Historic Maritime Vessels

Engravings of historical ships, including hulk and rowing vessels, depicting maritime life and important nautical missions from past centuries.

The 'Albany' lowering a Buoy at the site of the Atlantic telegraph cable, to continue and complete the laying of the cable in the 1866 season

Illustration showing three people in a small sailing dinghy crossing the bows of an old hulk, Britain, c.1877. The hulk has had its masts removed and would have been permanently moored, for use as storage space or hospital accommodation. 1877

Thorfinn Karlsefni, flourished around A.D. 1002 to 1010, was an Icelandic leader who tried to colonize Vinland.

The 'Albany' lowering a Buoy at the site of the Atlantic telegraph cable, to continue and complete the laying of the cable in the 1866 season

Engraving depicting the 'Great Eastern' used during the creation of the Atlantic Telegraph. The men are shipping the cable on board the 'Great Eastern'. Dated 19th Century

RICHARDSON'S PATENT TUBULAR LIFEBOAT, 1852

Die Mole von Wilhelmshaven, Wilhelmshafen, am Abend, Niedersachsen, Deutschland, um 1890 / The pier of Wilhelmshaven, Wilhelmshafen, in the evening, Lower Saxony, Germany, c. 1890, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digital restaurierte Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert, genaues Originaldatum nicht bekannt.

Tonning, on the Eyder, 1854. Opening of the British-built Royal Danish Railway by Frederick VII, King of Denmark. 'In this commodious and finely-situated coast terminus of the Railway, the benefits of its position are becoming evident, in its being the marine head-quarters of the fast-growing traffic between the two countries. It is by way of Tonning that the capital of Denmark, and consequently nearly all the Baltic ports, may be reached with a great saving of time, distance, and inconvenience...while by the junction which the Royal Danish effects with the Kiel and Altona lines, all those gre

Sailing boats on the Curonian Lagoon, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, transport, people, wooden jetty, woman, historical illustration 1880, Europe

Illustration depicting Ships on the stocks at Green, Wigrams & Greens shipyard, Blackwall. Dated 19th Century

Catamaran of a type widely used, with local variations, throughout Polynesia. Date: circa 1860

The Sinking of the London SS London was a British steamship which sank in the Bay of Biscay on 11 January 1866. The ship was travelling from Gravesend in England to Melbourne, Australia, when she began taking in water on 10 January, with 239 persons aboard. The ship was overloaded with cargo and unseaworthy, and only 19 survivors were able to escape the foundering ship by lifeboat, leaving a death toll of 220. January 11, 1866

Historical drawing, US-American history, 19th century, a US-American iron-clad gunboat in the American Civil War, about 1862

Turkish galley, 17th century, Turkey, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact date not known, Asia

THE GREEK ROYAL WEDDING AT ATHENS: THE ROYAL YACHT "OSBORNE" ON HER WAY TO ATHENS LYING OFF THE DUCAL PALACE AT VENICE, 1889.

General view of the port , Piraeus, Greece, 19th century. From Russes et Turcs: La Guerre D'Orient, published 1878.

New Caledonia, A double Pirogue getting on by several natural, vintage engraving. New Caledonia, A double Pirogue getting on by several natural, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1846. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10673177

Illustration showing the cutter of the SS 'Mayo' coming alongside the wreck of the SS 'Aden' on a reef on the east side of Socotra, 1897. The crew of the 'Mayo' were able to save 35 passengers and crew by this heroic action. Date: 17 July 1897

Pirogue of New Zealand, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1847.

Liquor trade on the open North Sea, historical engraving, 1888

The late Yacht Race The Magic and Mistral rounding the flagship the second time. December 4, 1953.

A sailing vessel at the entrance to the harbour. Date: 1882

Cargo ships, cotton, convoy with cotton cargo sailing down the Ganges, 1869, India, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of an original 19th cent...

Ships in a storm. .

English ships in the late thirteenth century, vintage engraving.

Prison hulk at Deptford. These convict hulks were an intermediate confinement between an ordinary gaol or transportation. Prisoners were used as labourers in the naval dockyards and can be seen here being taken by boat to their work. Hulks (Tenders) were usually old naval vessels that were no longer

An engraving depicting the landing of dried cod at Reykjavik. Dated 19th century

Engraving showing a 15 foot, 2 ton, whale being caught at Deptford Pier, London, in 1842. This whale had been swimming down the River Thames when it was sighted by watermen on the pier. They then set after the whale in their rowing boat and harpooned it, before dragging it back to the pier. Date: 1842

Wreck of the Lottie Sleigh on the beach at New Ferry, Birkenhead, 1864. Engraving from a sketch by Mr. John N. P. MacBride showing '... a portion of the hull of the vessel as it lies, keel uppermost, on a mud-bank...whither it drifted after the explosion. The deck and stern are blown out, and the timbers in that quarter are much shattered and splintered. The vessel has opened outwards from the line where the deck was, the cutwater being partly smashed and quite parted from the timbers of the bows...Looking into the hull at the bows, nothing is seen but a broken mass of charred beams and timber

The Gokstad Ship is a 9th century Viking ship found in a burial mound at Gokstad in Sandar, Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, Europe

THE BOAT 'JOHN T. FORD', WHICH CROSSED THE ATLANTIC, 1867

Engraving depicting Henry Bessemer's cross-channel steamer fouling the pier at Calais. Dated 19th Century

Illustration showing Danish ships about to make landfall on the English coast. 9th century

WRECK OF THE MAIL STEAM-SHIP RANGOON AT GALLE

Kuffen, Kuff, historical ship type, gaff sails and square sails, goods transport near the coast, town, rowing boat, shore, people, North Sea, historical illustration 1880

Dudgeon's new double-screw iron steam-ship 'Flora'. Date: 1862

Wreck of the Windsor Castle steamer, 1844. The vessel was damaged when it struck North Carr Rock off the coast of Fife in Scotland: 'The only boat belonging to the steamer was then lowered, by which the female passengers were conveyed ashore in six voyages. Boats and other aid were then obtained...This catastrophe presents another instance of the inefficient manner in which steam-vessels are provided with the means of escape in case of accidents'. From "Illustrated London News", 1844, Vol I.

Africa. The new Livingstone and Stanley canoes. Engraving. Africa inexplorada, el Continente Misterioso by Henry Morton Stanley, c. 1887.

Illustration depicting the steamer 'The Great Britain', the first screw steamer to cross the Atlantic, ashore in Dundrum Bay. Dated 19th Century

Sailing ships on the upper reaches of the Nile, c. 1870, Egypt, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact date unkno...

Coral fishermen in the Mediterranean hauling up their catch. Paris, 1877.

Ships of Christopher Columbus`fleet, historic discoveries by ship

Canoes on Dory Island, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Asia. Trip to Papua New Guinea by Achille Raffray 1876-1877. Le Tour du Monde 1879

Anchor winch, sailing ship in Gdansk or Gdańsk, Baltic Sea, Poland, anchor chain, mending sails, sailors, historical illustration 1880, Europe

Men and boats in the sea go fishing cods with trawl nets, illustration from a photograph by Miot de Melito, from the magazine L'Illustration, Journal Universel, vol 33, no 840, April 2, 1859.

Engraving depicting Bremmer's method of trying to empty casks in a jolly boat. Dated 19th Century

American illustration depicting an imaginary train with sail and anchor.

Engraving of the twin-hulled, paddle steamer 'Castalia', leaving Dover for Calais, August 1875. Built in 1874 for the English Channel Steamship Company, her radical design was intended to improve stability and sea-keeping. However the design was not a success and she was sold, in 1883, to the Metropolitan Asylums Board for use as a floating hospital on the River Thames. Date: 1875

Dumping barge, introduced into Britain from New York. Refuse to be discharged was contained in two hinged compartments which could be opened separately to discharge it below water. Engraving, 1887.

Nordenfelt's underwater boat operating in the Sound on September 22, 1885. Photo of new illustrated newspaper on October 17, 1885.

Engraving depicts passengers aboard a Yatch competing in the International Ocean Yatch Race. Dated 1870

Engraving depicting a Greenland whaler entering Hull.

The Landing Of Cadillac 1886 Pyle, Howard(1853-1911 American) Lithograph Private Collection

THE ANGLO-AMERICAN YACHT-RACE, ON BOARD THE CAMBRIA, 1870

THE LANDING OF LORD GOUGH AT SOUTHAMPTON

Germanic ship from the 2nd century, found in 1863 in the moor near Flensburg, Germany, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exa...

Chain Pier, Brighton, Sussex.

Pearl fishery, Ceylon.

Illustration of the Golden Hind, an English galleon best known for her circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. Dated 16th Century

transport navigation sailing ship East Indian celox woodcut after Jan Huygens van Linschoten ""Itinenarium of te Schipvaert"" 16th century,

The snow storm of 18th January 1881 battering the railway pier at Ryde, Isle of Wight. Date: January 1881

'THE OVERTURNED LIFE-BOAT'

Traditional parade boat, Burma, Myanmar. Southeast Asia. Travel to the kingdom of Ava, 1855 by Colonel Sir Henry Yule (1820-1889) Le Tour du Monde 1860

Print, At Sea, - signalling a passing Steamer; After Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910); USA; wood engraving printed in black ink on paper ; 26.5 x 36.8 cm (10 7/16 x 14 1/2 in.)

Sailing boat with outrigger, Vietnam, illustration from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 733, Volume XXIX, March 14, 1857.

THE DUTCH ARCTIC EXPEDITION

'Grain-Vessels leaving Chicago', 1883. Artist: Unknown.

A Sea Battle - New Guinea between two boats with expansive outriggers and bearing two distinct sail types, a rectangular form and the far more elaborate lateen sail arrangement (foreground). Date: circa 1890s

Travellers landing with difficulty... Date: 1885

Marco Polo's Ship

Excursion of holidaymakers out of town with a rowing boat on a lake, 1891, authentic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century model, exact date of depiction unknown, historical, people get off a small boat onto a wooden dock at a port

'Barge for the Transport of French Artillery to the Crimea; The Expedition to the Crimea', 1854. From "Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper; London Weekly 31 Dec 1853 to 30 Dec 1854".

German musicians aboard the Tyne ship, Brazil, South America. Journey of the French painter Francois Auguste Biard in Brazil, 1858-1859

Launching of the armoured corvette Bayern, Bremerhaven, Lower Saxony, North Sea, shipyard, new building, harbour, warship, Imperial Navy, flags, anchor, celebration, wreaths, spectators, Germany, historical illustration 1880, Europe

Shipping off the Iceland coast. Date: circa 1860

Spanish industry, 19th century. Ferrol, Galicia. Launching of the first iron ship built in the shipyards of Messrs. Otero, Gil and Co., on 20 August 1884. Drawing by Monleón. Engraving by Capuz. The Spanish and American Illustration (La Ilustración Española y Americana). September 15, 1884. Author: Tomás Carlos Capuz (1834-1899). Spanish engraver. Rafael Monleón y Torres (1843-1900). Spanish artist.

YACHTING IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT: RYDE PIER. ROYAL VICTORIA REGATTA, 1846

Der Dampfer von Afrikaforscher Hermann Wilhelm Leopold Ludwig Wißmann, 4. September (1853) in Frankfurt, 15. Juni 1905 auf dem Victoriasee, Historisch...

The five vessels of his fleet - 'Trinidad', his flagship, and the 'Sant'Antonio', 'Concepcion', 'Victoria' and 'Santiago'

'The Convict Ship', c1820. Artist: Henry Adlard

The lifeboat going to the rescue.

A ferry on the Vaal River, Transvaal, South Africa, c1890. Artist: Unknown

FERROCARRILES. ESPAÑA. EL TREN COPRREO DE BARCELONA DETENIDO ENTRE SELGUA Y TOMILLO POR LA INUNDACION DEL RIO CINCA , EL 28-10-1879. GRABADO. ILUSTRTACION ESPAÑOLA Y AMERICANA.

SCENE OF THE LATE RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT COLOMBO, CEYLON, 1872 engraving

Launching the lifeboat at Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear : the boat is dragged into the water on its carriage. Date: 1872

Engraving of the after-deck of Cunard Line Royal Mail Paddle-steamer 'Asia' at sea, 1850. 'Asia' was the largest steamship yet built on the River Clyde, with a length overall of 280 feet and a gross tonnage of 2226 tons. In this image, one can clearly see the ship's boats on their davits and the funnel for the engine. Date: 1850

Canadá. Pesca del bacalao en Terra-Nova. Grabado de 1862.

Norman with a Boat, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original

EAST AFRICA A steam-pinnace from HMS 'London' in pursuit of an Arab slave-dhow 1881

DECK PASSENGERS: A MOONLIGHT SKETCH ON THE FORECASTLE, 1876

Departure for the fishing Book Ed. Rene Maizeroy: The sea Courant, Maurice (1847 1924), Courtry, Charles

Egypt. Suez Canal, 1890. 19th century. Engraving.

At SeaSignalling a Passing Steamer Published 1871 United States. Wood engraving on paper . Winslow Homer

Sailing ship facing an iceberg, historical illustration, about 1886

Liverpool, people on a ferry, England, 1881, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th-century original, exact date unknown

A steamer below the town. Date: circa 1860

Emigrants set sail from Cork for Liverpool in the first stage of their transatlantic jouney. Dock side with exterior of two steam ships. Date: 1851

The New GNU boat, "The Spitfire." May 29, 1933.

Illustration explaining the operation of wireless telegraphy at sea. In the background is a shore station such as the Guglielmo Marconi one at Poldhu, Cornwall. Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) an Italian inventor and electrical engineer. Dated 20th century

Russian warships passing through the Suez Canal, Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5. Artist: Unknown

The flying vessel Volgh My, Hendrik de Leth, 1743, The so-called Flying Vessel, a vessel called Volgh My, which without sails should reach great speeds, an invention of Zaandam grocer Daam Schijf. On June 20, 1743, the vessel, with a five-horse driven wheel hidden in the hold, was launched in the Zaan where it sank., draughtsman: Hendrik de Leth, Northern Netherlands, 1743, paper, pen, brush, h 104 mm × w 245 mm

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