1 minute read
Forgotten Facts
from 09102021 WEEKEND
by tribune242
A SAILOR’s Valentine
Sailor’s Valentine A
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reader sent me a photograph of a Sailor’s Valentine, wanting to know whether it is true that these objets d’art used to be made in the Bahamas. That picture brought back fond memories of Babbie Holt and her daughter Pam Dunn, who used to live in Lyford Cay and had a stunning collection of them.
For a long time, I believed these splendid creations were sculpted by crewmembers of the ships that sailed the world and often would be at sea for a year or more. I could see the sailors walking along deserted beaches and picking up all sorts of seashells and, when they had a sufficient collection, spending their off-duty hours gluing all sorts and sizes of shells onto a plate-sized frame, which they would cover with glass. Each valentine was a unique mosaic and framed in an octagonal shape, about the size of a dinner plate and about two inches deep. Most of the designs show hearts, flowers, anchors and other nautical symbols. Often there would be a romantic message, spelled out with small shells.
When a seaman returned home, he would give his finished masterpieces to his loved ones. It was mind-blowing that so many seamen could craft such intricate and perfect art.
But the truth will out, and it was discovered that these works of nautical art were created by professional artists and sold by Belgrave’s Curiosity Shop in Barbados, where they could be ordered with the buyer’s personal message.
Benjamin Belgrave had created a thriving industry that catered to the crews and passengers on homeward bound ships.
Does this deflate the romantic image? Hardly! A Sailor’s Valentine is one of those things of beauty that last forever.
I haven’t seen such a valentine for several years, but when I look
PAUL C at pictures, I still imagine myself ARANHA sailing with Captain Flint on the FORGOT TEN FACTS Walrus, headed for Treasure Island and singing, “Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest. Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.”
BELGRAVE’s Curiosity Shop in Barbados, c. 1893 (Photo courtesy of Bowers Museum)
