anteros_lmc | Entries tagged with interiors

This week has been taken up almost entirely with work, however the postman has been very good to me. I treated myself to copies of Amber Butchart's Nautical Chic, which I've mentioned here before, and James Davey's Broadsides: Caricature and the Navy 1756 - 1815, the companion book to the recent exhibition at the National Maritime Museum.

As an extra unexpected surprise I also got these fabulous cushion covers as a late Christmas / early birthday present from the equally fabulous

nodbear :) As you can see, the camera on my phone has completely lost the will to focus, but if you squint you might recognise that beautiful ship as the Grand Turk aka HMS Indefatigable from the Hornblower series.

In an ideal world I would be spending the weekend wearing something chic while lounging on my nautical cushions and reading my new books. In actual fact I have spent most of the weekend so far doing laundry! However I did have a quick flick through Nautical Chic and was chuffed silly to discover that I have a small credit in the acknowledgements as a "naval twitterstorian". Awww shucks! :}

Continuing my quest for that authentic AoS drinking experience I've now moved on from rum to gin. Hayman's Royal Dock gin to be precise. (Okay, so I just happened to run out of gin and couldn't resist buying this :) Hayman Distillers have been supplying gin to the Admiralty since 1863 under the name Senior Service Gin, but it's been rebranded as Royal Dock, after Royal Victoria Dock, the largest of the naval victualling yards and headquarters of the Navy Victualling Board. The bottle bears the crest of Royal Victoria Dock and there's a rather gorgeous picture of the dock and a tall ship on the inside of the back label.

The gin itself is rather coyly referrred to as "navy strength" which means it's 57% alcohol or a hundred proof. So if you spill it on gunpowder it will still light. Handy! Depsite its rather alarming strength I can testify that it's very tasty, though slightly sweeter than modern gins owing to the amount of liquorice in the botanicals (apparently). Also you have to be rather careful pouring G&Ts otherwise you'll be three sheets to the wind in no time!

There's a rather fascinating history of Hayman's navy gin here and some utterly riduclous, but really quite accurate, tasting notes here.

PS That's my AoS wall paper in the background. It's a screen print of an original French damask produced in 1783 at St Antoine. I really am not Ms Interior Decor, but I did fall in love with that paper :}

Another image of the midshipmen's berth, this time in words rather than pictures. This extract is from Lieutenant Commander C.F.Walker highly entertaining book Young Gentlemen: The Story of Midshipmen from the 17th Century to the present day.

From the days of Blake, if not before, until the end of the eighteenth century, it had been the regular practice to paint all inboard works red, with the exception of officers' cabins. This was done for the grim, though practical, purpose of rendering blood splashes less conspicuous in action. In the days of the midshipmen's berths, therefore, the youngsters lived in scarlet surroundings. But in the early years of the nineteenth century red was replaced with yellow which in turn gave way to green, and finally about 1830 to white - the fashion which has prevailed ever since. There was however, a certain amount of latitude allowed in officers' messes. And, although the gunroom in question started life in a coat of sober white, the young gentlemen in question soon gave rein to their imaginations and repainted it sky-blue and pink! Even the two guns did not escape, but were painted blue with pink carriages to match the general ensemble. This might certainly have struck terror into the heart of the enemy when they were run out for action, but one cannot help wondering what the captain could have been about to permit such things.

With his penchant for interior decor, I feel sure William Bush would approve! :)

Walker, C.F., (1938), Young Gentlemen. The Story of Midshipmen from the 17th Century to the present day, Longmans, Green and Co, London.

I need a tag for AoS Soft Furnishings :} Look at this lovely wallpaper by English designer Abigail Edwards. The Seascape print is part of a new collection inspired by fairy tales. I love the Summer Seascape. That would look grand in my top room!

I feel sure Mr Bush would approve!

I'm rather besotted with this lovely wallpaper and fabric made my Lewis & Wood. Isn't it fabulous?! These aren't any old boats you know, these are boats drawn by my favourite marine artist JT Serres. (Who also happens to occasionally appear in fanfic around these parts.) The design is taken from the Liber Nauticus, and Instructor in the Art of Marine Drawing which was published by JT Serres and his father Dominic Serres in 1805. The instructor was originally intended for JT Serres' students at Chelsea Naval School.

The only thing stopping me from redecorating my house with this lovely print is the price. The wallpaper costs a cool £66 pounds per role and the fabric is £53 per metre. Eep!

How cute is this? Boaty wallpaper!

I think this looks like the kind of wallpaper Mr Bush would use to decorate Hornblower's cabin ;)

There were curtains and cushions — stuffed with oakum — and a coverlet, all gay with
red and blue roses and green leaves painted on with ship's paint by some unknown artist in the ship's
company.

I rather like the boat in the picture too, though I'm not sure about the purple sea! Ohoy wallpaper from Swedish design company Fine Little Day.

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Anteros

.... he longs as he is longed for....

Entries tagged with interiors

In an ideal world

Hayman's Royal Dock Gin

Striking Terror in the Heart of the Enemy

Seascape

Want!

Wallpaper!

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July 2016

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