Ashley Bowen (1728 –
1813) was a ship rigger from Marblehead,
Massachusetts. He went to sea at a young age, was a seaman in the Royal
Navy and served at Quebec in 1759 with the famous explorer Captain James
Cook. The fact that he did his writings and drawings is remarkable -
that some of them survived is miraculous. Most of what exists was found
on top of a rubbish heap that was ready to be hauled away to the town
dump.
Neptune 1 Studios in
Marblehead has created these plates from Ashley
Bowen's journals. Every plate has a tag explaining the story behind the
image used. Each piece is handcrafted in Massachusetts.