Christmas on Board a British Battleship 1894

The scene on the deck of a Royal Navy Warship in the Mediterranean, at Christmas. The women have come onto the warship to sell figs, nuts, apples, shellfish and other delicacies to the crew. They were known as bumboat women due to the nature of their trading craft; the character Buttercup in the opera HMS Pinafore being the most famous of these peddlars. The warship's mascot, Bruin the bear, is seen taking an interest in proceedings; prior to obtaining some of the wares

Apples Bruin Buttercup Delicacies Figs Mascot Nuts Obtaining Pinafore Proceedings Sell Shellfish Trading Wares Warships

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