Naval Scenes - or sketches afloat - No 3. Cooking (caricature)

Hand-coloured.; Text in English below image. Depicts clothing, outerwear: dress, seaman's

The ship's cook is preparing dinner. Although he is plucking a fresh chicken, most meat used was preserved in barrels of salt. Hard biscuit was more common than fresh bread. Fruit and vegetables went bad quickly and soon ran out on long journeys. The smoking chimney shows the galley (kitchen) stove is lit. No other fires were allowed on wooden ships no matter how cold it was because of the risk of fire.

Object Details

ID: PAF3731
Collection: Fine art
Type: Print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: McLean, Thomas
Date made: 10 Feb 1831
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Mount: 342 mm x 238 mm