A wave of glamorous ships such as Cunard’s Mauretania and Lusitania appeared in 1906 designed for speed across the Atlantic but slightly later luxury became a dominant factor.
When White Star unveiled its Olympic class (including Titanic launched in 1910), Cunard responded with the Aquitania of 1913, conceived almost as exact competition in terms of tonnage and proportions - plus an opulent interior.
“‘She was one of those floating palaces,” says maritime and scientific specialist auctioneer Charles Miller (24% buyer’s premium) of Fulham, west London, whose April 23 sale included several lots relating to Aquitania by happy coincidence.
Draughtsman office plan of Aquitania, £2400 at Charles Miller.
Glamorous breed
A hefty builder’s model was the stand-out star, both in terms of a £30,000-40,000 estimate and its 7ft 4in (2.24m) size, housed in a 3ft high (91.5cm) table stand. It had a provenance to The Honourable Company of Master Mariners, presented by Cunard Steamship Company in 1952.
Aquitania was described by Miller as “arguably the most successful of the great pre-1914 North Atlantic liners, as well as being regarded by many as the most handsome of all the legendary ‘four-stackers’”.
She was “undeniably the longest lived of that glamorous breed of ocean greyhounds”, an Edwardian anomaly still sailing until 1950 “by accident of circumstances”.
The model hammered down at £44,000 to an American collector with an interest in liners in general, a long-standing client of Miller.
Anything linked to Cunard is likely to be of interest to US collectors because it did the American run.
They just kept coming...
The same collector bought the other Aquitania lots too. Miller urged the vendor of the model to also consign a rare card table from the first-class lounge, probably supplied by Harris Lebus c.1914, which sold for £1900, and from the same date a rare pair of first-class armchairs made for the Palladian Lounge probably supplied by Fredrick Parker & sons, that were knocked down at £1700.
Then, remarkably, when Miller was separately unwrapping a miscellaneous bundle of plans and other papers he found a set of draughtsman office plans for Aquitania, John Brown & Co, c.1913, that dipped under estimate at £2400 but meant the model and plans could be shown together in the catalogue.
Aquitania draughtsman office plans, £2400 at Charles Miller.
Completing the serendipitous Aquitania lots was a contemporary oil on canvas titled R.M.S. ‘Aquitania’ passing Cloch Point Lighthouse on her final voyage, 21st February, 1950, by Robert Lloyd (b.1969).
It sold for £3800 (estimate £1000-1500), a very impressive result for a marine artist whose work is usually for commercial commissions so has had a limited secondary market exposure up to now.
When Miller was chatting to Lloyd at the Fulham office the artist had spotted the Aquitania model and revealed he had painted this work for his personal enjoyment - but was persuaded to consign it in the same auction.
R.M.S. ‘Aquitania’ passing Cloch Point Lighthouse on her final voyage, 21st February, 1950, by Robert Lloyd, £3800 at Charles Miller.
In 2015 Miller set a record for a 20th century ship builder’s model. A 13ft (4m) long version of the Mauretania sailed to a £135,000 hammer price against an estimate of £30,000-50,000.
Model selection
P&O model lifeboat, £9800 at Charles Miller.
The sale included a strong selection of builder’s models overall from various consignors.
Somewhat smaller than the Aquitania model but also with a liner link, a silver presentation example lifeboat for P&O sold for £9800 (estimate £2000-3000).
The 151/2in (39.5) model featured a hull realistically modelled with bilge keels, detachable rudder with London hallmarks for John Crane Salt, 1866, steering chains, cutaway masts, bench seats, gratings and other details.
It was mounted on a shaped ebonised stand with maker's plate for Angell & Browne, Manufacturers, 10 Strand, London and bore a presentation plate inscribed TO JAMES ALLAN ESQ. / FROM JOHN WHITE, COWES / TO RECORD THE DESIGNING & INTRODUCTION / OF THE ABOVE PLAN OF LIFE BOATS INTO THE / PENINSULAR & ORIENTAL COMPANY'S FLEET / 1848.
A favourite of Miller depicted the cargo ship MV Harmattan built by Lithgows for J&C Harrison, 1959.
The vessel had the strange distinction of being sunk in Karachi Port by an Indian missile in the short-lived Indo-Pakistani War of December 3-16, 1971. The model, estimated at £2000- 3000, sold at £8500 to an Indian collector who is a retired master mariner.
It had a provenance to Mr NJT Harrison-Sleep (1948-2022), family, removed when the firm was sold, then left to a family friend. The lot included archive items providing a valuable record of the Harrison Line.
Scrimshaw surprise
Mid-19th century scrimshaw-worked nautilus shell by CH Wood, £11,000 at Charles Miller.
One of the biggest sale surprises was a large-sized (6in/15cm high) mid-19th century scrimshaw-worked nautilus shell by CH Wood. Miller has sold various similar items from the vendor over the years, pitching them around the middle hundreds.
This one, c.1860, was guided at £500-600 but hammered at an extraordinary £11,000 instead - probably a record for such an example. The reason for that result remains a mystery considering it depicted standard designs of Brunel’s famous steamships, the Royal Arms, a short nautical rhyme and the Prince of Wales’s feathers and bore the claim engraved with a common penknife by C Wood.
In 2016 Miller sold another Wood example for £8500 to a UK private collector. Although it had some restored cracks, the design subject matter was more unusual, including - alongside the Royal Arms, the Arms of the City of London and George and the Dragon - the text of the Mansion House speech of Prince Albert at The Grand Exhibition Banquet, London, March 21, 1850. A later presentation inscription was dated 1852.
