Queen Mary, John Brown & Co., Shipyard, Glasgow.
£1,100
Auction: 10 June 2009 at 12:00 BST
Description
Archive of c.140 photographs, formerly the property of Sir Donald Maclean Skiffington, director of John Brown & Co., shipbuilders at Clydebank, including a small album of 23 photographs [8 x 11cm] taken from/of The Queen Mary on her initial trial voyage down the Clyde to Southampton, captioned and dated 24/3/36 - 17/4/36, 9 large photographs [& 14 duplicates], 22 x 30cm., most blindstamped "John Brown & Co. Ltd, Photo. Dept.", of "The First Rivet", Dec. 2 1930, "1st keel plate laid", 1 Dec. 1930, "Almost off", 26 Sept. 1934; "Ready" 23 Sept. 1934; "After Launch", 26 Sept. 1934; "Off Arran" 24 March 1936; photographs of Sir Donald with Princess Elizabeth at a ship launch, 5 photographs of Yehudi Menuhin with Sir Donald in the shipyard, all signed by Menuhin, 2 photographs of Edward Prince of Wales at ship launches, photographs of the directors of John Brown & Co., 5 Glasgow Evening News photographs of the launch of the Queen Mary, one photograph each of the launch of the Queen Elizabeth, Vikfoss, Rangitane, Commanchie, Caronia and H.M.S. Jackal, 12 photographs of the Queen Mary on war service 1944, portrait photographs of Sir Donald, his home and Buick, from 11 x 8cm - 38 x 27cm., many in poor condition [dampstained, abraded, creased] but some in excellent condition; framed illuminated admittance of Sir Donald to be a Burgess of the Burgh of Clydebank, 20 Feb. 1951; John Brown & Co. Ltd. Atlas works. Sheffield, 1924. Oblong folio, coloured plates, illustrations, original cloth-backed boards
Footnote
Note: A fascinating collection of photographs of the John Brown & Co. shipyard at Clydebank, noteworthy especially for the photographs of the Queen Mary. The most interesting photographs, the 23 photographs [including duplicates] taken by John Brown & Co. Photo. Dept. are fortunately the ones in very good condition. The work on the ship was completed in March 1936 and it sailed out of the Clyde as far as Arran for preliminary trials. After sailing to Southampton to be painted, the Queen Mary was handed over to Cunard on 11 May. Photograph 20 in the small album, captioned "Mr McMillan 17.4.36" shows Mr McMillan standing on deck before one of the liferafts marked "Queen Mary, Liverpool".