An elegant square-rigged sailing ship \u2013 the \u2018Frieda\u2019 \u2013 glides majestically into port, past rows of colourful cottages perched on the cliffs around the harbour. Her sails are down and there\u2019s a small tug boat guiding her inland. A flag on top of a nearby lighthouse flutters in the breeze and waves lap against the rocks as the ship approaches home. It\u2019s a mesmerising scene and just one of the many moments captured forever in miniature-model form inside the 70 antique ships in bottles in dealer Robin Langford\u2019s personal collection.<\/p>\n

The art of making tiny ship models and inserting them in bottles is a craft that\u2019s long been a maritime tradition. The exact origins of the practice are unknown, but Peter Bradshaw, President of the European Association of Ships in Bottles, thinks they may have evolved from a medieval custom of making crucifixion scenes in bottles. \u2018I\u2019ve got Dutch, German, French and British ships in bottles in my collection. The oldest ones I have date from the early 1800s, but there are some rare ones out there that date from the 1700s,\u2019 says Robin. \u2018The craft was at its peak during the merchant square rig sailing ship era (1870s to 1940s) and most of the antique ships in bottles on the market today date from this time.\u2019<\/p>\n

Before steam ships came along, boats relied entirely on wind power. \u2018You couldn\u2019t guarantee how quickly a sailing ship would travel,\u2019 explains Robin. \u2018Sailors worked in watches so they had a lot of time at sea with not much to do. They did all sorts of handicrafts to pass the days away, such as making ships in bottles. They were often given as love tokens, or gifts for relatives back home, or sold in port to raise a bit of extra money. Knitting, scrimshaw and painting were also popular pastimes.\u2019<\/p>\n