“The Great Britain Iron Steam Ship Was Launched at Bristol on the 19^th July 1843 and Christened by His Royal Highness Prince Albert, Engraved with a penknife by C.H. Wood.”  6 in. x 6 ½ in.

Literature:  From the Encyclopedia of Folk Art:  The best known engraver of sea shells was C.H. Wood (active 1840-1865) whose finest works are nautilus shells portraying the British steamships Great Britain and Great Western, with lengthy inscriptions, produced in multiple copies in various sizes, each claiming to be an exact replica of one he presented to Queen Victorian in 1845, though there is no evidence that the Royal Family ever received one.  The workmanship is so compelling that he may have influenced a generation of anonymous American amateurs.  Wood sold his wares in New York.  The author James Dugan reports in the Great Iron Ship (1953) that on the occasion of the Great Eastern’s maiden voyage to New York in 1860, with the ship opened to the public at quayside, an artist named Wood manned a booth where he sold sea shells engraved with the boat’s picture.  Examples in museum collections include the National Maritime Museum, London, UK, South Street Seaport Museum, New York, New York, and the SS Great Britain Museum, Bristol, UK.