Maritime Art, Military, French Battleship Napoleon, Antique Print, Berlin, Mid 19th C.

Description

The Napoléon was a 90-gun ship of the line of the French Navy launched in 1850. It was the first screw battleship and the first purpose-built steam battleship in the world. Indeed, it was the lead ship of a class of nine battleships, all built for the French Navy over a period of ten years. The ship’s designer, Henri Dupuy de Lôme, took the innovative and experimental approach of utilizing steam technology with screw propellers as opposed to paddle wheels. This allowed cannon placement along the sides of the ship without any side wheels in the way. During the Crimean War, which began in 1853, the Napoléon’s performance attracted attention for the advantages of the design, and the many of the world’s fleets soon followed to convert to steam-powered battleships. In this period, the French built 10 new steam battleships and converted 28 from older designs, and the British built 18 and converted 41.

Verlag Isidor Rocca was a lithograph print publisher in Berlin, Germany, active from at least 1848 to 1871. The firm published lithographs of various subjects, including maritime, portraits, and genre subjects.

Full publication information: Verlag v Isidor Rocca in Berlin, Carlottenstr[asse] 25.

Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear. Faint shadow of former matting in outer margin, unobtrusive and can be rematted out.

References:

“French battleship Napoléon.” Wikipedia. 25 February 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_battleship_Napol%C3%A9on (2 October 2018).