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A pair of naive maritime oil paintings on cardboard. Both portray the London Thames estuary cutter 'Rapid' (No.6) - one of it on calm river waters, the other on a rough and stormy sea. Each painting is in its original wooden 'life belt' frame, gessoed and painted. One frame has had replacement 'ropes', and there are a couple of splits to the wood and some crazing to the paint surface. Both paintings portray the cutter flying a red-over-white flag - the signal for 'pilot on board'.
 
These fast pilot cutters raced out to sea to meet oncoming cargo vessels, where they would negotiate a fee for guiding the larger vessel safely into port. By the early 1900s, many of these wind-powered cutters were being replaced by steam powered tugs, and were destined to be relegated to private yachts.