France, circa 1860
by Ollivier

Man-of-War ships were the backbone of French Imperial Navy from the 16th to the 19th century with the largest of these ships, such as the one pictured here, carrying up to 875 men and sporting over 100 cannons. Tis photograph, taken by the French Naval Ofcer Ollivier (frst name unknown), is a poetic image of a French Man-of-War taking on provisions while anchored in the Mediterranean harbor of Toulon in the south of France.