Rare 19th Century Presentation Boat Builders Mallet To The Celebrated Author William Clark Russell
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A Rare 19th Century Presentation Boat Builders Mallet To The Celebrated Author William Clark Russell.
It was made by Haywards of Deal and presented to Russell in 1890 whilst living in Deal, Kent. There are beautiful hand painted images in oil of ships, the Kent coat of arms and inscriptions. Russell was considered to be “the greatest living writer of the sea”.
Russell was born in New York to a wealthy family in 1844. He was educated privately in England until he left at 13 years old to join the British Merchant Navy. At the age of 21 he left the navy and began a career in journalism, working both for the daily telegraph and the New York Times, mostly about the sea.
In the 1870’s he became a writer/novelist of sea stories, writing over 57, many to critical acclaim. One of his most famous stories was ‘The Wreck of the Grosvenor’ (1877) which was in constant publication well into the 1920’s.
He was considered to be tue greatest living writer of the sea and possibly of all time. His admirers included Herman Melville (Moby Dick) and Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes).
Russell also wrote well received biographies of Nelson and Collingwood. He suffered from I’ll health late in life and died in Bath in 1911 aged 67.
Condition is good, commensurate with age and use. Structurally sound and retains its clear painted imagery and text.
Measures 21cm x 11cm x 4.5cm
Weighs 300 grams