Japan Navy ship 1868
17 1/2 by 20 1/2 inches
PRS12 $145
Ships and ocean-going vessels have captured mankind's imagination for centuries, and this collection of plans, designs and models of 17th century ships is no exception. Representing the collection of the Musée National de la Marine, the folio-sized photolithographs in Souvenirs de Marine Conservés depict vessels of various sizes and purposes from several countries.
The Musée National de la Marine (National Navy Museum) in France has its origins with Louis XV. A collection of ship models and naval installations were displayed at the Louvre in 1752, made available to students of the Naval engineers school. This "Salle de Marine" or Navy Room was used for teaching until the French Revolution; the museum was eventually reopened and moved to the Palais de Chaillot in 1937.
François-Edmond Pâris (1806-1893) curated the museum after his retirement from the French Navy. The vice-admiral ordered more than 400 models constructed, representing small crafts indigenous to the different locales of the French Empire. He also organized the collections and gathered the plans reproduced in Souvenirs de Marine Conservés, dated 1882.
This work has become so rare that a facsimile copy of it was produced in 1975. We are fortunate indeed to be able to present selections from the original work published in 1882 which we bought in its battered original boards. The images of ship models are on a whiter paper than the plans. Some plates have toning and foxing as shown in the images.
