The Alfred S. Brownell Collection on Maritime History consists of over 320 printed books, 550 blueprints and technical drawings, several prints and photographs and most notably, the 11 ship models of Atlantic Coast fishing vessels largely made by Mr. Brownell, which are displayed in the library’s Ship Room. Mr. Brownell gave his collection of ship models during the 1950s and the remainder of the Maritime history collection was presented to Providence Public Library in 1963. The collection is strong in books on ship model building and naval architecture, and there are also a number of scarce, early books on rigging and artillery as well as dictionaries of nautical terms. A typescript guide to the collection was produced in 1980.
This pattern-book was created c. 1840 by R. Lee, a wood carver of figureheads for ships from Liverpool who was working in Jersey, Channel Islands in St. Helier opposite the Weighbridge pier. The use of figureheads on the bow of ships is evident back to ancient history, but they were most common from the 16th century until the 20th century when ships began to be constructed in metal. Figureheads were the a carved representation of the spirit of the vessel which contributed to the safety and success of the ship. They were often historical or allegorical and represented mythological creatures, patriotic heroes or religious emblems. The pattern-book includes over 150 drawings of figureheads and stern carvings for ships. The original drawings and some clippings are pasted into the book.
