The Crabtree miniatures gallery in the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, VA opened after being emptied for several months, on Friday, May 5, 2006. The gallery was renamed “The Minature Ships of August and Winnifred Crabtree” and is a SIGNIFICANT change and update. If you haven’t seen these miniatures, especially the very fine and elaborate carving gracing these 14 vessels dating from the Bronze age to 1840, you owe yourself the pleasure of a visit. There are a few “tweaks” still needed but, by and large, a teriffic collection. Most are 1/48 scale and they’re built from the keel up in the fashion of the time. Crabtree did not rely on glue but used trunnels, hand-fashioned spikes etc. The woodcarving is awesome.
I forget which one, but a few years back either Nautical Research Journal or Seaway’s Ships in Scale had a full blown cover article on Crabtree, with stunning color photos. Amazing, amazing work. If I was within 3 hours driving distance I’d be there tomorrow.
It has been years since I last saw the Crabtree collection, and yes, the carving is awsome! That was one of those “I’ll never be able to do anything that well” situations…I still have years to go before I reach that level, but the trip has been interesting. I highly recommend seeing this collection, and the rest of the Mariner’s Museum as well.
As Ron knows from our personal correspondence, I’ve got a personal love-hate relationship with the Crabtree collection. I worked at the Mariners’ Museum from 1980 through 1983, and taking care of those models was one of my more…well, interesting responsibilities.
I agree completely that the carved details on them are spectacular (though somewhat variable - as one would expect in a group of models that were built over a period of several decades). Anybody with any interest in sailing ship models ought to take a good look at them. What modelers should not do, however, is regard those models as good examples of research. In terms of historical accuracy they vary from ok to pretty awful. That’s not a criticism. Crabtree built them between the 1920s and the 1940s, long before most of the research materials available to modern modelers were published. To criticize him for failing to meet modern standards of scale accuracy would make about as much sense as criticizing the Wright Brothers for failing to invent the jet engine. But the models are properly regarded as works of art, rather than an indication of what real ships looked like.
The most prominent example of the problem is the model that used to be labeled “Continental Brig Lexington.” It was based on a set of plans that were published in Mechanix Illustrated magazine back in the twenties. Those plans are regarded nowadays as a classic example of how not to reconstruct a ship. They contain all sorts of anachronisms in terms of rigging, boat davits, decoration, and heaven knows what else. Furthermore, in the years since the plans were published a couple of contemporary pictures of the real Lexington have been found, and they establish that she looked nothing like that. I was responsible for getting the “Lexington” label removed from the model - to the accompaniment of some pretty loud howls of protest from Crabtree’s admirers. The new label I wrote for it called it an “Armed Brig, circa 1810.” (Actually that’s a mistake too; in the midst of the scuffle I committed a howler of my own. That model isn’t a brig; it’s a snow. I don’t know what the museum calls it nowadays.)
I got thoroughly disgusted with the management of the Mariners’ Museum a long time ago, and for the past ten years or so I’ve made it a point to go nowhere near the place. (My wife says she can sense my blood pressure going up whenever we drive past the entrance.) But I agree that every ship model enthusiast ought to pay it a visit. And by all means admire the Crabtree models for what they are: manifestations of an incredible woodworking talent and, collectively, a landmark in the history of ship modeling. Just don’t take them too seriously as scale models.
Morning, Dr Tilley. You are correct in assuming that the Armed Brig is still “Armed Brig.” But don’t be hard on yourself. Do we not often call it a “snow brig” from the Swedish snaubrigg probably? In any event your assessments of the gallery are harsh but accurate. The carvings are, however, fantastic!
There are, probably, as many people who know the difference between a “Brig”, and a “snow” (or “snow rigged” ), as there are who still know how to box a compass!
Dr Tilley, re-reading your post I should not have said “harsh but accurate” as your comments were not harsh. Just “accurate” would have been more accurate and not as harsh. In any event, the display itself is a good example of state-of-the-art museumology(?) and the ships can now be clearly seen by short people, folks in wheelchairs and children. The lighting is point-source fiber optic and the label copy is in three parts; the history of the ship, the construction and the builder (Crabtree). Lighting needs to be adjusted as the sterns of the vessels, among the most ornate of the embellishments, are in the dark. Magnifiers will be installed soon. Two galleys are lee-side to the viewer (the decks, rigging, men, furniture, skids, etc. are masked by the lateen sails) and those cases need to be walked around to see everything. Other than that, good show. A continuous video of an interview with Crabtree made in 1979 by the local public television affiliate station is well done and a strong addition.