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拍品專文
During the 'age of sail', the mighty line-of-battle warships which bombarded enemy fleets into submission were regarded as floating fortresses of immense power; singularly lacking amongst these great ships' many attributes however was speed and when the news of victory - or defeat - needed to be sent home as quickly as possible, something altogether faster was required.
Hence the development of the small armed cutters and schooners which rapidly assumed a role of considerable significance in the conveyance of information betwixt fleets and their bases. The most celebrated of her breed was the gallant little schooner Pickle, which brought to England the news of the victory at Trafalgar tempered by the death of Lord Nelson at the height of the battle in 1805, but there were many other similar vessels whose names have become lost with the passage of time. Lightly armed, with perhaps ten or twelve small-calibre guns, the cutters proved especially suitable for the job and were often to be seen racing across the world's oceans as fast as any other craft of their day. In addition to carrying urgent despatches, arguably their prime function, they performed equally valuable work as pickets - to prevent surprise attacks - and scouts - to range ahead of the fleet to report on enemy movements. In times of peace they were also usefully employed on anti-smuggling patrols which kept every available revenue cutter busy around the coasts of Great Britain where smuggling was rife.
Montague Dawson painted at least three variations of 'The Fleet Messenger', each of which portrays an armed cutter - as here - racing ahead of her squadron to fulfil one of the vital functions which made them so invaluable to flag officers. The work offered in this catalogue however, is not amongst the three variations illustrated in either of the standard Dawson reference books.
Hence the development of the small armed cutters and schooners which rapidly assumed a role of considerable significance in the conveyance of information betwixt fleets and their bases. The most celebrated of her breed was the gallant little schooner Pickle, which brought to England the news of the victory at Trafalgar tempered by the death of Lord Nelson at the height of the battle in 1805, but there were many other similar vessels whose names have become lost with the passage of time. Lightly armed, with perhaps ten or twelve small-calibre guns, the cutters proved especially suitable for the job and were often to be seen racing across the world's oceans as fast as any other craft of their day. In addition to carrying urgent despatches, arguably their prime function, they performed equally valuable work as pickets - to prevent surprise attacks - and scouts - to range ahead of the fleet to report on enemy movements. In times of peace they were also usefully employed on anti-smuggling patrols which kept every available revenue cutter busy around the coasts of Great Britain where smuggling was rife.
Montague Dawson painted at least three variations of 'The Fleet Messenger', each of which portrays an armed cutter - as here - racing ahead of her squadron to fulfil one of the vital functions which made them so invaluable to flag officers. The work offered in this catalogue however, is not amongst the three variations illustrated in either of the standard Dawson reference books.