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Large scale model of George Vancouver's HMS DISCOVERY
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| Title | Large scale model of George Vancouver's HMS DISCOVERY |
| Photographer | Richard Nicol |
| Notes | The 14-foot model of HMS DISCOVERY serves as a focus for interpretation of the 1791-1795 voyage of Capt. George Vancouver that put the Northwest on the maps of the world and gave us some of our best-known place names, which endure today. The model was crafted over a period of ten years by dedicatored modelers, using historically accurate plans and is complete down to modeled figures of the captain, officers and crew and even the ship's livestock. Vancouver's commission from the British Royal Navy was threefold: survey and chart the Pacific Coast of North America from southern California to Cooks Inlet, Alaska, settle a land dispute at Nootka (British Columbia) with the Spanish, and record all geographic and biological features of the areas, including the Native cultures. Vancouver's expedition also searched for the Northwest Passage in hopes of claiming the huge reward offered - but there alone they did not succeed. Leaving England April 1, 1791, :HMS Discovery" entered the Straight of Juan de Fuca a year later. The expedtion's five boats were away from the ship for days at a time, the crew surveying inlets, bays and islands, and camping on shore in all kinds of weather. It is estimated these five boats were rowed more than 10, 000 miles on the voyage. As surveys and charts progressed, Vancouver named many water and land features, acknowledgng members of his crew (Lt. Peter Puget, Lt. Joseph Baker, Master Joseph Whidbey), his superiors and peers (Admirals Rainier, Hood and Vashon and Lords Bellingham and Townsend). Upon "Discovery's" return to England, "Discovery's " charts were in great demand. They proved to be so accurate they were used for more than 100 years. |
| Location | United States--Washington (State)--King County--Seattle--Lake Union Park Armory; |
| Digital Collection | King County Museum Collections
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| Note About Ownership | This record describes one of more than three hundred artifacts, photographs and documents, submitted by members of the Association of King County Historical Organizations. The King County Collects project took place during the county's sesquicentennial in 2001, to celebrate the shared collection of AKCHO's 205 members. The information presented here is the responsibility of the AKCHO organization which submitted the item for inclusion in the project. |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions, contact The Discovery Modelers Education Center, 860 Terry Ave. N, Seattle WA 98109. 206-282-0985 discoverymodelers@yahoo.com |
| Credit Line | Discovery Modelers Education Center; All Rights Reserved |
| Repository | Discovery Modelers Education Center |
| Type | Image |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from slide as a 3000 pixel TIFF image in 16-bit color, resized to 640 pixels in the longest dimension and compressed into JPEG format using CONTENTdm's image import. |
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