H.M.S. Pinafore is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1878. The Gilbert and Sullivan work was very popular in the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere. It continues to be regularly performed today, and has sparked a number of adaptations. This illustration, depicting a sailor on a ship's rigging, forms the frontispiece to The Pinafore Picture Book, a 1909 children's book by Gilbert and illustrated by Alice B. Woodward. The book retells the story of Pinafore, in some cases giving considerable backstory that is not found in the libretto.Illustration credit: Alice B. Woodward; restored by Adam Cuerden