Ship -in -a -Bottle
Joe Barr has been building ships-in-bottles since the mid-1980s. He specializes in
Great Lakes vessels.
Joe developed his skill by reading books, by experimenting and by corresponding with
other ship-in-bottle makers around the world. He is an active member of the Ships in
Bottles Association of America and the European Association of Ships in Bottles. He
regularly submits articles that are published in the quarterly journals of both
associations.
He has exhibited in the Navy Museum in Washington, DC and in municipal and library
buildings near his home in Eastpointe, Michigan.
The techniques that he uses in building the model ships follow a tradition that is over
200 years old. Besides building the models, he researches the history of each ship and
drafts appropriately scaled plans based on photographs or plans of the actual ships.
Each ship-in-bottle is hand-crafted. He starts with a block of wood and hand carves the
hull. These models are so small that all parts and details must be hand-made. Acid-free
paper is used for the sails and flags and all the flags are hand painted. The water is a
mixture of oil paint and glazing putty.
The photos on this page are of two very different Great Lakes ships: Zach Chandler
and John Stanton.
Zach Chandler, built at Detroit, Michigan in 1867, was a wooden, three-mast
schooner, that carried the typical Great Lakes schooner rig, including the triangular sail
(called the raffee) on the foremast. This model is based on two pastels done by Vincent D.
Nickerson in 1882 and 1883. The Chandler lasted until October 1892 when she
stranded and broke up on the shores of Lake Superior near Deer Park, Michigan.
John Stanton, on the other hand, was a straight-deck bulk freighter built
in 1905 at Lorain, Ohio. The Stanton spent her entire career on the Lakes as part
of the Pioneer Steamship Company. In 1961, she was sold and scrapped in Superior,
Wisconsin. A year later, on October 26, 1962, the Pioneer Steamship Company went out of
business. |
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Click on image for full screen view
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Schooner ZACH CHANDLER and
Tawas Point Light |
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Tawas Point Light (assembled) |
Tawas Point Light (in pieces to show how it
can be put in a bottle)
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CHARLES H. BRADLEY and Copper Harbor Light |
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SIDNEY O. NEFF and Copper Harbor Light |
RESERVE (this model was given to Capt.
Walters, the captain of RESERVE)
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Valley Camp |
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1. Zach Chandler (1867-1892), a wooden, three-mast schooner with the typical
Great Lakes schooner rig. |
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John Stanton |
2. In-process photo of the John Stanton. The hull has been carved from a block
of pine; the forecastle is glued on. A quarter is in the picture to give perspective. |
3. The hull is painted and thick paper
hatch covers are being added. The Stanton had 30 hatches. |
4. The completed pilot house is set in
place to check for size. The background shows the hand-drawn plans. |
5. The model is separated into its main
components -- ready to be placed into the bottle. After the hull is glued in place, the
pilot house, the aft cabins and the smoke stack/mast are separately added and glued onto
the hull. |
6. The completed model with all pieces set
in place, not glued on, just prior to insertion into the bottle.
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7. All the main parts are finished. Still
to be added are the navigation equipment and life raft on top of the pilot house, the
smoke on the stack, life boats, flag, doghouse on the boat deck and ventilator shafts. The
background is a copy of a photo of the actual ship. |
8. The John Stanton -- the completed ship-in-bottle including a light house.
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