Ø AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING 1:48 SCALE MODEL FOR THE CELEBRATED THREE-MASTED ARMED YACHT FALCON, BUILT FOR LORD YARBOROUGH, FIRST COMMODORE OF THE ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON, BY LISTS YARD, ISLE OF WIGHT, 1824, the framed hull planked and pinned with copper pins, moulded ebony main wale, main deck pierced for twenty-four guns, finely carved bust-length female figurehead, stern and quarter lights, planked and pinned deck, mounted on slipway brackets attached to mahogany plinth with turned feet. Overall measurements -- 12 x 33in. (30.5 x 84cm.); together with a contemporary watercolour portrait historically associated with the model and, by hearsay, thought to be one Robert Butler, in period frame -- 17 x 15in. (43 x 38cm.) including frame, (2) Provenance: Sotheby's, 16 July 1993, lot 498, where attributed as a merchant ship; UK Private Collection. The second yacht to bear this name for him, Falcon (II) was launched in June 1824 for Lord Yarborough at a cost of £18000 (nearly £1.1m today) in List's yard at Wootton Bridge, Fishbourne, Isle of Wight. Though designed as a private yacht, her full-rig and general appearance prompted one spectator to remark that she more resembled a "20-gun ship-of-war" and she undoubtedly proved a highly impressive flagship to the Royal Yacht Squadron, a role she fulfilled for over ten years. It is notable that one of the main objectives of the R.Y.S.'s pioneers - and of far greater importance than the annual regatta at Cowes - was to improve the form and sailing qualities of warships and to that end, Falcon was the most successful of several experimental craft of her time. Yarborough, the Royal Yacht Squadron's first commodore, was a particularly colourful character in the early history of yachting and employed fifty-four "choice" hands under the command of a naval officer to crew Falcon whenever she raced. A serious accident at sea followed by illness prompted Lord Yarborough to dispose of Falcon and in 1836 she was sold to Captain Clifton on whose behalf Baring Brothers had financed the purchase for £5,500. Fitted with 48hp. paddle propulsion, she sailed for India in January 1838 but had the engine removed upon her arrival at Calcutta when she was resold to Jardine, Matheson & Co. Her new owners put her straight onto the opium run to Macao where her speed enabled her to continue trading throughout the so-called 'Opium War' of 1840-42. This acknowledged speed merely added to her lustre as flagship of the Jardine fleet and once the War was over, her main port of discharge became Hong Kong following the island's acquisition by British troops in 1841. Remaining a frequent sight all along the opium route until the mid-1850s, the end of her career remains shrouded in mystery. Said by some to have been taken by mutineers and by others to have been scuttled by pirates, there is circumstantial evidence that she was wrecked off Breaker Point, a projecting headland 60 miles South of Swatow, although this has never been proven. Recent research by Julian Reid has shed what may be a rare contemporary reference to this model: In 1825 Mr Belsey charged £15 for "a ship's model", perhaps for the use of the builder of Falcon II. Whilst it can now only be speculated upon, it seems highly probable that this is the model referenced. Literature: Reid, J: Original Members of the Yacht Club, Historical Publications Ltd, 2015, p.139-140.; MacGregor, D: Fast Sailing Ships 1775-1875, Conway, 1973 & 1988, p.71-75. Charles Miller Ltd is grateful to Ian McLaughlan for suggesting this attribution.
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