19th C Wales Llanbedrog Ships Figurehead Fragment Naval Maritime King Alfred

A charming folk art hand painted mahogany name board for the Clovelly (Devon) fishing vessel Naomi. Below has the owner and skippers initials Oscar Stanley Abbott. Age related losse...

A rather wonderful pen and ink on paper sailors chess board, with a aesthetically pleasing geometric pattern and with what appears to be Scottish castles, HMS Alert & Discovery. Hou...

A wonderful late 19th century operation table also known as the "canine table" Made by Arnold & Son who where established in 1819 as a chemist and dru...

A large collection of late Victorian shell specimens, the majority housed in its pine box with each specimen having its period card sleeve, the remainder displayed in glazed blue car...

A large pair of scientific optical mirrors, one concave the other convex. These where used in studies of optical sciences and in particular the study of the properties of light r...

A tactile plaster cast phrenology head, primitively produced yet highly decorative and a obvious rare survivor. A inscribed label of the maker Vago alo...

Figurehead in carved oak depicting a female figure whose body has the shape of a siren, symbol of fertility and protection, with female features in the upper part and fish tail inste...

19th century English carved wooden polychrome large ship figurehead of Lord Nelson.

Brass log in the shape of a harpoon, signed T. Walker’s Patent Harpoon Ship Log A 1 London, from the second half of the 19th century. It is an ancient nautical instrument, very rare and with a characteristic shape, which measured the distance and speed of a ship. He was thrown overboard and dragged behind the ship itself; rotating thanks to its propeller, it transmitted the number of revolutions made on itself to the three dials made on an enameled metal plate placed in the center of the log; the quadrants reported measurements in miles from 0 to 100 in tens, from 0 to 10 in units, from 0 to 1 in quarters. The data was then read every hour to also derive the speed. In good condition, fully functional and mounted on a custom-made brass wooden base. Length 50 cm – 19.7 inches, propeller width 14 cm - 5.5 inches, log body diameter 4,5 cm - 1.7 inches. Shipping is insured by Lloyd's London; our gift box is free. In the past centuries the attempt to measure the speed of the ships was especially hindered by the lack of tools for the measurement of time of sufficient precision: throwing a piece of wood into the sea from the bow of a ship and measuring the time it took to get at the stern, it was possible to obtain some information on the speed of the ship, but with many errors and inaccuracies. The principle of mechanical patent log was shown to the Royal Society in 1699 by Robert Hooke, but the first model produced for commercial use was patented just in 1802 by Edward Massey, uncle of Thomas Walker, that succeeded him in business. Thomas Walker patented his first Walker log...

Late 19th Century Ships Binnacle by W. Hartmann. Binnacles are an important navigation tool. They are often in the helm of the ship and allow sailor to maintain the correct course. This beautiful example has an octagonal case made from oak with brass fittings and removable copper dome...

English Country style (19th century) carved and painted figurehead of lady with necklace and one breast exposed.  

A Royal Naval ship’s elm companionway board, of rectangular form with an arched top and two sturdy brass rings, naively carved with a crowned coat of arms flanked by a lion and unicorn...