TC Lethbridge | The Sons of TC-Lethbridge | Tekh's Anthological Review

Shanty

Self-published, 1932

In 1932, Tom Lethbridge produced a short eight-page pamphlet of his maritime illustrations. It was intended as a Christmas greeting for his friends and colleagues. The eight-page, unbound assemblage was hand-stitched and contained six pen and ink illustrations of vessels he had sketched that year.

The front page featured a shanty that was replicated and illustrated throughout the short volume:

A full rigged ship is a Royal Queen - Way hay for Boston Town Oh!!
A lady at court is a barquentine
A Barque is a gal with ringlets fair
A Brig was the same with shorter hair
A topsail-schooner's a racing mare
But the schooner she's a clown O

Each line of the shanty was illustrated thus:

A full rigged ship is a Royal Queen - 'Sorlandet' off Hartland, July 1932.
A lady at court is a barquentine - 'Waterwidz' - Falmouth Bay, August 1932.
A Barque is a girl (sic) with ringlets fair - 'Pommern' - off Morte Point, July 1932.
A Brig was the same with shorter hair
A topsail-schooner's a racing mare - off Woolacombe, July 1932.
But the schooner she's a clown O! - off Kynance, April 1932.

The pamphlet proved to be the first of a series of self-published assemblages that Lethbridge would contrive during the 1930s.

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