SchmidtHOT Posted February 9, 2023 Share #1 Posted February 9, 2023 I have a large English sailing ship built approximately 120 years ago by my great grandfather. I think it might be “The Henry Grace of God” has anyone got any ideas or what it’s worth ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaager Posted February 9, 2023 Share #2 Posted February 9, 2023 (edited) Read this: In New Member Introduction New and need help to identify a mystery model? Read here first! (sorry - I have poor skills in capturing links) Unless your great grandfather worked in a starving artist workshop in the wreckage of post WWI Germany that was turning out these items aimed at a tourist market, I doubt that you are related to the actual builder. To repeat myself: "What you have there is decorator kitsch. It is not a ship model in any meaningful definition of the term. It is something that sorta looks like a ship - from a distance, in dark light, thru a gauze curtain, if you squint. That said, it probably has value as its own thing. I doubt that the value involves much money, but as time passes, what was once one of many copies will become more unique. If collecting kitsch as kitsch ever becomes a thing, who knows?" New member Introductions Need Help Identify Model Battleship / Recently Saved From The Curbside (sorry - I have poor skills in capturing links) Edited February 10, 2023 by Jaager undoing links -that were not actually links allanyed 1 Quote NRG member 45 years Current: HMS Centurion 1732 - 60-gun 4th rate - Navall Timber framing HMS Beagle 1831 refiit 10-gun brig with a small mizzen - Navall (ish) Timber framing The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1838-1842 Flying Fish 1838 pilot schooner - framed - ready for stern timbers Porpose II 1836 brigantine/brig - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers Vincennes 1825 Sloop-of-War - timbers assembled, need shaping Peacock 1828 Sloop-of -War - timbers ready for assembly Sea Gull 1838 pilot schooner - timbers ready for assembly Relief 1835 ship - timbers ready for assembly Other Portsmouth 1843 Sloop-of-War - timbers ready for assembly Le Commerce de Marseilles 1788 118 cannons - framed La Renommee 1744 Frigate - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted February 9, 2023 Share #3 Posted February 9, 2023 1 hour ago, Jaager said: Unless your great grandfather worked in a starving artist workshop in the wreckage of post WWI Germany that was turning out these items aimed at a tourist market, I doubt that you are related to the actual builder. Yep, sorry to say, but in the absence of any documented provenance for your model, it is extremely unlikely that it is a 120-year-old, one-off, scratch build. It may have been owned by your great-grandfather, as that possibility certainly fits the timescale, but the model itself is typical of the sort that were mass-produced in various parts of Europe during the first decades of the 20th century. That doesn't necessarily mean that it has no value. If it has been in your family for a long time, then it certainly has sentimental value, which shouldn't be discounted. Beyond that, though, any monetary value it might have depends on a number of factors, such as exact age, date of production, and whether it is a well-preserved example of the genera. Even if you know all of those things, there's still no guarantee of value -- that particular determination can only be made by a knowledgeable nautical antiques dealer. allanyed and mtaylor 2 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Hawker Hurricane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cleek Posted February 9, 2023 Share #4 Posted February 9, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Jaager said: If collecting kitsch as kitsch ever becomes a thing, who knows? Oh, it is. It is! A search on eBay for "kitch" yields 5,100 results. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3519243.m570.l1313&_nkw=Kitch&_sacat=0 eBay currently lists 1,200 paintings on black velvet. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=black+velvet+paintings&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=Kitch&_osacat=0 eBay even lists 623 "antique ship models." https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=antique+ship+models&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=black+velvet+paintings&_osacat=0 One of those models is listed for the "buy it now" price of $75,000! https://www.ebay.com/itm/265168202451?hash=item3dbd41aad3:g:YXEAAOSwx2hgqCyy&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoHpjbFabjApK75gjwupuZ1vr%2FtskwUWQp0bZXbtgrvmAEpG0g%2BW9oEs7ZTsF42c%2Bz0u%2FBGcaSTNRpFQm7E1V4F7AQBJfC49dpOd3J5yj6EHa5c5O%2FRSqpwjsNGVCroMG4HuP%2FyKSDOj1kAoZ1f5ZaHlvdHqo6wzUCUL1y8yAhJPhYxOWsz13nyrFMou7q%2BfmG8ex5vAG0ppYQxQpeN5hgOs%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-7L24bHYQ That said, the model Jaager and ccoyle accurately commented about isn't in the $75,000 category at all. What is asked on eBay and what is realized are often quite different figures. The moral of the story is that any antique (by definition over 100 year old) ship model is worth whatever a willing buyer will pay to a willing seller. If you like it for whatever reason, cherish and enjoy it as a family heirloom. It's a rare home that won't have its decor improved by a ship model on display! Edited February 9, 2023 by Bob Cleek Mark P, mtaylor and allanyed 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsdpic Posted February 10, 2023 Share #5 Posted February 10, 2023 It looks like Jaager's links are incorrect. Here is the correct version of the first one.... mtaylor 1 Quote - Gary Current Build: Artesania Latina Sopwith Camel Completed Builds: Blue Jacket America 1/48th Annapolis Wherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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