19th Century Sailor’s Woolie of a Steam Frigate Under Good Head of Steam, circa 1870s

19th Century Sailor’s Woolie of a Steam Frigate Under Good Head of Steam, circa 1870s, a British sailor’s hand-crafted woolwork picture of an Auxiliary Steam Ship or “Steam Frigate,” under full sail with lower courses furled (to avoid fire), thick plume of smoke trailing aft from the smoke stack, flying the Ensign of the Red Fleet at the stern and Admiral’s Pennant at the Main Peak, with glass beads for gun barrels protruding from the gunports, on striated sea with great knot of a bow wave “bone in her teeth,” and matching turbulence off the rudder post, under a great dramatic sky. A handsome woolie indeed.

The woolie remains in very good condition. Mounted in its Victorian period carved and gilded frame.

Sailor’s woolworks were a craft taught at British Naval Hospitals, and were in effect the world’s first occupational therapy. The majority were made between the 1830s and 1880s, and while sailors then turned to other crafts in vogue, some were occasionally made up to the World War I era. The sailors who took to the craft continued to make them in ever more elaborate and fanciful patterns after release, to sell to locals and tourists in order to support themselves.

Even those woolies depicting American or other nation’s flags were made by the British sailors (they knew their market well)! However, a very small percentage were also made by Trinity House lighthouse keepers, and a tiny amount by sailors from other nations (who most likely had served at one time on a British ship).

Measures: 12-1/2 in H x 18-1/2 in W
Framed: 15-1/8 in H x 21-1/4 in W