A masterwork automated ship model in precious metal, this rare and unique Steamship Sidewheel Model of the GEORGE Q. WHITNEY emerged from the hands of John Dean Benton, a 19th Century American East Coast jeweler, silversmith and artisan ship model maker of renown. Built in exacting scale, the animatronics of the walking beam engine and paddles are driven via a pulley system by the high-quality and completely restored cased music box below. Set off with such details as the cut $1 gold pieces in the paddlewheel centers and the two-tone of polished solid silver with gilded accents for the deck runs matching the gilded windlass, deck fittings and four lifeboats, amongst other features. A delicate line of blue enamel sets off the detail in the ship's paddleboxes. In their time and today Benton music-box models were considered the pinnacle representation of luxury ship models. 29 of these ship models were said to have been made, all of different ships. This model was sold through Tiffany & Company in New York.
This model is an amazing work of the jeweler's craftsmanship and artistic vision. The American coastal passenger liner was an early iron sidewheeler built in 1871 by Harlan & Hollingsworth Shipbuilding Company of Wilmington, Delaware for the Morgan Line of Steamships.
The ship was named for George Q. Whitney - Charles' Morgan's grandson from his daughter Maria Louise Morgan and her husband Charles A. Whitney. At the time of their marriage Charles Whitney was the New York agent for Charles Morgan's U.S. Pacific Mail steamship line.
Like all of Morgan's sons-in-law Charles Whitney would play a key role in the family's businesses, primarily in steamships. At the time the George Q. Whitney was built, Charles was overseeing the dominant Morgan Line of Steamships and Railroad interests working the Gulf of Mexico route between Texas and Louisiana which included this particular vessel. This model passed through the Morgan family before it was sold to the Henry Ford Museum in the early 20th century.
The extraordinary craftsmanship, engineering and the amount of precious metals involved in their construction meant they were sold to the most prestigious clientele. Charles Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt were the leading purchasers of Benton's models, most were direct commissions. A plaque on the model states that this model was one of those commissions, made specifically for Charles Morgan.
Benton was born in Boston in 1824, and his listed residences include Providence, Rhode Island; Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. The first of his gold-and-silver models were of the Vanderbilt's ironclads MONITOR and ROANOKE, and Benton is listed within the U.S. Quartermaster's Department roll in 1862. The New York Herald reported on his first public exhibition in 1864, showing the ship model COMMONWEALTH, made for Captain Williams of the Stonington Line. It is known that Benton made other types of models such as locomotive railcars, architectural displays and other mechanical arraignments besides ships. It is recorded that he made approximately 29 silver ship models. Nineteen of these are known of today, with these split between private collectors and in permanent museum collections. The G.Q. WHITNEY was one of two Benton models directly deacquisitioned from the Henry T. Ford Museum in 2002.
This extremely accurate model shows the complete ship down to the smallest detail. It is an exceptional antique ship model combining artistry and history into this valuable artifact.
Some of the Known Silver Ship Models by John Dean Benton are in the following public collections: Mystic Seaport Museum, Massachusetts; Mariner's Museum, Newport News, Virginia; Fall River Marine Museum, Massachusetts; Vanderbilt Museum, Centerport, New York; Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia; Museum of the City of New York; National Maritime Museum, San Francisco; and the China Maritime Museum, Shanghai. Only a few others are known of in private collections.
A Letter from the Henry Ford Museum Accompanies the Model. The last photo is a listing of the music played by the box, which is attached to the bottom of piece.
Solid Silver with Gilt Model in a Glass and Nickel Case over a Music Box. Measures 20 x 16 5/8 x 7 1/2 Inches
With Two Silver Plaques-
The first identifies the model: Sidewheel Steamship, GEORGE Q. WHITNEY, Made by J. Dean Benton, Wilmington, Delaware, Made for Charles Morgan and sold by Tiffany & Co., 1871.
The second plaque identifies the ship: Made for Charles Morgan in 1871, by Harlan & Hollingsworth, Tonnage 1338
