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This boatswain’s call was a presentation piece from the subscribers to the Fund for Gallant Conduct to Arthur Taylor, boatswain of the ‘Superb’, on 21 March 1804. The silver medallion mounted on the chain is inscribed ‘Blockade of Toulon’, evidently the occasion of his gallantry, and his name also appears on the call itself. The call has a barrel-shaped ‘buoy’ with a foul anchor on both ends and a downward-curving ‘gun’. There are scroll ends to the ‘keel’.
The boatswain’s call has a long history both as a symbol of office and as a practical instrument for conveying orders at sea. Its distinctive shape has remained practically unchanged from medieval times to the present day. The call’s shrill whistle can be varied in pitch to convey a variety of information, and can be heard above the sounds of wind and sea. Such instruments were private possessions rather than official equipment and silver calls such as this made suitable gifts and presentation pieces.
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