Ship Models

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.