1882 Emrick and Binger View of First Rate Ship of the Line, Royal Navy

This 1882 chromolithograph by Emrik and Binger depicts a Royal Navy first-rate ship of the line of the pre-Dreadnought era. The image appeared in the contemporaneous magazine The Boy's Own Paper; it demonstrates advances in not only naval (and printing) technology but also the development of youth literature, as well as the inculcation of patriotic and 'manly' virtues in the Victorian era.

A Closer Look

The sheet is dominated by a cross-sectional view of a first-rate ship of the line, perhaps meant to illustrate a potential evolution of the Sultan class of ships seen above, with three levels of guns instead of the Sultan's two. Aside from the guns and gunners, other crew members go about their duties on deck, in the magazine and storerooms, in officers' quarters, or in the ship's boiler and engine room. On the second level at right are a man and woman in a relatively spacious room, likely meant to be the captain and his wife, the only woman aboard. At top are small schematics of the designs of several classes and types of ships in Royal Navy service at the time.

The main ship seen here and those at top represent a transitional stage in naval technology. Ironclad sides had become the norm with most ships, except those designed for speed, and steam power was now obligatory, even if sails were more reliable and efficient much of the time. The HMS Devastation, seen at top-left, the latest battleship at the time, was notable for eschewing sails altogether, acknowledging the supremacy of steam power, and for having revolving turrets rather than broadside guns. By the 1890s, the Royal Navy's Majestic class of battleship would become the gold standard, introducing new design elements and taking on an entirely new appearance that was closer to the HMS Dreadnought, which launched in 1906, representing a new era of naval technology.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired effect. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This sheet was printed by Emrik and Binger for the November 1882 issue of the publication The Boy's Own Paper, launched only three years prior. This work is only independently cataloged with the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, while partial or full runs of The Boy's Own Paper are held by some 40 institutions worldwide.