A Slow Boat to England....

Artist Charles Raleigh moved to New Bedford in 1877, the same year that Capt. Thomas Crapo made the decision to seek fame and fortune by sailing across the Atlantic from that port to England in a boat just under 20 feet in length. Raleigh captured the event and the painting now lives at Mystic Seaport.



Capt. and Mrs. Thomas Crapo. Painting by Charles Raleigh. MSM accession # 1955.965

The strange event was made stranger yet when Crapo acquiesced to his wife's request to join him. The two set off in their modified whaleboat built especially for the trip in June of 1877. After 56 days at sea, with the expected trials and tribulations behind them, they arrived in England to great fanfare. Returning home to New Bedford the next year, the Crapos took their show on the road and attracted thousands to hear their story. Twenty-two years after their voyage, Capt. Crapo once again got the urge to do something unusual to attract attention. In 1899 he left Newport in a boat less than 10 feet in length in an attempt to sail to Cuba. This time the ending was not so happy. Caught in a storm, Crapo capsized and drowned, having made it as far as South Carolina. He lives on through the work of Charles Raleigh.

Crossing the Line!

A crossing-the-line ceremony is something that many naval and merchant seamen have experienced over the centuries. Traditionally when a vessel passes over the equator, any sailor aboard that is also crossing for the first time is initiated into the brotherhood of shellbacks by King Neptune himself, attended by his lovely court, of course. Duckings, being “shaved” with giant implements, dosing with some sort of medicinal potion and being smeared with tar are just some of the events that might take place during a mandatory appearance at the good King’s court. Nowadays, certificates of such a graduation into the ranks are even made available to the “lucky” inductee.

The accompanying image is a plate taken from a rare book in the G.W. Blunt White Library’s collection at Mystic Seaport. “Crossing the Line” is from A Picturesque Voyage to India : by the Way of China, by Thomas Daniell and William Daniell published in London in 1810 by  Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme [etc.]

Scrimshaw Identified

Over the past few months Dr. Stuart Frank of the New Bedford Whaling Museum has been doing an assessment of Mystic Seaport's scrimshaw collection. As one of the world's authorities on the subject, Dr. Frank is greatly respected for his knowledge and Mystic Seaport is happy to have his expertise put to good use here. One of the many pieces that Dr. Frank examined is a tooth from the so-called "Mechanic" scrimshaw artist. Unknown until identified by Dr. Frank and other members of his research team, the artist was identified in that manner because the scrimshaw in question came from an 1834-38 voyage of the ship MECHANIC  of Newport, Rhode Island. Dr. Frank and his compatriots are confident that the artist is one Spencer Pratt of Bristol, Rhode Island who was the first mate on that particular voyage. A partial description of the accompanying piece from Dr. Frank's work states:

"..blindfolded figure of Justice standing, with left arm akimbo, the Scales of Justice suspended in her left hand, with her right arm outstretched, holding an upright sword. Above all of this is a circumferential band of stars, surmounted by a patriotic device of six flags lit by a radiant sun
or star." This is one of three teeth by Pratt in the collection at Mystic Seaport. Dr. Frank has similarly identified numerous other artists and subjects in the collection, information that will be gladly appended to our records.

The CHARLES W. MORGAN in Miniature....

One of the newest additions to the Collections at Mystic Seaport is an extraordinary model of the CHARLES W. MORGAN. This gift from a long-time friend of the Museum was built by master model-maker Lloyd McCaffery. Mr. McCaffery’s work in miniature is known worldwide for the incredible detail that he displays in all his work. Not only are his models built entirely from scratch, the tools that he uses to do his carving of figureheads, trail boards and other decorative pieces are custom made by him also. For example, his tiny scalpels are made using small wedges of razor blades.

This model of the MORGAN contains a number of figures in miniature that bring the model to life. Not visible in these pictures is the cutaway section of the interior. What is visible is the scale as compared to the quarter in the foreground. Look for this model on display sometime next year as the real CHARLES W. MORGAN makes its way back into the water following her complete restoration.

A Fantastic Voyage....

The image here is the whimsical musing of British Naval Commander W.H. Coates. Three books of his drawings and their captions describe the experiences of Coates and his crew aboard the converted British minesweeper CLACTON in World War I during sweeping operations in the North Sea and Dardanelles campaigns. The CLACTON was sunk on March 8, 1916, by a German U-Boat, in the Mediterranean.

In this picture, Coates describes a German air attack on the ROWAN, another British ship, stating "Mercy me! We live in fearsome times!...This beast attacked ye hired armed brig ROWAN, dropping bombes and lances and retired...", along with much more "old English" text. Coates' imagination in depicting a 20th century conflict in 18th century imagery and words is truly a unique treasure in our collection.

A "Cool" Picture for Summer's End

Photo taken by Capt. Comer ca. 1907-1909, at Cape Fullerton or Repulse Bay, Hudson Bay. Depicts Inuit group traveling with sled, snow house in background. Identified by Comer as "Native family starting on their return home, having come to the vessel to trade." The museum has a large collection of glass negative images taken by Comer in his travels to Hudson Bay. (Accession number 1983.25.47)

    A few years ago Fred Calabretta, Curator of Collections and Oral Historian at Mystic Seaport, orchestrated an exhibit entitled FROZEN IN after spending years researching the life of George Comer. The following text is from that exhibit:

    "Captain George Comer [1858-1937] experienced a life of adventure, discovery and success. He traveled the oceans in search of seals, sea elephants and whales. Although a sailor by trade, his life is best defined by his remarkable relationship with people he encountered in the far North.

    Young George and his widowed mother endured a life of poverty and wandering until he was placed with a foster family in East Haddam, Connecticut in 1869. Six years later, at the age of 17, he sailed on a New London whaleship bound for the Arctic. This cold and challenging land became his second home. Over a period of 44 years, he returned 13 times.

    He possessed a fascination with the natural world, recording detailed observations of remote regions and collecting animals, birds, and plants. As he came to know the Arctic, something more captured his imagination. He was drawn to the Inuit - the native people of Hudson Bay. He marveled at their ingenuity and skills. Among these people he found friendship and a purpose. With little education or formal training, George Comer dedicated himself to the documentation of Inuit life ways and traditional culture."

China Trade at Mystic Seaport

Like many maritime museums, Mystic Seaport has a fine collection of items brought to America by sea from China. One such piece is a Chinese porcelain punch bowl. Illustrated in the Museum's book on the Treasures of the Collection, the caption reads as follows:

"Direct trade between America and China began in 1784 when the ship EMPRESS OF CHINA left New York for Canton carrying lead, lumber, cotton cloth, ginseng and silver specie. A year later she returned to New York with a cargo of tea, silks and porcelain, as well as this punch bowl, which had been purchased by the ship's carpenter, John Morgan, who died on the return passage."
Accession number 1938.77