The theme of the book is the practical part played by the model in maritime development, arranged in roughly chronological order - from Ancient Egypts; funerary model role, to the seventeenth century's use of the model in illustrating naval design developments to such modern naval architecture aspects as tank testing, stability simulation, war-damage control and even to its use in filming naval battles (such as the television series Hornblower). A major aim is to help the reader acquire a critical eye for classifying model types and list many of the major model collections. It is not, however, a how-to-do-it model guide. While the book will explain and illustrate the undoubted aesthetic qualities of models for those interested in maritime history, it will be a particularly useful reference work for collectors, dealers and museum staff with a commercial interest in ship models.