Private Collection

PART OF A PRIVATE COLLECTION BEING OFFERED FOR SALE

Left Click on object

10" Double gun tackle block sold

28" fiddle block

Wooden Beer Tankard sold

Wine bottle

Sounding lead sold

Leather Fire Bucket sold

All items are recovered from the wreck of the Royal Navy's First Invincible

10" Double Gun Block - Image 1 - image 2 - image 3- The materials in this block are in superb condition with no degradation whatsoever. The construction is typical of almost all of the blocks found on Invincible, with the sheave and pin made from lignum vitae and the case hand carved from one solid piece of Elm. Retired Naval Commander John Bingeman recovered this one from the wreck on 13th August 1980. In a valuation paper dated 1990, single and double blocks in this condition show a value each of £295 pounds sterling. However, as with the tankard, the owner is letting the objects go for far less than there true value and has asked me to sell this block at £195 pounds sterling plus postage and packing.

28" Fiddle Block - Image 1 Here we see the proud owner of this collection holding the block. It is with reluctance that he is selling some of his treasured artefacts. - Image 2 Shows the side of the block that was embedded in an iron concretion whilst on the wreck. As you will see, there is some degradation but this and the rest of the block is completely stable. Also, you will note a crack running almost the length of the block. - Image 3 Is the other side to that shown in image 2. It shows gribble worm activity at one end, which happened during the two hundred years plus, under the sea exposed to the elements. The gribble adds a tremendous amount of character to the piece. - Image 4 Almost all of the blocks were marked in roman numerals with their individual sizes. This image shows this very clearly, being stamped with "XXV111" - denoting the block to be 28" in length - Image 5 Invincible was an admiralty ship and most artefacts were stamped with the government "Broad Arrow". This block is no exception and the image shows the stamp with fine clean edges. It is amazing to think this has been under water for more than two centuries. This unusual block is just £250

Wooden Beer tankard - click here to view - Of all the many fascinating objects found on the wreck the tankards are perhaps, the most intriguing and sought after. All are stave built and the method of securing the handle suggests the ship's carpenter, rather than a cooper, probably made them from scraps of wood left over from ship repairs. With 700 crew on board this was probably a very lucrative sideline. For the past few years, this tankard has been correctly stored in a dark loft area and stood on a shelf, which is why the image (click on the title above) shows it being so dusty. This is good news because the environment has been very stable during the storage period.

This particular wooden tankard was recovered from deep within the wreck on 4th September 1989, near to the end of the archaeology of the project. It measures 170 mm tall with a base dia. of 130 mm and 90 mm dia at the top. It has no lid and is made up from 10 staves all of which are varying widths. This again is an indication that it was not made by a cooper but instead by someone less skilled using scraps of wood. As with all the other tankards, the handle is used as on of the staves, which is very unusual with regard to tankard construction of the 18th century. In antiquity, the whole thing was held together with sail makers' twine, which over the centuries underwater has disintegrated. The conservator managed to identify the thickness of the twine and using modern twine, reassembled the tankard exactly as it was back in 1758.

"WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE DRUNKEN SAILOR?"
Eight pints of beer a day was the ration for each of the 700 crew of the Invincible. The sailors were required to drink their ration and drunkenness, at least on watch, was a flogging offence. The beer was of variable quality. That issued at Plymouth was notoriously bad but the Invincible got most of hers from Portsmouth and there seems to have been no complaint about it. When beer ran out the sailors drank wine or brandy diluted with water and when close to the West Indies grog (rum mixed with water) was substituted. Grog was much preferred by the sailors and eventually replaced beer as the standard ration.

I hear you ask - What about a value? Well although I think it is worth far more and will only appreciate in value, the owner sold this one for £195 pounds sterling.

Wine Bottle - Image 1 - Image 2 - Typical 18th century wine bottle with no seals or markins. Complete. Good condition Sale value £130

Shallow Sounding Lead

Measuring 12" (30 cms Approx) in length and made of solid lead this artefact is hexagonal in section. The sounding leads were exciting finds for the divers. Used for testing the depth of water, this is the small one and was used when checking out shallow harbours and water close to land. Image 1 - shows the hole in the tang at the top where once a length of strong cord would have been attached for pulling the lead back to the boat after each cast. Image 2 - clearly tells us that it belonged to the Admiralty with several "Broad Arrows" indicating ownership. Of course when testing the water, it was not only important to find out the depth but also to identify the type of sea bed at the bottom. Image 3 - To do this, sticky tallow was put into a depression in the bottom of the lead. When the lead hit the sea bed, debris would stick to the tallow and when hauled back to the surface it was then possible tell of what the sea bed consisted. I.e. Mud; Sand; Shingle; Shale etc. If there was nothing at all stuck to the tallow, this would indicate a hard rocky bottom. The owner sold this item for a mere £140. I should have bought this for my own collection!

Leather Fire Bucket - These sold at a Christies auction for £600 each. They are without doubt desirable artefacts to own and they are easily recognised when on display. A real rareity for the collector! At this moment in time it is not decided whether this will be sold, but I add this detail just in case. Keep coming back to check it out, or let me have your contact details if you wish me to send them directly without posting on web site. This item is now going on display for all to see in the Fort Liginer experiance in Canada due to open in 2005.

Midship Section (Model by Phil Rumsey) of the Invincible - click here to view