(Recto) A deck scene showing capstan, mast and ropes, with sailors relaxing in the backround. The stern of the ship's boat is visible with the letters 'ON' hinting at the name of the ship.

(Verso) Two sketches (one in pencil, the other in pen and ink with watercolour) showing the head and shoulders of a man wearing a straw hat decorated with ribbon and foliage - perhaps in imitation of an officer's felt hat and badge.

Page from an album of drawings and watercolours (PAI4289) formerly owned, and possibly made, by the renowned antiquarian of Kent and churchman the Rev. Thomas Streatfeild (1777-1848). The album is inscribed on the frontispiece by a later owner, and with a variant spelling: ‘Rev. T. Streatfield / 1777-1848 / Sketchbook of shipboard scenes’.

The present album of pencil drawings and watercolours represents a departure from the sobriety of Streatfeild’s activities as a curate and antiquarian. It begins with a few pencil studies: a bridge, trees and animals, but is largely made up of a group of scenes aboard ship, presumably taken from life. The collected vignettes and caricatures offer a humorous glimpse of life on board ship, as passengers find their sea-legs and the crew carry out their duties. Curiously, none of the drawings include any suggestion of a port or coastline, or any other indication of where the ship was sailing from or to. However, it seems likely that the images record the voyage of a packet boat crossing the English Channel or North Sea.

The album remained with Streatfeild’s descendants until purchased by the Museum in 1969.