M-10  HMS PRINCE

 

The Ship

 

90 gun second rate.  Built at the Woolwitch Dockyard, 1788.  Rebuilt from 177 ½ ft. to 194 ½ ft, in Portsmouth 1796.  (Ship halved and lengthened.  Burned in 1837.

The Model

Framed, planked, decked and test-masted, work on HMS Prince was finally stopped by Ed’s failing health.

 

On loan from the Nelson Maritime Arts Foundation.  ALMAR # 0437-114-10

 

 

 

Marple’s Workship

 

When it was decided that the Marple collection was coming to the Museum, Marple’s workshop was included in the package.  This is where he built his models.  The drawings on the board are typical of the ones obtained from the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, England.  Some samples of his inventory of colored woods are stored in the tubes back in the corner.  Of particular interest are the inventory of boats, gratings and carved banisters in the trays on the near edge of the bench.

 

Dentists visiting the museum have commented that, although the dental tools on the bench may be a little archaic for teeth, they are the finest tools imaginable for the kind of work that Marple was doing.  Behind the bench and on the floor are a miniature table saw and a “Multi-mat” multiple-purpose tool.  Marple produced the .034-inch rods which were the raw material for his treenails on the Multi-mat.

 

On the bench is the model of HMS Prince, framed, decked and test-masted.  Work on the model was finally stopped by Ed’s failing health.

 

The pictures on the wall are of Ed Marple himself, the art work on some of his own models and pictures from other museums used as references.