Engraved Portrait Of Captain John Schank Of The Royal Navy, Naval Architect 1789

Admiral John Schank (c.1740 - February 6, 1823) was a Royal Navy officer renowned for his skills in shipbuilding and mechanical design. Entering the Royal Navy as a young man, his remarkable mechanical design skills earned him the nickname "Old Purchase" for his design and construction of a vessel fitted with pulleys that allowed it to be adjusted by the person lying on it.
As a lieutenant in 1776, he was tasked with assembling ships to fight the American revolutionaries on Lake Champlain. In less than six weeks, he built the HMS Inflexible, which he then commanded as part of a fleet that defeated General Benedict Arnold's fleet in October 1776. His engineering skills were applied in General John Burgoyne's expedition to the construction of floating bridges.

John James Masquerier (1778-13 March 1855) was a British portrait painter of French Huguenot descent, specializing in depictions of the aristocracy, intellectuals and notable figures such as Warren Hastings and Emma, Lady Hamilton. [1] Born in Chelsea, London, of Protestant refugee parents, he moved with his family to Paris in 1789, where he studied at the Royal Academy under François André Vincent in the midst of the French Revolution; he narrowly escaped violence during the Swiss Guards murder in 1792 and returned to London that year. [1] Masquerier entered the schools of the Royal Academy and exhibited from 1794, amassing over 400 portraits in almost three decades before retiring to Brighton in 1823 with a substantial fortune.