Here is an incredible one of a kind original pen and ink drawing done by the elusive Elsie O. Horsman at Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1905. This interesting illustration features a skeleton in a hat smoking a pipe and sitting at a drafting table designing ships. There are several text boxes in the drawing read, "Spitting on the floor positively prohibited by order Board of Trade," "We close 12 M. Sundays," "Battleships our Specialty," "Dolittle & Co. Naval Architects + Marine Engineers, 50 years experience," and "10 hours per day, no vacations." Also, the letters P.B.O.D. are coming out of the smoke from the skeleton's pipe, likely a reference to Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas, an engineering firm. When examined closely, one can make out the pencil lines that were drawn to keep this text straight when it was originally written. A piece of paper on the back attributes the drawing to Elsie O. Horsman. It is partially torn, but once had the full date of drawing - all that remains is "7, 1905." This paper also lists the origin of the drawing as Fore River Shipyard, in Quincy Mass. The drawing is housed in a vintage frame and in good condition, though there are some minor vertical wrinkles. This piece is an astounding artifact of the history of shipbuilding in Quincy, Massachusetts, and would be beloved by any collector. The frame measures 12.75" x 16.75".
