My friend Steve Bunker up in Gray, Maine runs a business called China Sea Marine Trading.
His operation started in Baltimore, Maryland, then moved up to Portland Maine, and finally runs from his property in Gray.
I've made, restored, rerigged, and rebuilt many models for his shop, most broken or unfinished kits and crude scratch builds.
Few with any history, till this one.

The story goes...In 1880, Peter Beattie saw some workmen sailing a little schooner near the Grand Avenue Bridge in New Haven, Connecticut and talked them into selling it to him. It was in the Beattie family every since.

Peter's grandson, Edward, an avid ship modeler already in his eighties, began to restore the model giving it more detail with the intent to keep it as a static model. Before he could finish it, Edward died.

His sister (I think) sent it to Bunker with boxes of parts and other modeling supplies that were Edward's, and, as you noticed, it came to me to finish the restoration Edward had started.

Bunker would like the model to sail again, as the free-sailer that it was or, under RC if possible without changing the integrity of the model, which Edwards restoration actually did by adding more detail than it had.

Here Harold Beattie sails Montowese & Columbia at Thimble Island, CT c.1914
the caption on the image is what was written on the back of the copy of the photo:

click for larger image