This classic British Builders Model is of the rarest subject possible. The luxurious M.Y. VIRGINIA arrived as an exclamation to the first era of extravagance and superior craftsmanship for pleasure yachts. Built from the design of George L. Watson, a renowned nautical architect for more than 40 years, she would serve her owners and the British Admiralty equally well.
Half-block dockyard models are very infrequently available and have increased substantially in value over the past decade. This fine model is exceptional even among those, for not only the scarcity of type, but the outstanding artistry performed by the commissioned modelers. The carved seahorse figurehead with the trailboard of dolphins begins the model, and down to the silver-plated flag staff at the stern, every detail is presented. The super-structure has wood capped deck rails which lead to the wheel house with the instrumentation one would expect to find on the real ship. The triple-colored white-green-red hull is sharply lined and the woodwork is expertly fitted and lacquered. The half model is reflected to its illusionary fullness through the use of a backing mirror.
VIRGINIA was built by William Beardmore & Co. in 1930 at Dalmuir, Clydebank, Scotland. Every modern convenience then conceivable was fitted into her 182 ½foot length. Her first owner, Major Sir Stephen Courtauld, was a member of a very wealthy textile manufacturing family, and they enjoyed the yacht for nine years before offering her for government service at the onset of World War II to be part of an anti-submarine patrol and then in the examination service. The yacht was released from duty in 1946. Courtauld sold her to the first Viscount Camrose, who was the chairman of the daily telegraph newspaper and the Vice-Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron. When he passed away, the yacht finished its days in service to the government of Liberia.
