederick', arguably one of the Crown Jewels of the collection. A detail I keep returning to is the Captain's cabin with its intricately inlaid compass-pattern deck. And remember, this model was likely constructed nearly two decades before the birth of George Washington. No Jim Byrne's saws, no Dremels, no MicroMark - heck, even no electricity! Imagine working on something of this complexity, producing these results under candle-light? Staggers the imagination. I've spent lots and lots of time studying these images, and look forward to my next trip to see if I can improve the angles from which the photographs are taken as well as getting more comprehensive coverage of areas of interest specifically geared to researchers and ship modelers.
I'm pretty far removed from being a professional photographer - I sometimes need to be told which button to push, but I hope images like this prove useful. When you consider this model, with all of its breathtaking features is in excess of 300 years old, it staggers the mind to consider how this level of detail and craftsmanship had been achieved.
While the image appears a bit 'milky' due to difficulty in photographing images behind glass, you can still clearly see the exquisite detail of the twisted brass supports of the stern lanterns, as well as the complexity of construction of the lanterns themselves. Of particular interest is the red, or reddish appearance of the interior base of the lantern - a detail I haven't seen elsewhere. There are other unique and fascinating details of this model - stay tuned!
One of the benefits to being a ship model and nautical history enthusiast while at the same time a professional cartoonist, is that some of the software, in this case Photoshop, can provide some exciting possibilities. One that I've found is the ability to take high resolution images, capture just the area I'm interested in and zoom in without losing much in the way of clarity. Here's a close-up of the 100 gun Royal William of 1719, port side stern. Note the checkerboard deck of the stern galleries, the craftsmanship of the gold-gilt stern carvings, and the over-all precision with which this incredible work of art was built. More, much more to follow.
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AuthorBill Abbott is a professional cartoonist, retired Navy SWCC, and is a passionate reader of Naval and maritime history. Archives
May 2014
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