Billy Tickell, the purser of the 'Andromeda'
Pen-and-ink sketch of William Tickell (1761–1827), a purser in the Royal Navy, playing the violin. An inscription beneath the image identifies him and gives the date: ‘Billy Tickell the Purser of the Andromeda 1791’. Beneath this are the words ‘a very bad one’, meaning ‘a very bad musician’. This comment refers to another drawing of a violinist mounted on the same page, which is inscribed ‘Old Alexis the Italian Fidler [sic] . . . a very good Musician’ (PAH4892).
The sketch is part of an album containing fifty-seven drawings (PAH4886–PAH4943) created by British naval officer Aiskew Paffard Hollis (1764–1844) during the late 1780s and the 1790s. The majority relate to his service as a lieutenant in ‘Pegase’ in 1785–90, in ‘Andromeda’ in 1790–93 and in ‘Queen’ in 1793–96. Included are portraits of Hollis’s shipmates, often with humorous captions, as well as scenes of everyday life ashore and afloat.
The sketch is part of an album containing fifty-seven drawings (PAH4886–PAH4943) created by British naval officer Aiskew Paffard Hollis (1764–1844) during the late 1780s and the 1790s. The majority relate to his service as a lieutenant in ‘Pegase’ in 1785–90, in ‘Andromeda’ in 1790–93 and in ‘Queen’ in 1793–96. Included are portraits of Hollis’s shipmates, often with humorous captions, as well as scenes of everyday life ashore and afloat.