by Suzanne Houck
Sometimes you attend a lecture where the information is so good that your notes survive year after year of “file thinning”. Once upon a time I attended a lecture by Sara Conklin, ISA, CAPP, an appraiser who specializes in all things nautical. The information she shared has served me well over the years giving me confidence in gathering appropriate information during onsite inspections and providing the knowledge to determine when I needed to seek the opinion of an expert. It is too good to keep to myself!
Proper Description:
Use the correct terminology. Vessels are the proper term for most everything that is upon the water. Don’t use the word “ship” unless it is a ship. A ship – short for “full-rigged ship” is a definite combination of masts and sails. You are safe if you say “vessel.” A tug and submarine are always “boats.” “Boats ride on the deck of ships” is another old chestnut that tells you the size difference.
When describing the vessel refer to port (left) and starboard (right) as you face the bow, the front pointy end. Stern is the back end, behind you.
Details to look for:
The Hull:
Is the hull carved from a single hunk of wood (low end), slices of shaped wood, or, is it plank on a frame (the best)? You can sometimes tell if the hull is plank on frame if it has little tiny planks along the entire side and small nails covered with plugs of wood (called treenails) all lined up. It can be impossible – and is dangerous -- to remove the cases from atop ship models. This observation can be done looking through the glass. In less valuable models these hull planks are drawn on.
Hulls can be “coppered” which means tiny pieces of copper are nailed onto the wood. Sometimes it is a copper strip that is stippled to represent nails. Coppering the bottom of a hull reduces the work on a plank on frame hull but can be also labor intensive depending on the technique. Individual smaller pieces of copper attached to the lower hold down to the keel (the backbone of the vessel) is time consuming which means more valuable. (To Read the Rest of the article click the Read More Link below)
Lifeboats/Captains gig’s/whaleboats/ “Going ashore boats”:
How many are there? Are they overturned so you can’t see the details; Are they hung from davits (hooks on the deck from which they lower the boat to the water; Are they hung off the stern? Note the location and the detail.
Is/are they covered with fabric or open and constructed like a planked hull? Covered is the easy, less valuable way.
Portholes:
Are they individual, metal surrounded portholes with something to represent window glass or are they just drawn or scored on. There is a big value difference since the real portholes are much more trouble, thus prized.
Deckhouse:
How is it constructed? Like a real house with doors that open or just a hunk of wood with drawn on doors? Again details, details, details.
Sails:
Are there any? What are they made of? Are they rolled and tied up and thus “furled” or “set."? Are they individually hand stitched or glued?
Makers:
Who made it? Is there a plaque? There are only a handful of builders making technically accurate models whose names command respect. Sailor made models are valuable but bleed into the folk art category since the rigging (masts, spars and sails) are exaggerated in size and the whole presentation lacks precision but not accuracy. Remember sailors knew where everything went because they were handling the ship in the dark.
Where to get comparables
The market for these items is small and there are less than a handful of good dealers in the U.S. The three main auction houses in U.S. dealing in ship models are Maritime Auctions, Butterfields/Bonhams and Northeast Auction. Internationally, there are the London offices of Christies and Sotheby’s.
Best Advice:
Go to as may maritime museums as possible and begin really looking closely at ship models. The best are in museum collections and seeing a lot of them will sharpen your eye.
As always if you don’t feel knowledgeable enough to value it yourself consult with an expert but remember the photos you send them must clearly show all the details discussed above.
Happy sailing!
This article was written in conjunction with Sara Conklin, ISA CAPP.
Sometimes you attend a lecture where the information is so good that your notes survive year after year of “file thinning”. Once upon a time I attended a lecture by Sara Conklin, ISA, CAPP, an appraiser who specializes in all things nautical. The information she shared has served me well over the years giving me confidence in gathering appropriate information during onsite inspections and providing the knowledge to determine when I needed to seek the opinion of an expert. It is too good to keep to myself!
Proper Description:
Use the correct terminology. Vessels are the proper term for most everything that is upon the water. Don’t use the word “ship” unless it is a ship. A ship – short for “full-rigged ship” is a definite combination of masts and sails. You are safe if you say “vessel.” A tug and submarine are always “boats.” “Boats ride on the deck of ships” is another old chestnut that tells you the size difference.
When describing the vessel refer to port (left) and starboard (right) as you face the bow, the front pointy end. Stern is the back end, behind you.
Details to look for:
The Hull:
Is the hull carved from a single hunk of wood (low end), slices of shaped wood, or, is it plank on a frame (the best)? You can sometimes tell if the hull is plank on frame if it has little tiny planks along the entire side and small nails covered with plugs of wood (called treenails) all lined up. It can be impossible – and is dangerous -- to remove the cases from atop ship models. This observation can be done looking through the glass. In less valuable models these hull planks are drawn on.
Hulls can be “coppered” which means tiny pieces of copper are nailed onto the wood. Sometimes it is a copper strip that is stippled to represent nails. Coppering the bottom of a hull reduces the work on a plank on frame hull but can be also labor intensive depending on the technique. Individual smaller pieces of copper attached to the lower hold down to the keel (the backbone of the vessel) is time consuming which means more valuable. (To Read the Rest of the article click the Read More Link below)
Lifeboats/Captains gig’s/whaleboats/ “Going ashore boats”:
How many are there? Are they overturned so you can’t see the details; Are they hung from davits (hooks on the deck from which they lower the boat to the water; Are they hung off the stern? Note the location and the detail.
Is/are they covered with fabric or open and constructed like a planked hull? Covered is the easy, less valuable way.
Portholes:
Are they individual, metal surrounded portholes with something to represent window glass or are they just drawn or scored on. There is a big value difference since the real portholes are much more trouble, thus prized.
Deckhouse:
How is it constructed? Like a real house with doors that open or just a hunk of wood with drawn on doors? Again details, details, details.
Sails:
Are there any? What are they made of? Are they rolled and tied up and thus “furled” or “set."? Are they individually hand stitched or glued?
Makers:
Who made it? Is there a plaque? There are only a handful of builders making technically accurate models whose names command respect. Sailor made models are valuable but bleed into the folk art category since the rigging (masts, spars and sails) are exaggerated in size and the whole presentation lacks precision but not accuracy. Remember sailors knew where everything went because they were handling the ship in the dark.
Where to get comparables
The market for these items is small and there are less than a handful of good dealers in the U.S. The three main auction houses in U.S. dealing in ship models are Maritime Auctions, Butterfields/Bonhams and Northeast Auction. Internationally, there are the London offices of Christies and Sotheby’s.
Best Advice:
Go to as may maritime museums as possible and begin really looking closely at ship models. The best are in museum collections and seeing a lot of them will sharpen your eye.
As always if you don’t feel knowledgeable enough to value it yourself consult with an expert but remember the photos you send them must clearly show all the details discussed above.
Happy sailing!
This article was written in conjunction with Sara Conklin, ISA CAPP.
|
Tom Helms Said,
Wow! Thanks for some valuable information. Believe it or not, we have "vessels" in Arizona.
Posted on August 25, 2009 at 9:57 AM