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Notes
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The Merchant Shipping Bill was an unsuccessful attempt by Joseph Chamberlain to reform the shipping industry. At the time he tried to pass the bill, one in six merchant sailors died at sea. Additionally, shipping companies used to over-insure their cargos by using loopholes in the existing law, for example by insuring the same item twice under different headings. This meant that many companies made more money when one of their ships sank during a voyage than if it arrived safely. This banner carries the signature Bernasconi and the date 1 August 1884. It is based on a cartoon from ‘Punch’ magazine in March 1884 by Sir John Tenniel. Chamberlain appears as a winged cherub watching over the sleeping sailor. The inscription on the box above the sailor's head shows the amounts the cargo is worth and what the owner would receive if the ship were to sink. This banner was conserved in the museum's Textile Conservation Studio in 2001.
People's History Museum
Manchester
Title
Merchant Shipping Bill Banner
Date
1884
Medium
oil on linen
Measurements
H 177 x W 129 cm
Accession number
NMLH.1993.628
Acquisition method
gift from Mrs Flinn, 1990
Work type
Banner
