Working Model of Motor Lifeboat by Bassett-Lowke

A working model of a motor lifeboat by Bassett-Lowke. Boxwood decks, a folding mast, a yellow funnel and a nickel-plated steering wheel. The centre has a removable mid-section which opens to reveal the original electric motor. The lifeboat is set on a mahogany cradle and fits snugly into its original carrying case with the initials D. M. L. in black on the side. A plate in the bow states ‘Bassett-Lowke Ltd. Model Makers, Manchester-London-Edinburgh’. British, circa 1938. Provenance: From the estate of Mr D.M. Lumsden and thence by direct descent. Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke (1877-1953) was born in Northampton and is noted for having founded the firm of Bassett-Lowke which specialised in producing construction sets, model railways, boats and ships. He was a friend and patron of the architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, stained glass maker E. W. Twining and German architect-designer Peter Behrens. He served as the executive of the Fabian Society from 1922 until 1924, where he was so impressed by George Bernard Shaw that he had him immortalized as a railway platform accessory. The original cost of this model in the 1983 catalogue was £7 7s.