A privateer glass c.1760

A privateer glass c.1760, the rounded funnel bowl engraved with a bunch of grapes beneath the inscription 'Prosperity to the London', the reverse with a single butterfly, raised on an airtwist stem, 15.7cm.

The London was once again a relatively common name for ships of this time, and letters of marque awarded to various vessels thus christened are recorded between 1756 and 1761 to captains including William Bushell (10th September 1756), William Cropton (5th November 1756), John Watt (3rd February 1758), Richard Allwright (14th February 1758), Richard Codling (30th March 1758), John Webb (24th April 1760), James Alexander (12th December 1760), Mathew Moran (9th February 1758 and again 30th December 1760), and Samuel Carter (21st October 1761). All of these missions against France were financed by various London merchants. Mathew Moran's second voyage in 1760 sees him for the first time as owner of The London, so it is arguable that the ship had more significance to him than other owners.