April, 1917 
bl 
SHIPS THAT NEVER WENT TO SEA 
Old Models Now in Demand for Decorations —- 
Their Makers and Their Use 
COSTEN FITZ-GIBBON 
T here is something about the 
sight of a ship that lays hold of 
and captivates the imagination. 
It matters not whether the ship be 
a full-sized craft that “goes down to 
the sea” bearing those “that occupy 
their business in great waters” and 
stretching the network of commerce 
from port to port, or whether it be 
only a little model; it carries with it 
a potent spell whose fascination nei¬ 
ther the habitual globe-trotter nor the 
veriest sea-dreading stay-at-home can 
escape. The inherent grace of line in 
the hull and, if it be one of the old 
sailing craft, the forest of rigging and 
the spread of canvas silhouetted in 
sharp relief against the sky, hold the 
eye by an almost irresistible attraction. 
Besides all this, there is a compelling 
appeal of mystery about a thing fash¬ 
ioned to meet and battle with the 
primal forces of nature, forces too 
vast for us to tame to our bidding and 
harness with any puny 
device of modern recti¬ 
linear and meticulous 
exactitude and to which 
we must, perforce, ac¬ 
commodate ourselves. 
All these wholesome 
sensations of wonder 
and awe and admira¬ 
tion, and the memories 
of not a few threads 
of romance too, are 
called forth in just as 
vivid reality by the 
ships’ models, which 
now enjoy such an ab¬ 
sorbing share of popu¬ 
larity, as by the keels 
that actually plough the 
seven seas. 
The Sailors’ Votive 
Offering 
“What are these 
ships’ models and why 
were they made?” 
The answer is many- 
sided, just as many- 
sided as the conditions 
that called them into 
being, and in order to 
give an intelligent ex¬ 
planation of their exist¬ 
ence one must be per¬ 
mitted the indulgence 
of presenting an his¬ 
torical retrospect. The 
beginning of our story 
is wrapped in the mists 
of antiquity. In Egypt, 
In the living-room a ship model affords a fine spot of action 
and interest. It can stand on a table or shelf or he hung hy 
wires from the ceiling beams. Complete in every detail of 
gear and stick, it will bear even careful inspection at close 
range, while its effect as a ivhole is always striking. Model 
by courtesy of Charles Platt, III, Esq. 
As mantel decoration for the library or man's room, few objects have such value 
c:s a good model. It lends a sense of strength, ivith not a little tang of the sea. 
This is shown by courtesy of Mrs. Charles Platt 
in ancient Greece and in the early days 
of Rome’s maritime greatness, sea¬ 
faring men were wont to dedicate 
offerings to the gods either to pro¬ 
pitiate them and ensure safety to them¬ 
selves from the perils of the deep or 
else in thanksgiving for an escape from 
death by shipwreck. These first votive 
offerings seem to have been in the 
form of sea-stained garments hung up 
in the temples or at shrines, but they 
eventually gave place, in part at least, 
to the models of ships which were 
suspended in a conspicuous position. 
This same time-honored and pic¬ 
turesque custom was transferred from 
the old pagan days to the Christian 
era and, persisting through the ages, 
became widely prevalent in the 15th 
or 16th Centuries and remained 
thereafter in habitual practice. In 
the seaport towns and fishing vil¬ 
lages of Brittany, Normandy and 
Holland, especially, but also to some 
considerable extent in 
England and in various 
parts of the Continent, 
ships’ models as votive 
offerings were suspend¬ 
ed high in air before 
the altars and shrines 
in cathedrals and 
churches. Those who 
have seen them thus 
displayed can never 
forget how strikingly 
graceful and impressive 
they always are. 
Blessing the Boats 
In Catholic countries 
their votive use has 
continued to the pres¬ 
ent day, even as it was 
in the “ages of faith.” 
To cite but one specific 
instance, throughout the 
length of the nave and 
aisles of the Church of 
Saint Pierre, in the 
Island of Saint Pierre 
just off the south coast 
of Newfoundland, 
ships’ models are hung 
in mid-air by long 
chains depending from 
the roof, and these 
votive offering ships 
have a very vital mean¬ 
ing to the inhabitants 
of the island whose 
livelihood is based up¬ 
on the harvest from the 
sea. Every year at 
“Those were the days of clippers ”— 
like the Red Jacket, which sailed from 
Sandy Hook to Liverpool in thirteen 
days. She was built in 1863 
There's a fine romance behind this 
frigate ivhich loas made early in the 
last century by French ivar prisoners 
from bones saved from their meals 
