Early 19th century sketchbook with drawings of American sailing ships

[American ships - Sketch book]. [Drawings of U.S. Navy ships and other vessels].

€ 6,500.00

Remarkable 19th century sketchbook with coloured drawings of early 19th century American ships, with the names, home ports, and destinations listed. They are all sailing ships, depicted in full sail. Most drawings are dated, so they were most likely made by a sailor who was a crew member on the ships in those years. These are the only contemporary depictions of some of the vessels.

The work contains 26 different drawings of various sailing ships. Included are the United States, a three-masted U.S. Navy frigate built at the end of the 18th century, the Siren, a U.S. gun brig that served during the first Barbary War (1801-05), and the Patron, an immigrant ship built in Boston. Of particular interest is the drawing of the Houqua. This was the ship of captain Valentine Pease Jr. (1797-1807), who was also the captain of the ship on which Herman Melville (1819-91) made his very first whaling expedition, and who possibly served as the inspiration for Ahab in Moby Dick. The drawing is dated 1831. It is known that the Houqua did set out on a whaling voyage in that year, which lasted until 1835. This voyage was notable because only three of the original 25 crew members returned. Two members, including the first mate, were discharged for unknown reasons, eleven of the crew deserted, and another nine drowned. It is possible that the draughtsman of the present sketchbook was one of the crewmembers during this voyage.