That model of a ship that is the symbol of the corporate culture of Lydia Security, a company described by Ira Riklis, has a curious origin. The model was ordered through the American Marine Model Gallery of Salem, MA. The artist that created this model assembled it from thousands of handcrafted pieces. The ship’s 44 guns were so tiny that it must have taken great skill and patience to put them in place on the model. It turned out that this model was the last one that the artist worked on as he had a fatal heart attack soon after.
The search for a historical basis for the ship named Lydia revealed that three vessels in British naval history bore this name. None though were of the era of the Napoleonic Wars. The archives were then searched for similar ships - those possessing the details of the book’s (”Beat to Quarters”) author. The discovery of a British frigate, the Serapis, which had 44 guns and was launched in 1779 seemed to fit the bill. This ship had been named for gods in both Greek and Egyptian mythology. Ira Riklis knew he had found the best available match.
So the inspiration found for the artist’s creation eventually would lead to the inspiration of a company’s workforce.