The Sovereign of the Seas built 1637 from an Original Picture by Vandevelde

Object summary

Title: The Sovereign of the Seas built 1637 from an Original Picture by Vandevelde
Object ID: CC-F-0007
Date made: 1802
Place made: United Kingdom, Greater London, London
Publisher: Cadell & Davies
After?: Velde, Willem van de, I; Velde, Willem van de, II
Object type: Etching; Aquatint
Major collection: Nautical
Named collection: Arthur H. Clark Collection
On view: No

Description

A port side ship portrait of the three-decked, 100-fun ship of the line, the 'Sovereign of the Seas,' of the British Royal Navy. With British flags, full sails, and open gun-ports, an officer on the center deck directs men to set the fore mainsail. The Dutch referred to the ship as the "Golden Devil" for her heavy armament and gold ornamentation. She was accidentally burned at Chatham.

This print was taken from volume 2 or 3 of John Charnock's 'An History of Marine Architecture,' (London: R. Faulder, 1800-1802). Charnock's book was considered the most authoritative book on eighteenth-century shipbuilding published in England.

Reference: British Museum, 1864,0611.92