"Ships and whimsies-in-bottles, the skillful and fanciful representations of untrained sailor craftsmen, many of whom sailed from our New England shores, have been growing in popularity among folk art collectors and maritime museum attendees. The recognition of the works of marine folk artists has sprung from an appreciation for individualism and the artistic depiction of basic idealism. The common lack of technical mastery found compensation in freedom of expression, simplicity, honesty and inventiveness. The sailor artisan used the technical skills needed to perform or survive at sea into works of beauty within a na√Øve design. This has been preserved as finely crafted folk art, and in some ways a form of industrial art. This form of sailors'Äô folk art is a collection of extraordinary pieces, which often leave the viewer with the vexing question, ""How did they do such work, many times under the grueling conditions of a voyage at sea?"" It is the intent of the author to acquaint the reader with the beauty and breadth of these works, as well as to their history and references in literature."