Oars Collection

Training Ship Mercury and boys racing crew, River Hamble
The racing crew of the training ship Mercury with the ship itself in the background

The Lord Mayor at the Red Lion Brewhouse, St Katherines Way, London, c1703 (c1850(?)). Sir John Parsons leaving for Westminster by barge

Rowing Boat Eight
Oar pattern: a study of a typical rowing eight a rowing boat team of eight men, seen from a bridge above

Rowing Boat Oars
Rowing boat oars. Date: 1930s

Poster advertising Aegean cruises around the Greek islands, including Skiathos, Delos, Skyros, Milos and Mykonos

Grace Darling, rowing with her father
Grace Horsley Darling (1815 - 1842), daughter of the lighthouse keeper, William Darling, on the Farne Islands

George Washington crossing the Delaware during the American War of Independence
6029901 George Washington crossing the Delaware during the American War of Independence, 25 December 1776 (chromolitho) by Leutze

Queens College Cambridge rowing team on the River Cam, near Searles Boathouse and Winter Boat Builders. Date: early 20th century

Lobster boat off the Atlantic coast of Maine and Canada
Lobster fishermen in the Grand Manan Channel between Maine and New Brunswick, 1890s. Hand-colored halftone reproduction of a 19th-century illustration

Rowing in 1935
A woman sits and rows a boat single-handedly on the Norfolk Broads during the 1930s

Bodinnick, Lanteglos by Fowey, Cornwall. 1904
A view from a street in Bodinnick looking down towards the river and Fowey opposite. Children observe a photographer. Photographer: Herbert Hughes

Bedroom boat-race practice
An enthusiastic " Blue" leaves nothing to chance and recreates rowing conditions with the help of three tin baths, some wheels and a pair of oars in his bedroom

Cottage near East Bergholt, Suffolk
Artist: British (English) School - Title: Cottage near East Bergholt, Suffolk - Date: N/A - Original Medium and Size: Oil on Canvas 24.8 x 31.8

The Fisherman
Artist: Tuke, Henry Scott - Title: The Fisherman - Date: 1888-1889 - Original Medium and Size: Oil on Canvas 116.8 x 198.1

Rowing boats at Waterhead Ambleside on Lake Windermere at sunset in the Lake District UK
Ashley Cooper / SpecialistStock

Miss Lucy Pocock, sculling champion
Miss Lucy Pocock, the winner of the Thamesside Water Womens sculling championship. She came from a family of boat builders and sculling champions

Summer evening, c1890s. Creator: Albert Edelfelt
Summer evening, c1890s

Cowes, 1909. Artist: JMW Turner
Cowes, 1909. From The Water-colours of J. M. W. Turner, text by W. G. Rawlinson and A. J. Finberg. [Avalon Press, London, 1909]

Boy Rowing out from Rocky Shore, Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929)
Oil on canvas, Newlyn School, 1890. Henry Scott Tuke was born into a Quaker family in Lawrence Street, York

Ulysses deriding Polyphemus - Homers Odyssey, 1829, (1911). Artist: JMW Turner
Ulysses deriding Polyphemus - Homers Odyssey, 1829. Painting held in The National Gallery London. From A History of Painting Volume VIII by Haldane MacFall [T. C. and E. C

The Boat Race, Cambridge v Oxford. 1957. Pictured at the start of the race at Putney Bridge

Boy in school uniform rowing a boat. Date: circa 1920s

National Nautical School, Portishead
Boys holding oars in a boat - possibly in the Schools swimming pool - at the National Nautical School, Portishead, near Bristol. Date: circa 1945

Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender) is helped to escape by boat from Scotland. 1746

Jolly Bathing girl on the beach at Giulianova, Italy
A jolly bathing girl standing atop a lightweight oared catamaran on the beach at Giulianova, a coastal town and commune in the province of Teramo of central Italy. Date: circa late 1930s

Randan Skiff
A RANDAN SKIFF, used on the Thames. Remarkably, it has three oars, which you might think would result in one side of the boat moving faster than the other

Canoe At Edge Of Mountain Lake, Shuswap, British Columbia, Canada

Poster, Lugano, Switzerland. 20th century

Ancient Greece, wooden sailing boat with two large sails

The sacred trireme arrives at Tyre
Arrival at Tyre of the Athenian ambassadors in the sacred trireme, Paralos. They travelled to pledge anew the loyalty of Athens to Alexander the Great. 331BC

Maidenhead 1950S
A view of the silvery river Thames at Maidenhead, Berkshire, one of the best known and popular up-river resorts

A Marshland Farm
Artist: Michie, James Coutts - Title: A Marshland Farm - Date: N/A - Original Medium and Size: Oil on Canvas 121.9 x 182.9

Launching the Lifeboat
Launching the lifeboat from a carriage into a rough sea whilst the crew climb aboard

It is coming, Maggie! Tom said
725508 It is coming, Maggie! Tom said, in a deep hoarse voice, loosing the oars and clasping her (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: It is coming, Maggie)

Furnivall rowing eight on the River Thames
Womens Amateur Rowing Association - Furnivall rowing eight on the River Thames. 1907

The Romans (coloured engraving)
3630114 The Romans (coloured engraving) by German School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Romans)

Canute reproving his courtiers, engraved by G. Noble, illustration from David Hume
STC429645 Canute reproving his courtiers, engraved by G. Noble, illustration from David Humes The History of England, pub. by R

The Boat Race, Cambridge v Oxford. 1956. The race was held from the starting
The Boat Race, Cambridge v Oxford. 1956

The Boating Party, 1893 / 1894. Creator: Mary Cassatt
The Boating Party, 1893/1894

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An Adirondack Guide Boat in a calm lake with Whiteface Mountain in the background

City gent - rowing boat

Landing Troops at the Khedives Palace at Alexandria after the Bombardment, 1882, (c1882-85). Episode of the Anglo-Egyptian War (1882). From British Battles on Land and Sea, Vol. IV, by James Grant

Viking Ships (Liebig)
A fleet of Viking ships using sail and oars

Comic postcard, Boy and girl in a rowing boat on the sea Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Sea sickness in a rowing boat Date: early 20th century

People boating on a canal, with spectators above them, possibly in Oxfordshire Date: circa 1890

Engraved Scaraboid with Protesilaos on the Prow of a Ship, 400-350 BC. Creator: Unknown
Engraved Scaraboid with Protesilaos on the Prow of a Ship, 400-350 BC

The Rower, 1883. Creator: James Ensor
The Rower, 1883

Native canoe, off the coast of British Columbia, 1872. Creator: Unknown
Native canoe, off the coast of British Columbia, 1872. Engraving of a sketch by Mr. H. Y

Pontifical galley equipped with large stays, sails, oars and heavy artillery. 19th-century version of an engraving by Frans Huys (ca. 1522-1562) in 1550 after a drawing by Brueghel the Elder (ca)

Corfu, Greece
UIG2901879 Corfu, Greece by Braun, Georg (1541-1622) and Hogenberg, Franz (1535-90); (add.info.: Corfu, Greece is the only city of Greece surrounded by Medieval Walls for defense)

Frankish ship with naval ram, mast with sail and rigging, oars
Frankish ship with naval ram, mast with sail and rigging, rowers and oars, rudder, 9th century. Frankish vases below. Vaisseau Franc, Vases

Norman ship with carved figurehead, striped sail, oars, church-l
Norman ship with carved animal figurehead on the bow, striped sail, oars, church-like forecastle on the deck, 11th century. Vaisseau Northman

Gondolas on the canals of Venice, 16th century. The boats are covered in black serge and have leather-covered seats. Two gondoliers with oars in livery. Woodblock engraving by A

Harold Godwinson at Bosham Church and boarding a Saxon vessel
Harold Godwinson at Bosham Church, a Saxon feast, and Harold with hawk and hound boarding a ship for a voyage to Count Guy I of Ponthieu

Harold Godwinson, Anglo-Saxon king of England, on his ship to Ponthieu. Harold steers the rudder, sailors row with oars, climb the mast, pull on sail rigging, weigh anchor, etc

Tools and weapons of Nuku HIva, French Polynesia
Tools and weapons of the people of Nuku HIva, French Polynesia

Russian Ambassador brought ashore to Nagasaki, Japan, 1804
Russian Ambassador Nikolay Rezanov brought ashore to Nagasaki, Japan, from Captain Adam Johann von Krusenstern's ship Nadezhda, 1804

A stand-off between British sailors and Brazilian cavalry, 1807
A sailor blows a defiant blast on a funnel like a trumpeter

Egyptian boat
DGA418882 Egyptian boat by Italian School

Danish ships in the 1st century. From Cassell's History of England, published c.1901
KWE1219735 Danish ships in the 1st century. From Cassell's History of England, published c.1901; Private Collection

Young woman rowing boat, From Figaro Illustré, July 1895 (print)
XLA3771891 Young woman rowing boat, From Figaro Illustré, July 1895 (print) by Moreau, Adrien (1843-1906) (after); (add.info.: Young woman rowing boat on Seine-From Figaro Illustré, July 1895)

The Expedition of the French and Genoese to Barbary
XLF3780904 The Expedition of the French and Genoese to Barbary, from Froissart's Chronicles, illustrated in The Chronicler of European Chivalry, 1930 (print) by English School

West India Docks Print John Bluck Active 1791-1831
West India Docks, Print made by John Bluck, active 1791-1831, British, after Augustus Charles Pugin, 1762-1832, French, after Thomas Rowlandson, 1756-1827, British, Published by Rudolf Ackermann

Two Men with Oars Standing Next to a Lantern, 1866-1867. Creator: Felice Beato
Two Men with Oars Standing Next to a Lantern, 1866-1867

Comic postcard, Plump woman and thin man in a rowing boat Date: 20th century

Man wearing a straw coolie hat sits on a stool, Hong Kong
A man wearing a straw coolie hat sits on a stool on small sampan wooden boat in Hong Kong. He is barefoot, holds the oars, wears a coolies hat and has a cigarette in his hand

Seagull Race, Lerryn, St Veep, Cornwall. January 1992
The annual Seagull race gets underway at Lerryn. Over 50 vessels complied with the rule that they had to be powered by a Seagull outboard motor

Dragon boat race, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong

The Chateau of Goudestein, on the River Vecht, Near Maarsen, 1674 (oil on canvas)
EHT369816 The Chateau of Goudestein, on the River Vecht, Near Maarsen, 1674 (oil on canvas) by Heyden, Jan van der (1637-1712); 55.6x71.8 cm; Apsley House, The Wellington Museum, London

Cotton Tiberius B. V, Part I fol
BL243128 Cotton Tiberius B

Anthony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, 18th century (oil on copper)
EHT369811 Anthony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, 18th century (oil on copper) by Platzer, Johann Georg (1704-61); 52x80 cm; Apsley House, The Wellington Museum, London

Girls in a Rowing Boat (Summer in the Archipelago), 1883. Creator: Albert Edelfelt
Girls in a Rowing Boat (Summer in the Archipelago), 1883

In the Outer Archipelago, 1898. Creator: Albert Edelfelt
In the Outer Archipelago, 1898

A Savo Boat on a Lake, 1879. Creator: Ferdinand von Wright
A Savo Boat on a Lake, 1879

Duluth Boat Club Senior Quad, between c1915 and c1920. Creator: Bain News Service
Duluth Boat Club Senior Quad, between c1915 and c1920

The Cambridge University boat crew returning from practice, 1870. Creator: Unknown
The Cambridge University boat crew returning from practice, 1870. Students training for the annual race between the Oxford and Cambridge university rowing teams

The Trojans repulsing the Greeks, 1538. Creator: Giovanni Battista Scultori
The Trojans repulsing the Greeks, 1538

Galley of Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc
860719 Galley of Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, c.1780-85 (oil on panel) by Neapolitan School

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EDITORS COMMENTS

"Oars: A Journey Through Time and Waters" Step into the world of rowing as we explore the captivating stories behind these humble yet powerful tools. From the Rowing Boat Eight, where teamwork and precision merge to create a symphony on water, to Grace Darling's courageous adventure with her father, they have been witnesses to remarkable tales. Imagine yourself aboard an Aegean cruise, enticed by a vibrant poster showcasing azure waters and sleek boats propelled by sturdy oars. Reflecting upon history, we recall George Washington crossing the Delaware during the American War of Independence; his determination etched in our minds through a vivid chromolitho. The Queens College Cambridge rowing team epitomizes dedication and excellence as they glide across rivers with synchronized strokes. In Bodinnick, Lanteglos by Fowey, Cornwall in 1904, a quaint cottage stands witness to countless hours spent perfecting rowing techniques. Venturing further across continents brings us to the Atlantic coast of Maine and Canada. Here, lobster boats rely on oars for their livelihoods amidst treacherous waves. Rewinding time back to 1935 reveals an era when rowing was not just a sport but also a way of life for many enthusiasts. "The Fisherman" captures both serenity and strength as he maneuvers his boat effortlessly using well-worn oars. At Waterhead Ambleside on Lake Windermere at sunset in the Lake District UK, rows of boats bask in golden hues - reminding us that even nature's beauty can be enhanced by these simple yet essential instruments. Whether it be historical events or everyday moments filled with tranquility or excitement – oars remain steadfast companions throughout our journey on water. Their significance transcends time and place - connecting generations past and present through shared experiences under open skies.