During 1792-1815, the period of the Coalition Wars and the Napoleonic Wars between France and Europe, prisoners were taken on both sides. The majority of them were confined, sometimes for
many years, in England and Scotland. Some of the prisoners built ship models from scraps of wood or mutton and beef bones. Rigging was made of silk or whatever other fine material could be
obtained. The prisoners developed an art form and the models were sold to the public through the guards. This trade enabled the prisoner to acquire ivory and special tools to make the models
all the more decorative. The remain highly sought after and valuable collectors’ items to this day. This book shows the beauty of the models selected as the finest in the Peter Tamm
Collection in the International Maritime Museum of Hamburg.
