And another good book

Dr. Joshua Smith, a long time associate of the collections has just published Voyages, the Age of Sail: Documents in American Maritime History, Volume I, 1492-1865. Described by Christopher P. Magra, California State University at Northridge as "An indispensable resource for anyone interested in teaching American maritime history. This well-organized and edited collection of primary documents will significantly advance students' knowledge of the fundamental role the sea has played in our nation's past." This volume promises to be a welcome addition to all maritime collections.

The Physics of Annie

Physics Professor John Kimball of Albany University licensed a photo of our sandbagger ANNIE for use in illustrating his new “Physics of Sailing” textbook. The piece on ANNIE is about alternative methods of maintaining boat balance and also promotes ANNIE’s part in the Watercraft Collection at Mystic Seaport.

In Print

Mystic Seaport gets a shout out from David R. Mandell in the John Hopkins University press book Tribe, Race, History: Native Americans in Southern New England, 1780--1880 (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science) as we "graciously provided a copy of the Seaport's database of New London Crew Lists."

Ships Plans Collection Featured in Classic Yacht Magazine

This month's edition of Classic Yacht features an article on the Ships Plans Collection on pages 84-89.

Whalemen's Shipping List

In association with the National Maritime Digital Library, Mystic Seaport is happy to present for research, pdf versions of the Whalemen's Shipping List, first published in 1843 with the "...latest advices of every vessel engaged in the Whaling business, together with the prices current of our staple commodities, and interesting items of commercial intelligence." Whalemen’s shipping list, and merchant’s transcript, Mar. 17, 1843. The List was the main source of information on American whaling vessels throughout the second half of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries.

To access the issue that interests you, click on the year from the list. A menu of months available for that year will appear below the list of years. Click on the issue that interests you and wait for the pdf to load. (Works best with Mozilla Firefox)

We hope that this newspaper will become a valuable online research tool, used in conjunction with The American Offshore Whaling Voyage (AOWV) database also found on www.nmdl.org and compiled by members of World Whaling History. Please contact us regarding any discrepancies or thoughts in general at nmdlibrary@gmail.com

Records of Concordia Company (Coll. 350)

The Records of Concordia Company, 1938-2001, are now available for use in the Collections Research Center. Concordia Company was founded by Llewellyn Howland in 1926. In 1932 Llewellyn transferred the company to his son Waldo, and Marblehead racing celebrity, C. Raymond Hunt. Most famous for their yawls, all but four were built by Abeking & Rasmussen, Concordia Company plays a vital role in yachting history. They continue to design and build boats today.

The collection includes records for twenty-three 17' sloops, ninety-eight yawls, and twenty-three other boats. Within these boat folders are correspondence between owners and Concordia Company as well as sketches, bills, invoices and many miscellaneous items. The collection also includes business correspondence with Abeking & Rasmussen, Fenwick Williams, and C. Raymond Hunt among others, bills of sale, building contracts, notes, IOR ratings, and other miscellaneous records.

These records complement items in the Daniel S. Gregory Ships Plans Library and general collection. There is a plethora of information for owners, researchers, and anyone who loves Concordia and her designs. For more information on accessing these records please contact the Collections and Research Department of Mystic Seaport at 860-572-5367 or collections@mysticseaport.org http://library.mysticseaport.org/manuscripts/coll/coll350.cfm

Maritime Author Series

Melville scholar and sailor Dr. Mary K. Bercaw Edwards will discuss her book, Cannibal Old Me: Spoken Sources in Melville's Early Works
, which describes the various languages that Herman Melville encountered in the South Pacific which later impacted his many works, including Moby-Dick at the opening session of 2009 the Maritime Authors Series at Mystic Seaport Wednesday, January 28.

Call for Papers -

Mystic Seaport is seeking paper proposals to be presented at the Music of the Sea Symposium, held June 12-13, during the Museum’s Sea Music Festival. Submission deadline is March 13. Selected papers must be submitted in final form by May 8.

The symposium celebrates the lives and work of sailors through musical performance. Paper topics should focus on history, folklore, literature, ethnomusicology or other appropriate disciplines addressing any aspect of maritime music or inland waters verse from the great age of sail through present day.

Complete Call for Papers.

James Monroe (Brig)

Now online, the logs for a coastal voyage of the Brig James Monroe. 1815 April 23-June 8 and 1815 July 25-September 6.

These logs are one of a small collection the museum holds of oversized logs, usually loosely bound in sailcloth. The large size along with the very small handwriting of the keeper, present a problem for viewing on the web but readers can still make out most of the entries.

Digitization was generously sponsored by a generous grant from one of our patrons.