Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of an iron sailing merchantman (1877), mounted on ornately carved wooden crutches together with its original baseboard. The hull is complete with a variety of fittings such as stump masts, capstan and anchor winch with studded chain and three boats mounted on the deck house and raised skids. Mounted on the poop deck is the wheel together with a binnacle, a rounded skylight and a stovepipe.

The model was submitted for the competitive exhibition of model ships organized by the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights at the Fishmonger’s Hall, London, in May 1877. According to the brass display plaque, it represents a ship measuring 250 feet in length by 39 feet in the beam and a tonnage of 1833 builder’s measurement. The design was awarded a silver medal and maker Charles Jordan was given the Freedom of the Shipwrights Company for his efforts.

The use of iron in shipbuilding greatly increased the size and strength of these vessels enabling them to carry more cargo at the same speed as the former composite built clipper ships such as the `Cutty Sark’. The fact that iron, and the later steel hulls required less maintenance than the composite wooden construction enabled these vessels to operate well into the early 20th century.