I never had the pleasure of meeting the mister’s grandfather. That is one of my regrets in life. He died long before I came along, but he had such a positive influence on the mister that his presence is felt even to this day.
One of the prize possessions of this household is a ship model built by Salvatore. But first let me tell you a little bit about him. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1898 and grew up in the mostly Italian/Sicilian neighborhood surrounding historic Beale (then known as Beal) Street and was initially involved in the family produce business. He ultimately worked for Arthur Fulmer as an upholstery specialist making covers for automobiles and carriages. The mister recalls him getting early access to the new car models so that he could measure and chalk out designs to make seat covers prior to the new autos being introduced in September.
He enjoyed building models as a hobby and one of the things he participated in was building line control airplanes. His son and grandson were heavily involved with the flying and competition part of the airplane, as Salvatore was a small man, and he wasn’t able to handle the 5 foot scale model Constellation of which he was so proud.
In the late 1920’s one of the most beautiful ships ever laid down was launched. The Ile de France. Shortly thereafter he contacted a friend that was involved in the travel industry and asked them if they could obtain any specifications of the ship. They did better than that. They were able to obtain some of the original blueprints! One sheet measured over 10 feet long and was 27″ wide. But there were obstacles ahead. The measurements were all in the metric system and in French. It may have created a stumbling block, but it didn’t prevent him from moving forward. He converted the measurements to one 16th of an inch equals one foot scale and began building his model. But time, money and lack of domestic supplies hindered his progress so he put his model in the attic.
As a child, the mister played with this unfinished model many times but as an adult he pressed his grandfather to actually finish this project. Some 47 years passed between conception and completion, but what a completion it was!
He asked a local company to print lined paper for him to look like the mahogany decks, but it would be nearly half a century before they were installed.
He started this project in 1927 and worked on it off and on then ultimately set it aside due to lack of materials and time. When he pulled it from the attic and finished it in 1974 this four foot replica became newsworthy.
He was featured in the local news with the story of his model building.
The detail of the ship is amazing. Another friend that was a watchmaker gave him a lathe so that he would be able to hammer out the port holes from brass tubing.
There are hundreds on each side of the model
The detail is incredible on all segments of the model
Each of the smoke stacks were fashioned from tomato sauce cans. He was Sicilian….what else did you think he would use?
A view from the top
This lovely model has graced my home for all the years that the mister and I have been married (25) and she is a beauty. Her case and table deserve an upgrade as it is still in the plexiglas and laminate surround that grandpa designed and built 40 years ago. Nevertheless, the Ile de France is as much a part of the family (and family history) as any blood relative.
Pingback: Flying Family Style - B's Treehouse