Watercolours of HMS Jason, 32-guns,by the Ship’s carpenter Thomas Harris, 1805, bound in monkey skin (c) Charles Miller Auctions
The Inscription says: This book was written and drawn by Thomas Harris cabinet maker, of Shrewsbury. He was formally ship carpenter to the Jason frigate and made a model of it which I bought. He gave me this book at that time about June 1836. The binding is made of the skin of a monkey be brought from Jamaica
The Jason was a 32-gun fifth rate Thames Class frigate, launched Woolwich 1804, she became flagship to Admiral Alexandre Cochrane in June 1805 and, serving in the Leeward Islands, enjoyed a lively career. Capturing several French and Spanish vessels (including the Naiade after a nine hour chase), she was handed over to Capt. Thomas John Cochrane (the Admiral's son) and continued much as before. Frigate actions, reducing batteries, and surviving an attempted mutiny whilst in New York, her last acts were to serve as escorts to the restored French King, Louis XVIII, and the Prussian and Russian Emperors during the peace negotiations that heralded the end of the Wars in 1815. Worn out, she was broken up shortly afterwards.
