The Sovereign of the Seas by Henry b. Culver

[Peter Gutterman]

This model, from the 1920s was made by Henry B. Culver, author and master craftsman employed by Col. Henry H. Rogers to restore and curate his collection of historic Admiralty Models which now comprise the Rogers Collection of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum. Culver not only restored the models but added much masting and rigging not original to them. A meticulous scholar, his fabrications were wholly accurate and faithful to their period as is his model of the "Sovereign of the Seas" a masterpiece by any measure or standard, Many of Culver's techniques employed remain a mystery such as his fabrication of the sails.
Larry Valett, my partner in completing the masting and rigging restoration of the 18thc. model of the Spanish 74 " El Terrible" from the Rogers Collection was kind enough to take these pictures, while the "Soveriegn" undergoes cleaning and repair by the Curator of Models, Don Preul.

 

[kirill4]

Great Thanks,
Peter!
If You have some more pictures like this in high resolution, please post them ! Or give link where we could see them in details?
Thanks again!

 

[Roger Pellett]

Can you clarify the current ownership of the model? The photos were apparently taken in the Naval Academy’s model shop. The description of the model is attributed to the Kriegstein Family. Both the Academy and the Kriegsteins of course have world class ship model colllections.

Roger

 

[Peter Gutterman]

The model is currently, I believe, a permanent part of the USNA collection. The kriegsteins have donated, I believe, more than one or two models to the Academy.
For more information contact Grant Walker at: walker@usna.edu

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Can you please upload the full sized pictures? These are small. How lucky of you to be able to photograph such a wonderful model!

 

[Peter Gutterman]

I am no longer working at the Academy. A friend of mine who has taken over my project took the pictures and emailed them to me. I downloaded them from there to post, which I did "full image". It was pure serendipity that the model was in the shop for cleaning, so I asked my friend to take the photos and email them to me for this purpose. I had you in mind when the opportunity arose, so I jumped on it. I wish they had posted it on the weekly digest. I know there are a lot of people who would like to see them. I don't know if there is any way to enlarge them, as I said I posted them "full image", not thumbnail. I guess we should ask around. I'm not very tech savvy. Just enough to rudimentarily get by.

I just now found that by hovering over the image with the arrow and pressing Ctrl twice you can enlarge the image somewhat.
The good news just keeps coming. Once the image is enlarged you will see three icons bottom left click on the magnifier with the+ inside as often as you like to further enlarge the image.

 

[Maarten]

Hi Peter,

Great pictures to see her outside her ugly box hidden in the corner of the museum.
Love this model and have luckily seen her last year.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

It's a pretty rare opportunity when one of those models comes down to the shop for cleaning and any necessary repairs and you get to see them up close and personal!

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

A rare opportunity indeed! Thanks for taking the time to gather those pictures from the conservator. They will mean a lot to me and to all the other builders of HMS Sovereign of the Seas.

 

[Uwek]

indeed a beautiful model .....

 

[dockattner]

If I might jump in Peter...

If your friend emailed these to you it is likely he reduced the file size to make them sendable. It is very likely that the images exist in a larger file size on his camera (or perhaps now downloaded to his computer). There are other ways to share the images - including sharing them in their full size - if he is willing.

All this to say it's less about how big the picture can be made on our computer screen - but the resolution possibilities when those images are enlarged. Hope this makes sense.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

I'll see what he will do when I see him this weekend

 

[dockattner]

I'm sure people who are building the SoS would be most appreciative of your special effort. You're a good man, Peter!

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Thanks. Paul.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

If I might jump in Peter...

If your friend emailed these to you it is likely he reduced the file size to make them sendable. It is very likely that the images exist in a larger file size on his camera (or perhaps now downloaded to his computer). There are other ways to share the images - including sharing them in their full size - if he is willing.

All this to say it's less about how big the picture can be made on our computer screen - but the resolution possibilities when those images are enlarged. Hope this makes sense.

Most of the pictures he sent me were 640x480 but were very clear.