A mirror-backed shipyard model of ‘S.S. Scott’, by Garston of Liverpool, 1904

A mirror-backed shipyard model of ‘S.S. Scott’, by Garston of Liverpool, 1904, the half-hull model of this steam cargo ship showing a black funnel with an orange and white stripe, painted with white topsides above an orange hull, the decks filled with brass fittings, ventilators, chains, railings, wooden coachhouses and white life boats, the plaque reading ‘S.S. “Scott” built by the Garston Graving Dock & Shipbuilding Company Ltd. Garston, Liverpool, 1904’, in a glazed mahogany case, on a later bespoke stand.  English, 1904.

Footnote:  Unfortunately, SS Scott had a short and sad life which is a stark reminder of the extreme dangers and hardships faced by merchant seamen importing the raw materials for Britain’s industrialization.  Launched at the end of 1904 she was caught in a typhoon while loading phosphate cargoes at a tiny island off Moji in the Pacific.  As announced by Lloyds ‘The name of this steamer has recently been added to the list of vessels to be specially ‘announced’ in the Rooms by the bell immediately any information is received. Ocean island, it may be remarked, is one of the Gilbert group, its exact geographical position being 1 3S 170 30E. the loading of (bauxite) is generally a slow process, and if bad weather be encountered it may happen that a steamer will have to stand out to the open sea more than once before she has taken her full cargo on board.’  The Scott was marked as lost with all hands on March 10, 1905.