Spanning some 350 years, the Thomson Collection of ship models contains
examples of exquisite workmanship and some of the masterpieces of the
genre. Foremost in the Collection are rare late 17th and 18th century
British dockyard models, made to scale for the Royal Navy and wealthy
individuals. There is also a large number of models made by some of the
120,000 prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars. These models - made from wood
and bone, with rigging of silk and human hair - were often produced by
teams of highly skilled craftsmen and sold to local British collectors
who gathered at the prison gates.
The shipbuilder's models extend from the mid 19th century to the Second
World War, representing a diversity of both model style, as well as ship
types ranging from tugs, dredgers and trawlers to cargo vessels,
passenger steamers, private yachts, corvettes, battleships, cruisers,
torpedo boats, destroyers and two aircraft carriers. The Collection is
an important three-dimensional resource for students of maritime history
and the naval architecture of ships, accurately recording vessels that
no longer exist.
The author considers in detail the rich history and artistry of
model-making. New photography captures the breathtaking mastery - the
carving, casting, gilding and stitching - that such 'ship building in
miniature' demands.
