Highly Unusual Set of Admiralty ‘Collision Case’ Models by Droosten, Allan & Co

A highly unusual set of Admiralty ‘Collision Case’ models by Droosten, Allan and Co, Containing 14 large and three small wooden models of ships, each with port and starboard markers, movable indicators for a tiller and sufficient booms for the number of masts relevant to the size of ship represented, variously marked ‘steamer, ship, smack, sloop, brigantine, brig, barque, tug and schooner’, etc, signed ‘Droosten, Allan & Co. 126 Strand, London’, in the original black painted tin. English, circa 1865. Footnote: These interesting models of various classes of shipping were made and retailed by the London print publishers Droosten, Allan and Co of 126 Strand. The firm seems to have been an offshoot of the publishing arm of Ackerman and was certainly in business by 1858 the date of the first advertisement by the firm we could find in the newspapers. The firm published portraits of royalty and other figures of the day as well as images on a maritime theme.