You're going to LOVE this...you can tell it's my day off as I have
spent most of the morning surfing the net...you know how it is…one
URL just seems to lead to another..and look what I found!!! It
actually all started off during my research into George Hilton's 1968
book "THE NIGHT BOAT" which contains some 40 drawings by American
marine artist Samuel Ward Stanton.
Thanks to the "Maritime History of the Great Lakes" Web site, Samuel
Ward Stanton's 1895 book "American Steam Vessels" has been COMPLETELY
scanned with nearly 500 of his lovely drawings available for everyone
to discover and enjoy. This is a tremendous resource and the creators
of this website are to be heartily congratulated for tackling such a
mountainous project. The scans and images are of the very highest
quality.
I believe the copyright for Samuel Stanton's work fell into the
Public domain some years ago and a number of small softcover books
have been published over the past few years. Dover Publications have
certainly published some of his drawings a couple of years ago in
their book "Stanton's American Steam Vessels."
He was a prolific traveler who sketched hundreds of vessels all over
the United States during the latter part of the 19th Century. The
ship list is fascinating and educational...but, be warned, you'll
need a good few hours on this web site. I won't say much more because
the excellent drawings speak for themselves, except to say they
represent a tremendous source of contemporary reference, modeling
inspiration and ideas.
As a footnote, you might also find the following item interesting
which I found in a "Titanic" Forum.
"Mr Samuel Ward Stanton was born on Saturday 8th January 1870. He
boarded the Titanic as a 2nd Class passenger at Cherbourg on
Wednesday 10th April 1912, Ticket No. 237734 , £15 - 0s -11d.
Stanton died in the sinking. His body was never recovered . He was
aged 42 years."
And from another "Titanic" forum…
"Samuel's father was an East Coast shipbuilder and his first job was
as a reporter for "Seaboard Magazine." Stanton's works were exhibited
at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 where they were awarded a medal
for artistic and historic merit. At 42 years of age, he booked
passage on Titanic for a return trip from the Julien Academy in Paris
and the Alhambra in Spain. He was planning a mural for the then-
abuilding steamer Washington Irving. (Hudson River Steamer)"
What a coincidental and tragic end to the life of a famous Marine
Artist!!! Imagine the incredible images of "Titanic" he would have
drawn if he'd survived!
You'll find all of Samuel Ward Stanton's drawings from his 1895
book "American Steam Vessels" at:
http://www.hhpl.on.ca/GreatLakes/scripts/Bib.asp?PubID=3Best regards
PJ
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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