#ltwilliammowett

[the-haiku-bot]

A silver snuff box

in the shape of a fish, mid

19th century

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

A silver snuff box in the shape of a fish, mid 19th century 

[hrtgallant]

WAITT can u elaborate on the 1x08 historical inaccuracies post u made because now i’m curious i love that scene

gladly! the nitpick here is that firing your entire broadside with those early 1700s great guns is a dangerous move and in reality, it was hardly ever done. this is because the recoil from this many canons at once is so great that it puts the ship at the risk of capsizing.

what would have been more common was a so-called rolling broadside, where guns would fire after each other, one at a time - this meant that when the last shot was being fired, the first gun would have already been loaded and was ready to fire again. much more sensible to have a continuous line of offence. gun crews also generally waited until the very last moment to open their gunports, as the doors would serve as extra protection from enemy fire.

none of this makes this scene any less cool however. the anticipation and resignation before an entire side of the warship alights!! I get chills every time

[ratuszarsenal]

I love this an inordinate amount. look at their hats. at how their crude faces disappear in the glow of the candle. the space is so oppressive, hunching in on them, but there is warmth at the centre (x)

[shadelesssocket]

British Pocket Telescope, made by Dollond/London, c. 1770

source: Royal Museums Greenwich- National Maritime Museum

[gigamuffin]

How does prize money work?

alright wise guy...

[smokeys-house]

Opening a nice refreshing soda pop beverage from the store and checking under the cap to find instead of a whimsical quote or prize reward, a king's shilling. I've been pressganged and soon the king's navy will be en route to take me away

[petermorwood]

Recently I got roped (ha) into an Age of Sail roleplay, and decided I wanted to play the ship's cook. I then realized I don't know too much about provisioning a ship in the Age of Sail! I figured you'd be the sort of fellow to know where I could find resources on that kind of information though?

Well, for a start I recommend sending a similar Ask to @ltwilliammowett (Beat To Quarters) who knows far more about The Age of Sail / Wooden Ships & Iron Men subject than I do.

*****

In the meanwhile here are a couple of books, both of which you may well be able to get through your library, or buy pretty cheaply for your research library. They're also an entertaining read.

The first was recommended to me by Terry Pratchett - "'If you haven't read it, you should!" - when we were at a con together and he was researching "Nation".

It's "Feeding Nelson's Navy" by Janet MacDonald, available here as an ebook and from Amazon as a Kindle Unlimited free read.

The second is "Lobscouse & Spotted Dog" by Anne Chotzinoff Grossman & Lisa Grossman Thomas.

Funny how both books use the same period image - "Shipmates Carousing Below Decks" by William Pyne - as cover art.

"Lobscouse" deals with the same period as "Navy", while also being the author-approved official cookbook of Patrick O'Brian's "Aubrey / Maturin" novels.

Here's a Reddit about making dishes from it, and here's a blog page about making Spotted Dog and why Suet Makes a Difference.

I've already posted about the role correct cooking fats play in making traditional dishes "taste right", and since Atora brand makes both carnivore and vegetarian suets, it's worth tracking down.

Here's a blog page which summarises the Age of Sail diet - think of it as an exam crib to tide you over until you get the books and learn more.

*****

Here's Max Miller of "Tasting History" making lobscouse:

And here are Dylan Hollis and Max making that ubiquitous on-board delicacy and culinary ingredient, ship's biscuit (hardtack / hard-tack / hard tack).

Something very similar was still issued as a ration item at the beginning of the 20th century and into World War One. J.R.R. Tolkien would certainly have encountered Biscuits, Ration, H&P, Army No.4...

...and may well have used them as a basis for the waybread "cram" as mentioned in "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". This description has the ring (hah!) of familiarity about it.

"If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don’t know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise." "The Hobbit" ch.13, "Not at Home"

No.4 biscuits were so hard that soldiers could use them as substitutes for wood...

...and Nelson's sailors probably did the same with theirs.

*****

Terry Pratchett took this wooden quality and - with the dial turned up to eleven - transformed it into the rocky quality of Dwarf bread.

Here's a health nut's real-life version of a healthy nut loaf...

...while this is an example of sedimentary conglomerate rock.

With a bit of judicious cropping, the captions could be swapped and a casual glance would never notice.

Of course this post wouldn't be complete without a certain GIF.

So...

*****

To finish, a few links to more video.

One (12 years ago).

Two - 1 year, including some of the ship's biscuit made in that first one (!)

Three - also 1 year, featuring other dishes - pease pudding ("dog's body"), lobscouse and plum duff. Oh, and ship's biscuit ...

Those are from Townsends, another great source for 18th century food and cooking.

This last example is by Dan Snow, in an extract from a longer History Hits documentary, and is a short general overview of period Navy rations - and of course, ship's biscuit... :->

HTH !

[the-golden-vanity]

Captain Pike, Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

I'm in love with this dramatic painting of a ship's officer facing Age of Sail-era justice, which was sent to me by @habemuscarnificem. After much searching online, and seeing this credited as an illustration for every maritime story from Treasure Island to Moby-Dick (neither of which involve anyone being hanged from the yardarm), I came across the painting's title, Captain Pike. However, I'm having a hard time finding out who Captain Pike was, or whether he was a real or fictional sea captain. Age of Sail Tumblr, can you help me out?

@ltwilliammowett @clove-pinks @benjhawkins @ anybody else who knows their boat stories

Thank you so much! Fair winds and following seas to you all.

[clove-pinks]

1840s French navy ships by Antoine Léon Morel-Fatio, all from 1844: Sixty-meter Frigate/Frégate de 60, War Schooner/Goëlette de guerre, Corvette, War Brig/Brick de guerre, Steamboat Outfitted for Battle/Bateau à vapeur armé en guerre, and First Class Ship/Vaisseau de 1.er rang.

@ltwilliammowett

[jaybeefoxy]

Visiting Rydal Mount, William Wordsworth's house, in the Lake District (UK). Some interesting artefacts in a beautiful house.

I'm thinking (being the Mystrader I am) that this would make a lovely setting for Mycroft’s country property.

The following might be of interest, @ltwilliammowett

The sword given to William Wordsworth's brother, John, in 1804, the year before his death, for his actions during a skermish with the French.

The Lake District is beautiful, even in the rain. I'm thinking I need to set a story up here soon.

[acrossthewavesoftime]

I was tagged by @enlitment and @ltwilliammowett - thank you both!

rules: post 4 pieces of art you like and make a poll so that people can vote for their favourite, then tag 4 friends to do the same

I think I bent the rules a little, but the two Liotards were meant to be displayed together, and i enjoy the effect these two portraits have when viewed as the unit they represent. And since the phrase artwork is fairly open and does not refer to paintings alone, I also decided to include the Tara Brooch and an ugly commemorative plate.

For me, it's not so much that art needs to be genuinely "good" by any (pseudo-)academic standards, it needs to tell a story, which all of these artworks, in their special way, do.

*with the, likely initially clandestine, addition of a white dog swimming in the river by the artist's husband.

Tagging @chiropteracupola, @defensivelee, @basket-lily and @marquisevonobst! As always, don't feel pressured, consider the tag an invitation. :)

[nordleuchten]

And here is a version by sunshine ☀️

You may remember that I once told you something about the Halligen in the North Sea? Those mini islands where sometimes there is only one house and they are regularly under water and only the house is still dry? Well, the inhabitants have to commute from the mainland to the Hallig with a wagon and that only works when the water is low. This is what the whole thing looks like .... a bit creepy, isn't it ?

Source

[echo-bleu]

Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey.

I rewatched Master and Commander recently and couldn't resist.

[ID: Digital painting of Jack Aubrey in his uniform (a long dark blue jacket with golden épaulettes, buttons and trimmings, and a cream-coloured vest and breeches) hanging over the side of a (off-screen) ship, holding onto a rope. More ropes are visible behind and in front of him. The background is a calm sunny sea-scape.]

@ltwilliammowett and @acrossthewavesoftime I'm tagging you because you're the only ones I know who post about this movie.

[ratuszarsenal]

sometime ago I think I saw an ask sent to the venerable ltwilliammowett about sea shanties that aren't in english and I can't find it now which is a shame because I updated my polish sea-song recommendations playlist

[beggars-opera]

This one goes out to all the maritime lads!!

Everyone go follow them now:

@benjhawkins

@focsle

@goingtoweather

@goldandnavy

@ltwilliammowett

@fuckyeahnaturalphilosophy

@take-her-a-prize

@cutlassandcompass

@franklins-leg

@fore-n-aft

@theiceandbones

@thelesseroftwo-weevils

@lieutenant-summers

@hms-surprise

@verecunda

[graveyardrabbit]

borrowing a tag from @ltwilliammowett because this looked like a lot of fun

rules: post 4 pieces of art you like and make a poll so that people can vote for their favourite, then tag 4 friends to do the same

Sea Monsters Devouring Whale by Kiakshuk

The Miracle of Saint Justus by Peter Paul Rubens

Abduction by Niall Staines

“Lo Spellato” (detail) by Clemente Susini

tagging @mycological-mariner @pimpa @herbertwest @chiropteracupola @the-antlered-cryptid and if anyone else would like to join in then consider yourself tagged as well!