Cape Shore 2020 Constitution Ship in a Bottle Kit Model 203

Cape Shore 2020 Constitution Ship in a Bottle Kit Model 203

Kit includes glass bottle, pre-shaped wooden hull, wood pieces, cork, base, rigging and illustrated instructions. Some tools required.  Hull & box are made in China, and all other parts made in USA. 

The art of Ship in a bottle Learn the ancient mystery of this mariner’s art.  The art of putting a ship in a bottle evolved in the early 1800’s.  It was period in maritime history when exploration, whaling and the shipping of valuable commodities such as tea from the orient meant long voyages at sea, sometimes for months or even years.   Inspired by loneliness, and boredom, sailors devised different crafts. The jackknife was the universal tool.  Time and patience were the artist contributions. The sailors would use their own ships or others they were familiar with as a model, carefully carving detail from a whale-bone or scraps of wood.  Sails were made from old sailcloth or rags. The actual size of the model was determined by whatever bottle could be salvaged from the ships refuse. 

The most entertaining part was rigging the ship in such a way that the mast and sails easily collapsed so that the hull could pass through the neck of the bottle. Then the mast and sails were pulled into place with a string. Though the finished piece defied logic, the solution was easy!  A ship in a bottle was usually made for a loved one at home. A Sailor might personalize his gift by carving his initials in the bottle’s cork or painting a meaningful insignia on it. Today many of the ships in a bottle can be seen in maritime museums around the world as legacies of the great age of sail.