A small boy in a sailor outfit and cotton hat lies on the towpath of the canal watching his model boat. The model is a plank of wood with two sticks for masts and paper or material for a sail.
Sailor outfits were popular for boys at this time. It reflected the status of the Royal Navy as guardian of the trade routes of the Empire. British policy at this time was that its navy should be as large as the second and third largest navies combined.
The image was taken by Thomas Easton, a Falkirk photographer. He will have posed the photograph as positioning the large folding camera and tripod, possibly on a lock gate or bridge, would take some time.
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