AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING SAILOR'S WATERLINE MODEL OF THE SAIL TRAINING SHIP JOSEPH CONRAD, MODELLED DURING HER CIRCUMNAVIGATION, CIRCA 1935

constructed by Knut Wilhelms with 11in. carved and painted hull, wooden deck with fittings including deck rails, capstan, ventilators, companionways, deck houses, covered boats in davits, binnacle, helm with steering gear, masts with standing and running rigging with blocks and tackle and other details, mounted in a moulded painted green sea and contained within glazed wooden case with remnant provenance label to top autographed by Alan Villiers. Overall measurements -- 10½ x 21½ x 8½in. (26.5 x 54.5 x 21.5cm.); together with a quantity of associated ephemera including original ship's manifest signed by the crew; model plans; contact prints from the circumnavigation; a quantity of contemporary press clippings and other material.

(a lot)

Provenance: Alan Villiers and thence by descent.

A note contained amongst the ephemera states that the provenance label signed by Villiers attached to the top of the case and which claims that the carpenter, Uske Osterman, made the model is incorrect and that the steward, 20 year old Knut Wilhelms was in fact responsible. Launched in 1882 as the Danish training ship Georg Stage, she was saved from the scrap yard by the Australian sailor Alan Villiers who fitted her as private yacht and, with a young crew of trainee sailors, circumnavigated the world between October 1934-36 sailing some 57,000 nautical miles. The trip bankrupted Villiers and he sold it to Huntington Hartford who added an engine and used it as yacht until he donated to the United States coast guard as a training ship in 1942. After the war in 1947 she was in turn handed over the Mystic Seaport Museum where she is still preserved as a floating museum ship.

Condition Report

Good overall condition; glass dusty inside; provenance note to top fragmentary and much oxidised.

We are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of this property. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Charles Miller Ltd is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD “AS IS” IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE.