My collection contains a number of photographs taken at Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and around Hampton Roads.  These cards support the idea that the photographers were aboard one of the fleet ships and took the opportunity to take these photographs while traveling up and down the Atlantic Coast.

All of the photographs taken by Brown & Schaffer show a clear understanding of composition, lighting, and exposure.  It is apparent that by this time they had become quite skilled at selecting there subjects and creating photographs that would be popular with sailors to mail as postcards.

 
Berthed in Norfolk, two Foote Class Torpedo Destroyers sit alongside a battleship in the next berth.  Photo #873

The group of cards represents a mixture of times and places where Brown & Schaffer photographed the fleet. The first photo #899 shows the USS Maine steaming in company with a second battleship, probably the Alabama, during her cruise to Portugal and the Mediterranean Sea.  Photo #866 Shows the USS Oregon off Chefoo, China at anchor in 1903.  Photo #897 shows the USS Indiana underway.  Photo #919 shows the newest Austrian Battleship Sankt Georg at the Jamestown Exposition in 1907.  Photo #900 shows five battleships of the Atlantic fleet doing drills.  The closest ship, possibly the USS Virginia with her Division steaming to Newport in late 1907.  Photo #923 shows the Russian Cruiser Askold bottled up in Shanghai, China by the Japanese after the battle of the Yellow Sea in August 1904.