how to pass time aboard ship....allegedly

Here is a sailor's valentine I made a while back. It has a stained mahogany octagonal frame, shells have been carefully glued into position to fill the frame with color and a layer of glass covers the fragile shell panel, protecting it from damage and shifting. The February, 2007 issue of Antiques and Collecting magazine has a great article on the history of sailor's valentines. My example is novice compared to those shown in the article! Wow!  http://www.maritimeheritageeast.org.uk/museums/the-peter-coke-shell-gallery/shell-art/sailors-valentines-2 So after reading the article, very few sailors actually made these. Most were made by islanders in Barbados for the souvenir trade and sold to passing sailors to give to loved ones upon return to port. It was still really cool making it and taking the time to build the frame and collect the shells. Gluing them all was time consuming but I really liked doing it anyway since I got to think about alexa for 6 days straight.