A port side ship portrait of the three-decked, 100-fun ship of the line, the 'Sovereign of the Seas,' of the British Royal Navy. With British flags, full sails, and open gun-ports, an officer on the center deck directs men to set the fore mainsail. The Dutch referred to the ship as the "Golden Devil" for her heavy armament and gold ornamentation. She was accidentally burned at Chatham.
This print was taken from volume 2 or 3 of John Charnock's 'An History of Marine Architecture,' (London: R. Faulder, 1800-1802). Charnock's book was considered the most authoritative book on eighteenth-century shipbuilding published in England.
Reference: British Museum, 1864,0611.92
