Collections
One of the outstanding treasures of the museum is the Pilkington Collection of 39 miniature warship and boat models. They were made by French prisoners-of-war held in Britain during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Given to Liverpool Museum, now World Museum Liverpool, in 1921 by the will of Lady Dame Mary Elizabeth Pilkington of the St Helens-based glass-making family, this wonderful collection is one of the finest of its kind in any museum.
The models are in two series; the smaller (22 in all) being up to six inches long; the larger (17) between six and eighteen inches long. Most are made from wood chip and wood shaving, and with great intricacy and skill. The smaller series is exceptional in the precision of the work involved.
They were discovered in Dublin and brought to England on behalf of Sir George Pilkington in the early 20th-century. Because of their very poor condition they required skilful restoration by Andrew Webster Kiddie of Southport. Kiddie used hair from the head of his wife and daughter to repair the rigging.
Many French prisoners were held in Liverpool during the wars of the late 18th and early 19th-centuries. Here, as elsewhere, prisoners made such models for sale or barter as a means of supplementing their meagre rations. There is, however, no evidence that the models in this collection were made in Liverpool.
