HMS Mars in Malta | 1860 Size:32"x24" Children and washing lines in

Children and washing lines in the foreground add a human touch

Their employment requires uncommon exertions

likely based this work on Ross’s published narrative

is the bow of a boat full of sailors

George's Cross flags are visible

HMS Mars in Malta | 1860 Size:32"x24" Children and washing lines inThis early photograph captures HMS Mars anchored in the Grand Harbour of Valletta around 1860, at a time when Malta served as a vital strategic base for the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. Launched in 1848, HMS Mars was a powerful 90 gun second rate ship of the line, representing the final generation of large wooden warships before the rapid transition to ironclads and steam propulsion. By the 1860s, vessels like Mars were already becoming symbols of