Scale: 1:768. A very small model of one of, if not the most famous ship of all time. It was made by the well-known, and highly respected, miniature ship-modeller Charles Hampshire. Looking down on the model, we find that the funnels are solid, rather than having been hollowed out. In all other respects it is meticulously detailed.

Recently the accuracy of Hampshire’s work has been called into question but it is safe to say that his scenic models of passenger vessels are more true to scale than his warships. This one is typical of his oeuvre. ‘Titanic’, set in a realistic plaster sea, at anchor, with the waves gently lapping against the ship’s sides, it is a scene of serenity, a disaster waiting to happen. The whole is contained in a shallow table-top case with a plaque inscribed ‘White Star Liner Titanic 1912’.