These records are found in the online catalog of The Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia. Uncurated search results are presented to give researchers and interested readers an idea of whether the museum’s archives contain information about this vessel and whether it may be worthwhile to visit the museum’s catalog search page for further investigation. Uncurated results may be inaccurate or incomplete.
Mariners' Museum online catalog search, August 11, 2026. Search mode: exact vessel-name variants.
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This color photograph was taken beneath a wave looking upwards. Daylight shines through the wave form and separates it out from the rest of the image. As viewed, the wave is shaped like a whale. A swimmer can be seen diving under the tubular shape of the wave. The water elsewhere in the image appears to be calm. Taken i Oahu, Hawaii in 2014.
INSCRIPTIONS: U.S. NAVY / BUREAU OF SHIPS / SUB-PERISCOPE / STILL CAMERA / 35MM / SERIAL No. S-85-149 / MARK I / MADE IN U.S.A. BY / EASTMAN KODAK CO. / ROCHESTER N.Y. [on metal plate attached above the lens - the 149 is stamped into a small square, the rest of the letters appear to be applied by manufacturer]; WIND / REWIND [on small knobs on the top of the camera - a dial near the wind knob is marked in increments of 0 through 30] ; OVERHAL / A / DAY / NAS NOR VA [partial remains of lettering from yellow adhesive labels- much of lettering lost]; 1. SET PERISCOPE DIOPTER ON "TRUE ZERO" / 2. SET PERISCOPE RAY FILTER ON "CLEAR". / 3. REMOVE CAMERA LENS CAP. / 4. INSERT FILTER OR CLEAR DISC ON CAMERA. / 5. COCK SHUTTER BY WINDING FILM. / CHECK SHUTTER SPEED. [on metal plate attached to the back of the camera]; 130817 [number stamped into metal on the bottom of the camera]; Made in U.S.A. [thin metal plate attached to top of lens, underneath sight tube]; T; B; 10; 25; 50; 100; 200; [stops marked on plate on one side of the lens]; 1BC [in plastic inside camera]; 1 [in plastic inside camera back]; LABEL: Use .. / KODAK / 135 / FILM / KODAK / MADE IN U.S.A. BY / EASTMAN KODAK CO. / ROCHESTER, N.Y. / PATENTS U.S.A. / 1,610,153 - 2,126,324 / 2,129,210 / PATENTS PENDING / PRINTED IN U.S.A. No. 74879 [on adhesive label inside of camera back]
PHOTOGRAPHY, CAMERA, SUB-PERISCOPE CAMERA, BUREAU OF SHIPS, WORLD WAR II, UNITED STATES NAVY, NAVAL AIR STATION, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, USN, SUBMARINE,
NOTES: [Thomas Moore, October 2001] The basic camera for the Sub-Periscope Still Camera was the 35mm. Mark 1, Model 1 camera made between 1938-1947. The unusual aspect of this camera is that the beam splitter (focusing aid) is in the front of the lens, which directed the light coming through the periscope to the camera finder. The only exposure control was the shutter speed. The camera had to be used with either a screw-in clear glass disc in the front of the lens (this is still on the camera), or a No. 12 yellow filter (these filters were used with panchromatic films to increase contrast) or a No. 85 blue filter. The camera was designed to be used with Kodak Super XX film, which was rated at ASA 100. Todd Gustavson, Curator of Technology at the George Eastman House was not sure how many were manufactured but considers the camera rare. Ever since its invention in 1839, photography has played a major role in the military so much that the United States Army Signal Corp established a photographic division after the Spanish American War. Photography has been used by the military for documentation, surveillance and propaganda. NOTES: According to the US Navy Museum Eastman Kodak developed this camera especially for Rear Admiral Lew Parks to enable submarines to take low level reconnaissance photographs of Japanese installations. The submarines alse used these devices to record the results of their attacks on enemy shipping. [From: Townsville Daily Bulletin, November 3, 1947] New Periscope Camera Rochester, N.Y. (A.P.)- The Eastman Kodak Company has made public its development of submarine periscope camera that can be used to snap shoreline close-ups at better than one picture a second. Kodak said that the first of the new models were delivered to the Navy late in World War I and that deliver to the submarine fleet now had been completed. However, information about the camera previously was restricted. A special film case makes possible development of a sheet of film in daylight in less than 60 seconds. Generally, however, the camera used aerial film in 20-foot lengths and standard developing times are required the company said. The camera, designed for reconnaissance work, affords low-angle, assault troop view of a beachhead, Kodak reported. Its four-inch-square photographs can be pieced together to form a mosaic of a shoreline. [From: Popular Science, October 1944] Photos of Sinking Ships are now being taken through the periscopes of our submarines with a new Eastman camer adapted for holding to a matched mount on the periscope. No focusing or setting of the diaphragm is necessary, light conditions being compensated for by changing shutter speed. Also in use on submarines is a special 16-mm movie camera designed by Eastman for mounting on a plate that is snapped into place on the periscope. The still camera is used for recording sinkings of enemy vessels, while the movie camera is for photographing enemy shore lines. [From: Popular Photography, August 1944] Using two different types of camer manufactured for them by Eastman Kodak Company, the Navy is "shooting" both still and motion pictures of hits and sinkings in submarine attacks on Axis shipping. Existence of the specially fitted cameras was recently disclosed. Each has been equipped to operate through 40-foot "pipes," or periscopes, ina narrow, underwater vessel. Before the advent of submarine cameras, pictures were taken with ordinary cameras held against the periscope eyepiece and snapped--a hit or miss proposition at best. The new instruments, with their special fittings, furnish as steady and accurate a "fish-eye" view as the periscope itself.
An ethereal seascape. Artist Statement- I have always been drawn to the sea. I find its mere presence calming and yet at the same moment omniscient. With this series I am exploring the totality and timeless power of mother earth's very source of life-as seen from the shore, in shadows, in rainstorms and at night. I was interested in capturing its power and its delicacy. The sea is and will always be in our entire subconscious. The womb we will all one day return to.' - Leslie Sokolow
CURATOR NOTES: From Edward Levinson's artist statement for pinhole photographs, " In the troubled world in which we live there is a need for beauty and for images that are soothing to the mind and spirit. "Healing Landscapes" is an ongoing project in which I am striving to make images that open the heart of the viewer. I have found that a lensless pinhole camera best captures the essence of nature as I experience it. The pinhole camera captures things on film that I sense are there but cannot necessarily see. The soft, "time altered" scenes created by the pinhole camera's long exposures invoke a sense of sacredness and nostalgia. This is a vision of a peaceful and beautiful world that deep inside ourselves we know exists. I believe each person has inner landscapes representing various aspects of their being and hope that my photographs serve as stepping stones into these. Discovering these inner landscapes brings peace of mind. Whether through searching or by "accident", landscapes that heal constantly find their way into my life and cameras. For me it is a joy to be out in the field, in the heart of nature. Whether experiencing the quiet of dawn or the winds of the storm, I feel at home. The rhythms of nature tune my soul and allow me to be in harmony with it. It is then that I find the images that awaken my emotions and feelings. The appeal of nature is universal and knows no boundaries. I hope these images contribute to the realization of a whole, healthy, and happy world."
SHORT DESCRIPTION: Corky Carroll model pintail surfboard manufactured by Hobie of Dana Point, California. The board is dark green with beige and green stripes running down the rails. There is a 1/4" natural wood stringer running down the center of the board. There is laminated logo for Corky Carroll and another, larger logo for Hobie. The yellow skeg (fin) is removable and held in by a large top screw. NOTES: Excerpt from Matt Warshaw’s Encyclopedia of Surfing, page 463: pintail refers to a "narrow, streamlined, pointed tail design, used almost exclusively on paddle-in big-wave surfboards...the reduced tail width of the board is what allows the board to adhere to the face of a giant wave. Surfline.com identifies Corky Carroll as "The greatest competitor of California's Golden Age and surfing's first real pro, five-time US Surfing Champion (1966-'70)". NOTES: [Provenance and history notes From Claude O. Jones III, June 6, 2013] Hobie, Corky Carroll Model Pintail wsa given to me as a present in 1973 for being the best man in Ricard and Susie Baker's wedding. Reallly good fast board I have been surfing it a lot. I was out at Winks in Kitty Hawk one day and I had a hole drilled in the fin with a leash attached to it. I wiped out and when I came up the board was gone so I started to pull the leash up thinking the board had sunk. All that was left was the fin. It has broken off the board which was washed up on the beach. Earlier that same day I got one of the logest tube rides right through the barrel really fast and clean. The board was a Cadillac and I loved to ride it!
SHORT DESCRIPTION: A 1975 Wave Riding Vehicle fish-tail surfboard made by Bill Frierson. NOTES: The donor stated that he rode this surfboard in Virginia Beach and Hatteras, North Carolina. At one point the surfboard was broken into two, then repaired by Bill Frierson. The seam is visible near the fins. Mr. Frierson wrote, "So i5 was a pretty progressive board for that period. In the winter of 75’ Les Shaw and I went down to Puerto Rico to ride the winter storm swells, we carried designs similar to that board but longer and narrower for the larger surf." He stated that during those early years he was able to make 175-275 boards per year. They kept track of the numbers in a log but not in any formal manner. By the time that he sold the company in 1997 they were making upwards of 3000 boards per year. NOTES: This particular surfboard represents an interesting part of Virginia maritime history in that it was shaped by local surfer/builder Bill Frierson. Frierson came to Virginia Beach from Coronado, California in 1965 and continued surfing; a sport he had picked up in 1961. After gradually learning how to repair and shape boards, he began working for Wave Riding Vehicles as a shaper in 1967 both in Virginia Beach and in Kitty Hawk. Eventually he purchased WRV in 1974 where he remained until 1997. After selling his half of the business, he set up Frierson Designs and continues to produce boards today. This board is #75185 – the 185th board shaped in 1975; the second year of Les Shaw/Bill Frierson ownership of WRV. Bill Frierson was inducted into the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach, California, in 2019. He is the only inductee from Virginia and is among the greatest names in surfboard shaping like Dale Velzey, Greg Noll, Dewey Weber, Robert August, Gerry Lopez, Hobie Alter, Phil Edwards, Tom Blake and Tom Morey. Frierson is also a member of the East Coast Surfing Championships Legends Hall of Fame. NOTES: Fish-, or swallow-tail, boards have been around since 1967 and are considered great for smaller waves. While most were double-fins, Frierson did make a number of single-fin fish tails.
MODEL BUOY, 8 x 26 LWR, 1962 TYPE, NAVIGATION AID, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
SHORT DESCRIPTION: LWR = Light/ Whistle/ Radar reflecting. Cylindrical body, slightly domed bottom with tubular extension and bottom weight. Three mooring and lifting eyes top and bottom. Flat top of body has two hatches, whistle on pipe (pipe extends through bottom of buoy for wave activation of whistle), and framed tower supporting whistle, day mark, radar reflectors and light. Painted green with white numerals "5", brown bottom weight. LABEL COPY: 8 x 26 LWR Buoy, 1962-type 88.5.8 LABEL COPY: Models, Buoys and Pile Structures Buoys are used to mark navigable channels. The larger ones are for the deepest and most important channels, where marks must be seem from greater distances, and where the buoy may be exposed to stronger winds and waves. Their shapes and colors have significance. The nun is a conical buoy found on the right-hand side of the channel when inbound. The name is believed to derive from a fancied resemblance to the garb worn by certain religious orders. The can buoy is cylindrical and found to the left of the channel when inbound. Marks attached to pile structures serve the same purpose as buoys, but are used where shallow water is very close to the channel. Each mark carries a letter or number corresponding to its location on the navigation charts. The numbers and letters used to describe types of buoys are also significant. Numbers are the overall diameter and height of lighted or sound buoys, in feet, or a single class numeral for unlighted, silent buoys. The letter indications are: B, equipped with a bell; C, a can buoys; E, equipped with a horn; I, for use in ice; L, lighted; N, a nun buoy; P, plastic, for use in protected areas; R, equipped with radar reflectors; w, equipped with a whistle. Models, Buoy Scale ½"=1', 1988 Greg McKay, model maker Museum Collection 88.5 (Revised labels for buoy models, 10-89, ADF) LABEL COPY: 8 x 26 LWR Can Buoy, 1962-type Model, scale 1/2"=1', 1988 Greg McKay, model maker Museum Collection 88.5.8 The "Can" buoy is cylindrical and found to the left of the channel when inbound. In addition to a light and radar reflectors, this buoy has a wave-activated whistle for use in exposed areas.
NOTES: Sam Davidson, 9/22/95- topsail schooner UK probably off South Stack/Holyhead owned in Chester, as in your fact sheet, (but 7th line- Connalis Quay is Connah's Quay) Artist's sea seems to have characteristic wave tops- I think the most likely attribution is Joseph Semple of Belfast, Ulster-fl. 1861-78. Needs careful examination out of frame. Many of his works were Irish Sea coastal schooners. VESSEL INFORMATION - VESSEL NAME: EMMA & ESTHER VESSEL BUILT: 1871 VESSEL DATES: 1871-1930 SHIPBUILDER: WALLACE BUILDER LOCATION: PERTH VESSEL DIMENSIONS: 100 tons, reg. 83.6 x 21.8 x 10.2 REGISTERED: CHESTER SHIP OWNER: THOMAS BENNETT, JR., PENTRE, nr. Flint (M.N.L. 1879); WALTER RENEY (1909) DATE OF DISPOSAL: 1930
MODEL, BUOY, 9 x 32 LBR, 1962 TYPE, NAVIGATION AID, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
SHORT DESCRIPTION: LBR = Light/ Bell/ Radar reflecting. Large cylindrical body with domed bottom, smaller bottom extension, framed top supporting bell, light platform and radar reflectors. Red, brown bottom weight, brass painted bell and clapper. LABEL COPY: Models, Buoys and Pile Structures Buoys are used to mark navigable channels. The larger ones are for the deepest and most important channels, where marks must be seem from greater distances, and where the buoy may be exposed to stronger winds and waves. Their shapes and colors have significance. The nun is a conical buoy found on the right-hand side of the channel when inbound. The name is believed to derive from a fancied resemblance to the garb worn by certain religious orders. The can buoy is cylindrical and found to the left of the channel when inbound. Marks attached to pile structures serve the same purpose as buoys, but are used where shallow water is very close to the channel. Each mark carries a letter or number corresponding to its location on the navigation charts. The numbers and letters used to describe types of buoys are also significant. Numbers are the overall diameter and height of lighted or sound buoys, in feet, or a single class numeral for unlighted, silent buoys. The letter indications are: B, equipped with a bell; C, a can buoys; E, equipped with a horn; I, for use in ice; L, lighted; N, a nun buoy; P, plastic, for use in protected areas; R, equipped with radar reflectors; w, equipped with a whistle. Models, Buoy Scale ½"=1', 1988 Greg McKay, model maker Museum Collection 88.5 (Revised labels for buoy models, 10-89, AADF) LABEL COPY: 9 x 32 LBR Buoy, 1962-type Model, scale 1/2"=1', 1988 Greg McKay, model maker Museum Collection 88.5.1 Designed for the most wave-swept location, this buoy features a bell activated by wave movement, along with radar reflectors and a light.
MARKS: Eaton Oscillator, Type Triode C Serial No. 60, Wireless Specialty Apparatus Co., Boston, USA;
RADIOS, WIRELESS, COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT, EATON OSCILLATOR
NOTES: The device bears the name of Lt. J. G. William A. Eaton, USN who was the director of the Radio Test Shop at the Washington Navy Yard in 1915. NOTES: Page 39 of the catalog titled 'Radio Telegraph and Telephone Equipment..." (1919): This instrument can be used for the reception of arc, tube, high-frequency alternator and other types of undamped stations. A new departure in radio apparatus design is incorporated in this device. [It is an ingeniously simple instrument] It consists simply of a small case with posts for connecting the external circut. A novel departure in radio practice is incorporated in this design, in that the wiring diagram of the complete external circuit is engraved upon the cover so that no instruction is necessary for its use. The external circuit is engraved in white, the internal circuit in red. On the left-hand side is engraved the oscillating circuit, on the right-hand side the tube circuit. A high insulation resistance between the grid and the ground is provided by a tall corrugated insulator. The complete internal apparatus is thoroughly impregnated under vacuum, and sealed in a moisture-proof low dielectric loss insulator. We recommend its use for wave-length ranges between 230 and 45,000 meters. It may be used across circuits having inductance between .05 and 100 m.h. and capacity between .0003 and .005 mfd. The Eaton Oscillator is, in short, a device designed to receive undamped waves with a minimum of equipment. It is used in conjunction with an inductance, a variable condenser and a vacuum tube, and is without question the most efficient, most convenient and most economical way of receiving sustained waves. Overall size 5" x 3" x 3" NOTES: [text of advertisement] Designed to transform receiving circuits to receive arc and other undamped signals. This instrument is used in conjunction with a loose coupler or equivalent tuning inductance, a vacuum tube, and a single variable condenser, constitutes a complete system for receiving undamped signals. It requires no adjustments of any kind and yet will oscillate over a wave length ranged of 200 to 25,000 meters. The simplest and cheapest way of receiving undamped signals. NOTES: History from Jamaica Plain Historical Society: The Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company, founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1907, played a significant role in the early development of radio technology in the United States. It was located at 76 Atherton St. in Jamaica Plain. The Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company was established in 1907 as a result of a partnership formed in 1906 between Greenleaf Whittier Pickard and Philip Farnsworth. An American radio pioneer, Pickard is best known for inventing the crystal detector, a crucial component in early radio receivers. One of the most significant contributions of the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company was the development and commercialization of crystal detectors, an essential component in early radio receivers. During World War I, the company supplied radio equipment to the U.S. military. Beyond military applications, the company also produced a wide range of commercial radio equipment. This included transmitters, receivers, and various components used in professional and amateur radio setups. In 1912, the company's engineering, manufacturing, and sales organizations were moved from New York to Boston, Massachusetts. The United Fruit Company gained control of the company in early 1912 and adopted the company's equipment throughout the United Fruit Company's operations. The company's equipment became "standard" radio apparatus worldwide, with over 95% of commercial ship and shore stations in the Western Hemisphere equipped with crystal detecting and receiving apparatus sold directly or licensed under their patent designs. With the outbreak of World War I the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company redirected its efforts towards designing and manufacturing military radio equipment. During this period, the company equipped five additional manufacturing plants and produced millions of dollars worth of apparatus. While the exact date of the company's closure is unclear, the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company apparently ceased independent operations sometime in the 1920s. In 1921, when the United Fruit Company owned it, the government and General Electric, RCA, and others investigated the company for monopolistic trade practices related to radio apparatus. Eventually, the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company was absorbed into the RCA conglomerate, of which it had been one of the founding companies. This absorption likely occurred as part of the broader consolidation of the radio industry in the 1920s.
CURATOR NOTES: Lighthouse seen in distance from railing of a passing ship. Built 1871, 77 feet high Description: Halfway Rock is so named because of its location in the middle of Casco Bay, roughly midway between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small. With Sequin Island just a short distance up the coast from Cape Small, it may seem that a light at Halfway Rock would be unnecessary, but in a heavy fog local mariners find the 76-foot tall Halfway Rock Lighthouse indispensable. As was the case with several 19th century lighthouses, local citizens and mariners had to loudly demand a lighthouse for the dangerous site for decades before one was actually built. In the case of Halfway Rock, the delay was 36 years. The petition began in 1835 in the usual manner: a series of spectacular shipwrecks and lost lives triggered the pleas for an adequate warning beacon. On June 19 of that year, a severe southeasterly gale battered the Maine coast. The brig Samuel was heading home to Bath, and Captain George W. Small was well aware of how dangerous a lee shore could be in that area during a storm. The captain ordered his crew to reef the mainsail so the ship could ride out the storm a safe distance offshore. Despite this precaution, the ship hit ground hard on Halfway Rock at 10 p.m. that evening. Captain Small and another crewman were washed overboard by a rogue wave and lost. The surviving crewmembers managed to climb onto the rock and take cover behind protective ledges until morning, when they were rescued. Shortly after this incident, Captain Joseph Smith of the U.S. Treasury Department, which administered lighthouses at the time, wrote to his superiors in Washington: “I respectfully request the erection of a stone monument on this rock and the cost of it I estimate at $3,000.” Halfway Rock Lighthouse with bell tower Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Smith’s request was ignored and no action was taken for the next 26 years. On February 12, 1861 the British bark Boadicea, headed for Glasgow, Scotland, crashed into Halfway Rock so unexpectedly and hard that all aboard drowned. This incident caused a slight stirring in Washington, but an additional eight years passed before Congress finally authorized $50,000 to build a lighthouse at Halfway Rock. Huge granite blocks were brought from other Maine islands by boat and unloaded on Halfway Rock, where the surface of the rock had been cut to the proper level. On June 30, 1870, the balance of funds for completing the lighthouse reverted to the Treasury, and construction at the site had to be suspended. Congress approved an allocation of $10,000 on March 3, 1871 for the completion of the lighthouse, and work on the rock soon resumed. On August 15, 1871, the light at Halfway Rock was lit for the first time, 36 years after the wreck of the Samuel. The tower was originally outfitted with a revolving third-order Fresnel lens, showing a white light punctuated by a red flash. The new 76-foot tower was cone-shaped and built with white granite blocks, with a black cast iron lantern. A pyramidal, skeleton bell tower, standing forty-eight feet high and constructed of 10-inch square yellow pine timbers, was bolted to the ledge eighty feet from the lighthouse in 1887. A striking mechanism delivered regular blows to a 1,000-pound bell suspended in the tower. During the bell tower’s first winter, a sea with a depth of eight feet swept over the ledge beneath the tower. The fog bell was replaced in 1905 by a diesel-powered Daboll fog trumpet The granite tower originally double as a dwelling for the keepers. A kitchen was located on the first floor, the principal keeper lived on the second floor, the two assistants on a third level, and a watchroom, outfitted with a small stove and a desk, was located directly beneath the lantern room. In 1884, an 18 by 24-foot wooden boathouse, with two bedrooms in its loft, was constructed in the lee of the lighthouse in 1884. The boathouse was securely bolted to both the ledge and the tower, and a sloping wooden ramp connected to structure to the water. There were three keepers employed at Halfway Rock, with two always on duty and the third on shore leave. Due to the tight living conditions, no families or spouses were allowed at the station. Sometimes, the isolation and lonely nature of the work exacerbated personality conflicts between keepers. An inspector from the Lighthouse Board investigated a problem between two keepers at Halfway Rock and explained the matter in a report to his bosses: “Some 18 months ago Mr. Holbrook, then 1st Asst. Keeper…came to my office and reported to me that when he and Mr. Toothaker were alone on the Rock (the 3rd Keeper being absent), Mr. Toothaker would often refuse to speak to him for a week or 10 days at a time without any apparent reason whatsoever. The place was lonely enough of itself, and to be deprived of the company of the only other person there seemed, unless good reasons existed, and improper state of affairs… “…last spring Mr. Holbrook reported to me that Mr. Toothaker, he believed, was at times out of his mind, or on the verge of so being…Finally, Mr. Holbrook informed me that he was afraid to remain longer at the station with Mr. Toothaker, as he believed Mr. Toothaker, while in an excited state, might attack him, and that he ought to resign…I at once visited the station…Mr. Toothaker admitted that he did get into a queer state of mind at times…I then informed him that he had without a doubt a natural tendency to insanity, which his lonely life on the Rock had aggravated…I then informed him that I could not take the responsibility of him remaining there longer – that if he did, there might be a tragedy, and that if he did not resign, I would be obliged to ask the Board to remove him. Thereupon Mr. Toothaker resigned.” Toothaker later wrote to the Board and made counter-accusations against Holbrook, claiming that he had been absent without leave and had abused the President of the United States. A lot of a lighthouse inspector’s time must have been taken up dealing with these personality quirks and conflicts among keepers, which were not uncommon. All correspondence and reports had to be laboriously hand-written by a clerk, with a second copy made for the files. Halfway Rock Light was automated in 1975, and modern, solar-powered optic replaced the Fresnel lens, which was subsequently placed on display at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. In 2000, the station was leased to the American Lighthouse Foundation, which faces a daunting task in restoring a lighthouse with such limited access. Maine Preservation declared the Halfway Rock Lighthouse one of the state’s “Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties” in 2004. The lighthouse foundation has done an excellent job with other lighthouses, and will hopefully be able to save this maritime landmark. References Lighthouses of Maine, Bill Caldwell, 1986. Annual Report of the Light House Board. Maine Lighthouses: Documentation of Their Past, J. Candace Clifford and Mary Louise Clifford, 2005.
INSCRIPTION: FRANSCISCUS VALDESIUS, HISPANI DUX EXERCITUS., Flectit in illustrem qui lumina blanda puellam, Si modo blanda ferox lumina miles habet; Hic quondam tuus hostis erat, celeberrima Leyda; Quem tibi dimidium picta tabella resert., Vicisits totum: constantia vicit Iberum; Quae nisi vicisset, vincere posset Amor. Creditur huc Cytherea suas misisse columbas, Vt scires, Marti quam sit amica Venus., Petrus Scriverivs, Pictura ad Vivum expressa extat apud Io., Moons Advocatum Fisci., Corn. Vischer Sculpsit Petro Soutmanno dirigente et excudente Harlemi 1649., I
LINE ENGRAVING, BOOK ILLUSTRATION, PORTRAIT, FRANCISCUS VALDESIUS
NOTES: Translation of script below engraving: Louis Boisot, Admiral of the Fleet For citizens suffering from pestilence and panting breath, And now Saguntine bodies recked by starvation, The Commander grieves: indeed, what might that illustrious man not suffer, As compassionate love for the citizens aroused him. He then declared: O whorled Aeolus, since the earth is not permitted relief, Let the wave of Tethys demolish Spanish threats. Boisot conveyed into the city a great quanity of grain and other foods from the fields and sea, thereby, you have done greater harm to the enemy. Saguntine-refers to Sagunto, city in East Spain on the Mediterrenean Aelous- God of winds Tethys- a daughter of Uranus, wife of Oceanus and mother of Oceanides
OIL PAINTING, AMERICAN STEAMSHIP PACIFIC 1849, MERCHANT SHIP, POWER SAIL, BARK, JESSE STEVENS, WILLIAM H BROWN, LIFESAVING, STORM, COLLINS LINE, JESSIE STEPHENS, JESSIE STEVENS, BARQUE, FRANCIS LIFE CAR, LUMBER, SHIPWRECK,
SHORT DESCRIPTION: View of the PACIFIC rescuing the crew of the sinking barque JESSIE STEPHENS. NOTES: Lloyd's Register of Shipping from 1849 to 1852 consistently spells the name of this barque as Jessie Stephens. Newspapers spell the name of the barque Jessie Stephens in advertisements and reports of sailings between 1847 and 1852 and Jesse Stevens in reports of the wreck. NOTES: Commentary from A. S. Davidson published in ‘Samuel Walters-Marine Artist, Fifty Years of Sea, Sail & Steam’, page 96: The Collins liner P.S. Pacific rescuing the crew of the barque Jessie [also seen spelled Jesse] Stevens in mid-Atlantic, December 4th 1852. An inscribed lithograph by Dutton after the original by Walters (see number 40 in the list of prints) [see LP358] is the source of the details. A “Francis”’ metallic Life Boat” was used to transfer the barque’s crew, and is just visible off the hulk’s stern. Oil on canvas 28 x 32, signed and dated 1853. NOTES: Reported in the Hampshire Telegraph and Naval Chronicle, December 11, 1852, page 8: By Electric Telegraph from America, to Liverpool, The Pacific fell in with the Jessie Stephens, of Irvin, from Quebec for Glasgow, waterlogged and in a sinking state, and lay by her for upwards of 12 hours before she could succeed in rescuing the crew, 16 in number. They were, however, after much exertion, all got safely on board. The passengers subscribed 500 dollars for the crew of the boat that rescued the unfortunate persons. Reported in the New York Times, December 25, 1852, page 4: The Pacific arrived out on the 10th with the crew of the Jesse Stevens of Quebec bound for Belfast, whom she had rescued from the wreck of that vessel. Reported in the Brooklyn Eagle, December 30, 1852, page 2: The Tribune makes the following interesting extract from a letter of Marcus Spring, Esq, one of our citizens, who formerly had his residence on State street, between Bond and Nevins. It gives a description of the saving of the crew of the Scotch bark Jesse Stevens, by the steamer Pacific, on her last passage to Liverpool. We are sure no one can read this simple narrative without something of the emotions it so vividly expresses: - One morning, while wrapped up in blankets, overcoats, &c., on the sofa, the wind and sleet and snow roaring round the heaving ship, one of the passengers came down and reported that a wreck had been seen in the midst of the storm, and men clinging to it, and calling out "Save us! save us!" Though so nearly stupefied as to care for nothing, even if we had been the wrecked ones ourselves; and hardly believing, at first, it could be so, I aroused myself; and sure enough, all my own stupid and selfish feelings, all nausea and headache, and all murmuring spirit in view of our own condition, were instantly dissipated, and gave place to the heartiest sympathy and earnest prayers for sixteen poor fellows in a shattered bark, with sails torn and streaming in the wind, masts all wrenched off and swept away, and the water rushing through the sides of the vessel, as she rose now and then on a high wave, the sea rolling over her, a perfect flood every minute. Our ship had stopped her engines, and was hovering about; coming near enough, in the brief intervals of the storm, for Captain Nye to speak through his trumpet a word of encouragement. The Captain had been sick with a violent cold and inflammation of the lungs, (the first time, I think, since he became a captain,) but this had called him from his bed, and, dressed in his great tarpaulin coat, with his hat drawn down over his ears, a sailor holding him from falling as he stood on the steep deck, the ship almost tumbling over on her sides at every roll, his fine face flushed with excitement, as the wind and sleet dashed into it, and against him, as if they would take him off his feet; his trumpet in his hand, he raised above the war of the storm his voice of command to engineers, sailors, &c., to go on or stop, or go to the other side of the wreck, trying to keep near it, and avoid dashing against it, to the certain ruin of all. All this lasted an hour or more, while we passengers on the upper deck, holding on to ropes to keep from being dashed overboard, and watching the poor fellows, when the mists, and clouds, and spray, gave us opportunity to see them climbing the waves in their shattered bark, all looking anxiously towards us, and waving hats and hands. The rolling of the sea, some movements on the deck, and something I heard the Captain say, made me fear that it was a hopeless case, and that we should have to go and leave them when all at once a gleam of light broke from above, and a splendid rainbow appeared on a dark background of clouds behind us. It seemed, indeed, a heaven-sent sign of hope and promise, and I eagerly scanned the upturned faces of the wretched crew, to see if they did not hail it as such; but I since learned that they interpreted it according to the sailor's adage: "A rainbow in the morning, Is the sailor's warning; A rainbow night, Is the sailor's delight." While I supposed the bow of promise was filling their hearts, as it was mine, with joy and gratitude, the captain seized the moment of a lull in the storm to say to Tompkins, his third officer, (blessed be the noble-hearted fellow!) "Are you willing to risk going in the life-boat to their rescue?" "Ready and willing," was the prompt reply; and soon the beautiful boat, with Tompkins and three sailors, was bounding over the foaming waves. They had a rope soon drawn from ship to bark, passing through the life-boat. The brave little company were soon under the stern of the wreck, receiving with open arms, as they were dropped or thrown down (for some were so stupified with wet and cold they had to be thrown into the boat) the dripping sailors of the "Jesse Stevens." The waves ran so high it was unsafe to lie near the wreck, so the boat was hauled up by rope, at intervals, near enough for them to drop in one or two men-- then they would slacken the rope and let the boat recede before the returning wave should come and dash them together, then they would return, in like manner, for, one or two more; and, finally, all were safe in the boat, and we only hoped they would get it back to the ship with its freight of saved lives. Proudly again it bounded over the billows with its heavy load as if it had been a swan or a sea-bird, and though several times, when it went out of sight in the trough of the sea, we trembled lest we had seen it for the last time, it still mounted the top of the next wave and dashed down the watery hill-side towards us, again to rise and descend till they reached our ship's side, when a hundred men, with boisterous shouts and ropes let down, with nooses at the ends, soon hauled up every man of them. And so sixteen nice, respectable Scotchmen, from Augustine, on their way home from Can ada, with a load of lumber, are fellow-passengers with us with thankful hearts only and no lumber, and will reach home before they are looked for, to tell of their marvellous escape. Since this incident, certainly the most heart-thrilling and subline it has been my lot to witness, and well worth, we all say, all the sufferings of the voyage, we have all been in better spirits, and have slept, I imagine, with more grateful and happy dreams. We had a meeting of passengers and raised five hundred dollars as a purse for Tompkins and the three men who aided him. Tompkins looks very happy as he walks the deck, and is a great favorite to us all. Another report appears in the Pittston Gazette, December 31, 1852, page 2. See the object file for a copy. The Boston Evening Transcript, April 22, 1853, page 1 reports: PRESENTATIONS FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICES. Washington, 21st. The British Government has sent to Mr. Crampton, the British Minister, a gold medallion likeness of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, and a gold pocket Chronometer for Capt. Nye, of the steamship Pacific; a gold mounted trumpet and £10 for the mate, and £10 for each of the six men who volunteered their services and saved the crew and passengers of the British barque Jesse Stevens, wrecked some time since. The presents are to be distributed through the State Department.
CURATOR NOTES: Lighthouse seen in distance. Perhaps the loveliest time to observe The Cuckolds is at sunset from a boat close by to the eastward. The white light against a glowing red and golden sky... the dark outline of the trees on Cape Newagen, and tired seagulls winging their way eastward . . . produce a scene and a sense never to be forgotten. Malcolm F. Willoughby, Boothbay Register, 1962. This oddly named lighthouse is one of the last to be built on the Maine coast. The name Cuckolds, given to a pair of treacherous ledges at the entrance to Boothbay Harbor, is apparently after a point of land on the Thames River in England that was granted to a London man to assuage his anger after King John had an affair with his wife. The Cuckolds in Maine may have been named by a transplanted Londoner. A tripod-type day beacon was located on the Cuckolds since1874. In 1890, a recommendation was made for a fog signal station, stating that the Cuckolds were "dangerous of approach on their southern side on account of the reefs in that direction, and the shoals which extend half a mile to the westward of the western rock. . . . They are much dreaded by mariners in thick weather." In 1891, a sum of $25.000 was appropriated for the building of a fog signal station. The lighthouse tender Myrtle brought 650 tons of materials to the Cuckolds, including 60,000 bricks. A steam-driven Daboll fog trumpet was established in November 1892, with an attached double dwelling. In 1902, a new oil-powered fog signal was installed. Wrecks continued in the vicinity in spite of the fog signal station. In January 1896, Cuckolds fog signal keepers Edward H. Pierce and Clarence Marr rescued six crewmen of the Canadian schooner Aurora on a bitterly cold night with the help of two lobstermen from Cape Newagen. The rescuers were awarded silver watches by the Canadian government. In January 1933, a storm swept the station and destroyed the belongings of Keeper Harold Seavey, who was reimbursed in full by the Department of Commerce. Another keeper's wife said she was sewing near a second-story window one August day when a "freak wave" poured through the window, damaging much of the furniture. Coast Guardsman Kelly Farrin lived with his wife at the Cuckolds for two years, 1969-1970. He shares many of his memories on his website. Here are some excerpts: The Cuckolds was about a mile or so offshore and was exposed to the open ocean. The waves washed on the shore relentlessly and were never silent. I measured the island with a tape measure and calculated it to be roughly 520 feet in circumference at the high water mark. Life on the island was pretty much a routine of standing watches and cleaning and painting any non-moveable items on the island. The Cuckolds was a family light with two families assigned, and the personnel stationed there got two days a month shore leave. Occasionally the women and even the men could leave the island, but the men always had to be there at night. There were often weeks at a time when the water around the island was so rough that we couldn't leave at all. Because we seldom got off the island, we always needed at least a month's worth of food and other supplies. They say lighthouses are romantic, but I do know that this one had quite a reputation concerning the divorce rate. I would say it takes a sturdy relationship to endure that much togetherness. There is no time apart unless the wife goes ashore alone. Click here to read more of the memories of a Coast Guard keeper at the Cuckolds. The light was automated in late 1974. The old fourth-order lens is now on display at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland. It's a rare American-made Fresnel lens from the MacBeth Glass Company of Pittsburgh. These solar panels now provide power for the light Many sources claim that a blizzard in February 1978 destroyed the keeper's dwelling, but according to Coast Guard sources it was demolished in 1977. The lighthouse still exhibits a flashing white light as an active aid to navigation. It can be seen from many of the excursion boats out of Boothbay Harbor and from a public landing pier at Cape Newagen. In May 2006, ownership of the lighthouse was conveyed to a local nonprofit organization, the Cuckolds Fog Signal and Light Station Council, under the guidelines of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The group plans to rebuild the keeper's dwelling. Keepers: Edward H. Pierce (1892-1899); Clarence Marr (assistant, 1892-1899); A. M. Taplet (Sept 1, 1899-1903); George A. Lewis (May 15, 1903-1907); Preston Marr (1907-1920); Foster Reid (Reed?) (1920-1925); Fred Robinson (1925-1930); E. D. Elliott (1930); Harold Seavey (assistant? c.1930s); Justin A. Foss (1934-1939); Everett Quinn (1937-1939); Floyd Ettinger Singer (1941-1943); Merrill Poor (1944-1945); Steve Hanson (Coast Guard, ?-1954); Jim Eyles (Coast Guard, c. 1954); Norm Rozema (Coast Guard, 1954-1955); Harry Cressy (Coast Guard, c. 1962); Wayne Mills (Coast Guard, c. 1963); Peter Decatur (Coast Guard officer in charge, c. 1962-1963); Ed O'Shea (Coast Guard assistant, April 1963 to September 1963); Walter Dodge (Coast Guard, Feb. 1964- Oct. 1965); Stanley Lund (Coast Guard, c. 1964-1965); Wendell Urquhart (Coast Guard, 1966); Jim Roche (Coast Guard, 1966-1968); Roger Greenwald (Coast Guard, 1967); Dave Bennett (Coast Guard, 1967-1969); Ramon (Kelly) Farrin (Coast Guard, 1969-1970); Harland Lamper (Coast Guard, late 1960s, early 1970s); Jim Mickon (Coast Guard, ?); John Sitton (Coast Guard officer in charge 1972-1974); Kevin Alway (Coast Guard assistant officer in charge 1972-1974); Joseph Dennis (Coast Guard 1972-1973); John Phillips (Coast Guard 1973-1974).
SHORT DESCRIPTION: Greg Noll Pig Shape surfboard. The board is bright yellow with a wide neutral colored stripe with a 3/4" balsa wood stringer running down the center. There is a a three-part wooden tailblock made up of a 1/4" section of balsa wood next to a 1/8" section of polyurethane/fiberglass and a final, thicker section of balsa wood 7/8" wide at the end of the board. The solid black fin is glassed in. The board features a Greg Noll laminated trademark. NOTES: Excerpt from Matt Warshaw’s Encyclopedia of Surfing, page 462: “pig shape” refers to a surfboard that is wide-hipped and blunt-tailed. The style was originally invented by California board maker Dale Velzy. A pig shaped board allowed the surfer to turn faster and fit into more critical sections of the wave. “Hotdogging”, which refers to a quick, flashy style of surfing, was essentially invented by riders using a pig-shaped board. Dale Velzy stated that he developed the board by reversing the plan shape of the board so that it was wide at the tail rather than the nose of the board. According to Velzy he first tried the board at Hermosa Beach, California in 1953 and found that he could catch the waves easily with the wide flat tail and that turning was fast and smooth. He also stated that you could do anything with a pig-shaped board—“catch waves, fast turning, cutbacks, floaters, no rail digging…the nose will be in tight for nose riding and severe cutbacks and 360s.” A wooden tail block runs perpendicular to a one-inch wide wooden stringer that runs down the center of the board (the stringer is most typically a strip of wood that runs down the center of the surfboard. The thickness of the stringer increases the strength and rigidity of the board.). NOTES: [Provenance and history notes From Claude O. Jones III, June 6, 2013] Greg Noll pig shape is a beautiful board that is the oldest one I had. I bought it from a friend's brother who had never ridden it and as you can tell it sat in his garage for many years. He sold it to me for $60. It's worth a lot more now. The board was called the Pig because of the shape with the wide hips for California beach break turning. It was so pristine and beautiful that I never took it out for a surf.
MODEL BUOY, 7 x 17 LR, 1962 TYPE, NAVIGATION AID, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
SHORT DESCRIPTION: LR = Light/ Radar reflecting; originally could not include wave-activated sound system, but later modification allowed for bell up to 85 pounds. Cylindrical body, rounded bottom rests on short smaller cylinder, on broad flanged base. Two anchor bars on side of body, three lift eyes at top, top also has two hatches, short framed tower holding daymark, radar reflector and light. Painted green with red tower frame with white numerals "9". LABEL COPY: Models, Buoys and Pile Structures Buoys are used to mark navigable channels. The larger ones are for the deepest and most important channels, where marks must be seem from greater distances, and where the buoy may be exposed to stronger winds and waves. Their shapes and colors have significance. The nun is a conical buoy found on the right-hand side of the channel when inbound. The name is believed to derive from a fancied resemblance to the garb worn by certain religious orders. The can buoy is cylindrical and found to the left of the channel when inbound. Marks attached to pile structures serve the same purpose as buoys, but are used where shallow water is very close to the channel. Each mark carries a letter or number corresponding to its location on the navigation charts. The numbers and letters used to describe types of buoys are also significant. Numbers are the overall diameter and height of lighted or sound buoys, in feet, or a single class numeral for unlighted, silent buoys. The letter indications are: B, equipped with a bell; C, a can buoys; E, equipped with a horn; I, for use in ice; L, lighted; N, a nun buoy; P, plastic, for use in protected areas; R, equipped with radar reflectors; w, equipped with a whistle. Models, Buoy Scale ½"=1', 1988 Greg McKay, model maker Museum Collection 88.5 (Revised labels for buoy models, 10-89, ADF) LABEL COPY: 7 x 17 LR Buoy, 1962-type Model, scale 1/2"=1', 1988 Greg McKay, model maker Museum Collection 88.5.7 This is lighted, radar-reflecting buoy is designed with a flat bottom for use in shallow waters. (CBG 9/89) LABEL COPY: 7 x 17 Buoy, 1962-type 88.5.7 This buoy is designed with a flat bottom for use in shallow waters.
MAP, CHART, STICK CHART, AGE OF EXPLORATION, NAVIGATION, CARTOGRAPHY, MICRONESIA, REPLICA, TRAINING AID, MICRONESIAN, SOUTH PACIFIC, ISLANDS, REBBELIB,
NOTES: This chart is similar to 2007.02.01. On that chart the shells are labeled: Utrick Atoll/ Mejit Island/ Aliuk Atoll/ Wotji Atoll/ Maloelap Atoll/ Aur Atoll/ Bokak Atoll/ Bikar Atoll/ Erikup Atoll/ Jemo Island/ Likiep Atoll [top left grouping], Arno Atoll/ Mili Atoll/ Narikrik Atoll/ Majuro Atoll/ Jaluit Atoll [top right grouping], Jabot Island/ Ailanglaplap Atoll/ Kili Island/ Namdrik Atoll/ Ebon Atol [bottom right chain], Kwajalein Atoll/ Namu Atoll/ Lib Island/ Ujae Atoll/ Bikini Atoll/ Lae Atoll/ Wotto Atoll/ Rongelap Atoll/ Ronrik Atoll/ Ujelang Atoll/ Enewetak Atoll [bottom left grouping] NOTES: [L.J. Rudolph, 1993] “Stick charts” were developed and used by the Marshall Islanders. Stick charts capitalized on two wave-and-land phenomena: storms on the open ocean generate swells that travel immense distances over the open ocean on virtually parallel fronts. When such swell systems encounter (volcanic-atoll) islands of the sort found in the Pacific, “interference patterns” are generated which extend out from the islands for considerable distances. To a trained observer these interference patterns indicated not only the presence of an island, but also indicated its direction. Regarding this stick chart: a ladies club on Kwajalein prepared a book (“Life in Micronesia” extracts of old Pacific Ocean publications) which contained a great deal of information on the construction and use of stick charts. The ladies had contacted some old Marshall Islanders and asked them to make replicas of the charts they formerly used. This is one of those charts. I purchased it from their sales shop on Kwajalein in about 1967. There is a little paper “Neito” pasted on one arm of the chart that I believe might be the navigators name for the island complex shown on the chart. See the table in “Life in Micronesia” which shows as many as five names for the same island complexes. This particular chart shows three swell patterns in a particular area of the ocean, and the interference patterns in the vicinity of the islands (shells) in the area. Notes (C. Verser 5/4/2026 From researcher George Marshall Peters) The book Life in Micronesia by E. H. Bryan contains an author's note explainig that the Micronesian Handicraft Shop operated on Kwajalein by the Yokwe Yuk Women's Club produced traditional stick charts as a tourist art. The book discusses patterns, scale, materials, and construction methods.
INSCRIPTION: Raz de marée a St Denis (Ile de la Reunion) (in pencil on reverse); SIGNATURE: Louis Le Breton 184-
WATERCOLOR DRAWING, ST. DENIS, REUNION ISLAND, MASCARENE ISLANDS, INDIAN OCEAN, SHIPWRECK, HARBOR, TIDAL WAVE, SKYLINE, STORM, INDIAN OCEAN, WAVE, TSUNAMI, SINKING, HURRICANE, RAS DE MARÉE À SAINT-DENIS, SAILOR ARTIST, ILE DE BOURBON,
SHORT DESCRIPTION: Watercolor and gouache on paper by Louis LeBreton. It is inscribed ' Raz de marée a St Denis (Ile de la Reunion)' on the reverse and signed 'Louis Le Breton 184-' on the bottom right corner. It's unclear exactly what the image represents but it appears to be a storm at Reunion Island. Waves are tossing various square rigged ships about and a vessel in the right foreground is dismasted. A small boat full of men is in the lower right. NOTES: Unfortunately the last number of the date has been partially removed. It is possible that it is a 1, 7 or 9. NOTES: Louis Le Breton served from 1837 – 1840 on the ship ASTROLABE with the famous French explorer Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville. Le Breton was originally the surgeon’s aide on the ship, but he became the voyage’s artist after the death of the ASTROLABE’S official artist. After his service with Dumont d’Urville, Le Breton focused his art on depictions of ships. The voyage stopped at Saint-Denis between July 20-30, 1840 on the voyage home. NOTES: It is unclear exactly what LeBreton is depicting in this watercolor. Looking at "Voyage au pole sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée : exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837-1838-1839-1840," Volume 10, the expedition does not appear to have suffered through any severe weather while anchored at Saint Denis. Pages 19-20 however do provide this commentary by D'Urville: Comme on le sait, l'île bourbon ne présente aucune baie, aucune rade où les navires puissent trouver un abri assuré ; le fond du mouillage de Saint Denis est d'une bonne tenue, mais la mer y roule constamment des vagues énormes qui agitent les navires sur leurs ancres, et rendent le séjour du bord peu favorable à la santé des malades. On a bien construit à grand'peine un barachois où peuvent se réfugier les embarcations; toutefois l'entrée n'en est pas toujours libre, car il arrive souvent que la mer brise avec violence sur la rade et la rend impraticable aux embarcations. Translation: As we know, Bourbon Island has no bay, no roadstead where ships can find assured shelter; the bottom of the anchorage of Saint Denis is in a good condition, but the sea constantly rolls enormous waves which shake the ships on their anchors, and make the stay on board unfavorable to the health of the sick. A barachois [a earthwork built to help shelter a lagoon] has been built with great difficulty where the boats can take refuge; however the entry is not always free, because it often happens that the sea breaks violently on the harbor and makes it impassable for boats. So I guess its possible that what LeBreton is depicting is actually just a thunderstorm or cyclone in the unsheltered port at St. Denis.
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