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mine used to visit him in his studio, where he had ship models of various types suspended in different attitudes to show their shapes and shadows. The Merseyside dockland areas where I was raised abounded in semi-primitive types of ship paintings. One could see them hanging in the lobbies of small terraced houses down any side street where the owner was usually a tugboatman, lighterman, steward, able seaman, shipyard worker or was a descendant of such men. Not for them the subtleties and nuances of artistic expression. They demanded the recognizable portrayal of the rivets they had punched, the funnel they had painted, and the block and tackle that had torn their muscles. This type of painting will today fetch a high price. Sentiment Will Prevail Despite one's judgment, sentiment will still prevail, as it does with me in respect to a certain painting. As a boy I used to pay regular Sunday visits to the graves of my grandparents. The site was high on a hill overlooking the Mersey estuary, and I was fascinated by some of the surrounding graves on which there were anchors, coral, and carved pieces of nautical objects. Two graves in particular have remained in my mind. One was engraved "To the Memory of Lucas B. Blydenburgh of New York, mate of the packet ship Pennsylvania, who was drowned near Leasowe Castle after leaving the wreck during the memorable gale of January 8th, 1839, aged 40 years." The other was to the memory of a passenger, a citizen of New York, William Douglas, born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and from the same ship. Close by was another grave, to the memory of the heroic coxswain of the lifeboat which rescued many survivors. It read: "Thomas Evans, Magazines Lifeboat, August 30, 1875, Aged 70 years. He took part in the assistance of nearly 100 vessels and in the rescue of over 1,000 lives, being engaged during the Great Storm of 1839." My own forebears took part in this rescue, which was in the days before the creation of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, when the rescue boats were manned by local pilots and fishermen. Many years after I had ceased to visit the old cemetery, I came across a reproduction of a painting in Basil Luebock's Western Ocean Packets. It was rather crudely painted, with fantastic waves and a number of sailing vessels scattered about in various stages of disarray. I read the title idly. "Hurricane off Liverpool, January 7th and 8th, 1839" it
Illustrations for this article are from George Campbell's China Tea Clippers (New York, David McKay, 1974. $12.95), a lovingly detailed exploration of the design, construction and histories of these ships and of "values which were satisfying ends in themselves."
"Anyone who has witnessed the extraordinary love and care with which a hull is created... could never knowingly betray it. ''
The triumph of the American clipper Oriental' s arrival in London's West India Dock in December 1850 is dramatically expressed in this superbly detailed portrait of the ship. Below, the shape of the Oriental' s bow.
, '¡. " '-,~."Ofl.JENTAL" NEW YO/l.K 1849
The anger of the sea, the defiance of the ship and steadfastness of her men: The Sir Lancelot dismasted in the Channel.