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SALEROOM
BONHAMS
BONHAMS When Britannia waived the rules
The pert and pacey British-built Albatross sports boats, which did much to popularise waterskiing in the UK, became playthings for the rich and famous in their 1950s heyday.
Aristotle Onassis owned one of the lightweight aluminium flyers, Prince Rainier of Monaco had no fewer than six at one time, and HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was also a valued ‘customer,’ to the extent that when he returned his Albatross for a service, the directors of Albatross wrote to Buckingham Palace with the following proposal: “Would it be in order to sell the current boat and supply one of the latest type? There would be no expense involved.”
In those less censorious days the Duke graciously accepted the free upgrade, and his 1956 Albatross MkIII with the latest Ford Anglia 1,172cc engine, which gave it a top speed of 34mph, became a fixture on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Like his earlier Albatross, the new boat also featured a hull liveried in matching Britannia Blue. In the 1960s the Albatross was moved to Balmoral Castle, and enjoyed for waterskiing before being decommissioned and passed on in the 1980s.
In highly original condition and accompanied by royal correspondence, the Prince’s Albatross is estimated at £20,00040,000 when it comes under the hammer on 10 April.
Photos above left to right: In time-warp condition, Prince Philip’s very well preserved Albatross still has its original Ford Anglia engine; 1957 photo shows eight-year-old Prince Charles enjoying – or possibly enduring – a day on the water at Cowes in his dad’s Albatross MkIII
CHARLES MILLER LTD One piece at a time
From a quartet of Stuart Turner engines optimistically described as “understood to be in good running order” – a bold claim if ever there was one – to ventilator cowls, antique deck lights, compass binnacles, blocks, chronometers and shipwrighting tools, Charles Miller Ltd’s next marine sale on 26 April has everything you’d need to build a vessel every bit as eccentric as the Cadillac assembled one piece at time in Johnny Cash’s famous novelty song.
CHARLES MILLER LTD
Clockwise from top left: Circa 1900 Admiralty-pattern brass tiller yoke, estimated at £300-500; 43in (109cm) brass helm, £300-500; c1920 double bridge telegraph, £600-800; 1940s cork life ring from Manx Ferry King Orry, £150-250; Brass ventilator cowls, £150-250; Copper and brass navigation lamps, £600-800
ELDRED’S, USA Herresho boat jewellery
Much like varnish, we’d caution against using anchors in any marine environment, and here’s one I certainly wouldn’t want to get wet. As well as drafting the fastest yachts in the world, Nathanael Greene Herresho (1848-1938) also applied himself to reengineering the humble admiralty-type anchor into an object of desire. Produced in lustrous and costly bronze, you’d be devastated if you lost this early-20th-century 26in (63cm) Herresho stockless folding anchor, particularly as it was bought for a fairly hefty $812.
