Sold for $313

Diagram of a steam engine on rail tracks. 15 3/4 x 12 3/4 in. -- Diagram of a topmast. 14 3/8 x 7 1/2 in. -- Map of a coastal fort featuring a star fort. 17 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. -- Diagram of a navigational instrument. 10 1/2 x 15 5/8 in. -- Diagram of a press. 11 1/4 x 17 1/16 in. -- Diagram of a ship's bow with boom and rigging. 16 3/4 x 12 5/8 in. -- Diagram of a sail with rigging. 13 1/4 x 17 7/8 in. -- Together, 7 ink and watercolor technical drawings, each labeled "Fitzgerald.", condition generally fine, occasional light soil or toning, each framed, not examined out of frame.

[With:] Diagram of a topmast. Labeled "Griffen." 14 3/8 x 15 3/8 in. Pencil note reads in part: "Beautifully executed." -- Composition of 19 labeled drawings of ropes and straps. 9 1/8 x 8 1/4 in. -- Composition of 6 labeled diagrams of tackles, purchases, and Spanish burtons. 7 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. -- Together, 3 drawings framed together, both compositions inscribed, "Respectfully Submitted Midm. C.H. Fitzgerald to Capt. S.B. Luce."

When acquired by the consignor, the previous owner related that these drawings were made for a class on draftsmanship at the Naval Academy by Mr. Fitzgerald, a possible midshipman. However, no further details have been uncovered regarding Mr. Fitzgerald. 

The "S.B. Luce" possibly refers to Stephen Bleecker Luce (1827-1917), US Navy admiral and founder and first president of the Naval War College. He served in the Civil War in the Atlantic coast blockade commanding the monitor Nantucket and other commands. He also served as head of the Department of Seamanship at the US Naval Academy from January 1862 to October 1863. After the war, he began the Navy's apprentice training program and was promoted to captain in December 1872. He held several other commands, including the North Atlantic Squadron from his flagship the USS Tennessee in 1884. In 1881 he was promoted to commodore and commanded the US Navy Traning Squadron in Newport, RI where he developed a formal apprentice program for training enlisted sailors. While Fitzgerald goes unidentified, he is possibly one of the many young sailors that were educated by Luce during his long career.