Hello,
I am completely new to this forum, but I bought an old model ship and was hoping that someone could tell me something about it. I bought it at a thrift store and know nothing except that the ship appears to be pretty old. I've looked on the internet and I can't find much information but I think that this kind of ship is classified as a "folk art ship" instead of a model ship because it looks too simple to be a specific ship. I've only found three similar ships in my search so far. One is being sold on eBay and seems to be the Mayflower. The only information given is that the seller thinks it is 19th century. I found two other similar ships on restoration sites, one says it is 19th century and the other says around 1920. That is the limit of the information I have found. Since there are other similar, if not exact, ships I would think that means it was mass produced? I have no idea.
It looks like this ship sat in someone's attic for years. It is covered in a layer of dust and the rigging is almost completely gone. What's left is fragile and stiff. The leather bits are also black and hard and very breakable. The wood is painted black and despite some damage and missing pieces is in pretty good shape. There are no sails, though there is one metal flag and some other unattached pieces that must be the cross pieces for the masts. There's no stand, so it is sitting in my homemade cardboard box stand.
Does anyone know anything about this ship? How old it is, what kind of ship it is supposed to be? I do not think I am capable of a full restoration (nor can I afford a professional one), but any tips on cleaning? So far I have just tried dusting with a brush because I am afraid to use water on it. I don't have any interest in reselling the ship, I am just curious.
I'm attaching some pictures. They are just iPhone pictures so I apologize for the quality.
Thank you for your help!
