(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

As winter settles in San Francisco, my mind turns towards all things cold.  Arctic exploration is the coldest thing one can do, save for streaking on Pluto.  The brave adventurers who set out to the literal ends of the earth to explore frozen landscapes have always been a great interest of mine.  What would make someone decide this was a good idea when so few ended well?  It's more than the urge to push physical limitations or to be the first at something.  No, there must be so much more than the desire for glory or the push of curiosity.  I just hope it never calls to me because frankly, I'm freezing right now and it's only about 50 degrees outside.  I believe I am half reptile because laying on a hot rock in the sun is way more my

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

Usually in my posts, I write about hidden or overlooked items in our collection.  With a library as rich in material as ours, it's easy for little gems to be lost in the shelves.  But sometimes, it's a good idea to trot out an old favorite and give it its due.  If you aren't familiar with The Ways of the Sea by Charles G. Davis, then allow me to introduce you to your newest oldest best friend.  This slim volume (179 pages of roomy print) is a mixture of encyclopedia, primer, yarns and good old fashioned advice.  Reading it is like sitting down at the kitchen table with your sailor uncle--the one who's been everywhere and seen everything and

This recipe from The Captain's Table : 18 recipes for famous dishes served aboard the S.S. United States and S.S. America follows the one for Porterhouse Soup, and is introduced with the declaration, "Any egg would be proud and happy to end up looking like this."  

Wow!

The recipe:

Slice off both ends of 6 hard-cooked eggs.  Around the top, middle, and bottom of each egg wrap 3 anchovy filets, to resemble the hoops of a barrel.  Put a small slice of truffle in the middle of each egg, to

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The Library will have special hours during the holiday season:

• The Library will be closed, Friday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 26, 2011.

• The Library will be available by appointment only 1:00-5:00pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 27-29, 2011.

• The Library will be closed Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 and Monday, Jan. 2, 2012.

• Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012

Details on our regular hours can be found on our Plan Your Research page, with more information on our policies and

In 2012 and 2013, San Francisco will be hosting multiple America's Cup events--want to learn more?

Our reference staff have written a ten page pathfinder (Adobe Acrobat .pdf file, 1.5 Mb) to help you find information on the America's Cup, on the hosting yacht clubs, and on the history of San Francisco Bay racing.  Included are links to websites, bibliographic references to publications available in our and other collections, as well as citations to relevant documentary, photographic, and plans collections available in the Park, and even relevant objects held in

The library's lists of new accessions for November are here--for more information on any title, contact us or search our catalogs:

• November 1-15, 2011 (.pdf file, 27 Kb)
• November 16-30, 2011 (.pdf file, 24 Kb)
  

Be sure to check out the lead article in the Dec./Jan./Feb. 2011-2012 issue of the Park's Maritime News, "Oceans of Information in the Maritime Library" by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian.

Illustrated with images from the Park's collections, the article includes catalog search hints and describes the broad range of research assistance available to you.

Today we bring you another recipe from The Captain's Table : 18 recipes for famous dishes served aboard the S.S. United States and S.S. America. This is another dish that was served in the dining rooms aboard the S.S. United States, which has been adapted for the home kitchen--it not only gives us a glimpse into what was served underway, but a look at mid-20th century recipes for the home cook.  Contemporary recipes are usually presented with ingredients lists followed by the cooking directions, and serve considerably less than twenty!

 

Porterhouse Soup

Have butcher bone a 3-pound shin of beef and a 3-pound shin of veal and

Two Steamers Crossing

"NOTE--This is the position of greatest danger; there is nothing for it but good lookout, caution and judgment, with prompt action.

If to your starboard RED appears
It is your duty to keep clear;
To act as judgment says is proper;
To Port--or to Starboard--Back--or Stop her!

But when upon your Port is seen
A steamer's Starboard light of GREEN,
There's not so much for you to do,
For GREEN to port keeps clear of you.

All ships must keep a good lookout and steamships must stop and go astern if necessary.

Both in safety and in

Here are the Library's lists of new accessions for October; for more information on any title, contact us or search our catalogs:

• Library new accessions, October 1-15, 2011 (.pdf file, 32 Kb)
• Library new accessions, October 16-31, 2011 (.pdf file, 23 Kb)
  

...that's who they were, and that's what we've called them...NOT!  (Finding the forgotten partners of the Stone Family boatyards.)

By Sara Diamond, Archivist.

Sometimes a simple fact checking exercise leads to surprising discoveries. That's what happened when I was wrapping up the final details of one of our newer collections, the Jack Ehrhorn collection of Stone Boat Yard naval architectural drawings (HDC1611, SAFR 22826).

I decided to double check the business addresses of the boatyards W. Frank Stone operated in Tiburon from 1893 until 1899, and at Harbor View, in San Francisco, from 1899-1911. Imagine my surprise when I was

Ted Miles and Ed LeBlanc have compiled a list of the names and rigs of the Alaska Packers Association vessels.  Please note that the number of masts are indicated with the abbreviation "m," e.g., "3m" is a 3 masted vessel, and "4m" is a 4 masted vessel.  Former names are listed with the prefix "ex-..." and sources for the list are at the end.  All the sources are available in the Library, as is information on the vessels--contact us to learn more!

Names and Rigs of Alaska Packers Association Vessels

The Library has many books concerning food at sea, including some about the elegant dining aboard ocean liners.  The Captain's Table : 18 recipes for famous dishes served aboard the S.S. United States and S.S. America contains recipes adapted for the home kitchen so you can enjoy the dishes that were served in the elegant dining rooms at sea, including this one:

Hot Vichyssoise

Mince 2 onions and the white parts of 4 well-washed leeks and combine them in a heavy saucepan with 3 tablespoons butter.  Simmer the mixture over low heat for 15 minutes.  Add 3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced, and 2 cups chicken

Here are the Library's lists of new accessions for the last half of June through the first half of August; for more information on any title, contact us or search our catalogs:

• Library new accessions, August 16-31, 2011 (.pdf file, 31 Kb)
• Library new accessions, September 1-15, 2011 (.pdf file, 30 Kb)
• Library new accessions, September 16-31, 2011 (.pdf
  
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Two Steamers Meeting

When both side lights you see ahead,
Port your helm and show your RED.

Two Steamers Passing

GREEN to GREEN, or RED to RED--
Perfect safety--go ahead.

Another instructive rhyme, addressing vessel sidelights, from Nautical Nursery Rhymes, by Billy Ringbolt, which resides in the "Peterson, Peter H. (Capt.) Papers, (SAFR 18665, HDC 571)."

(Contributor: Heather Hernandez, Technical Services Librarian)

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

The other day an archivist here had a question about a piece of equipment she found in a photograph.  She wasn't sure what it was and asked our historian and the Library staff if we could help.  Stephen suggested we break out the Paasch.  Paasch sounds like an Easter Egg dying kit, but he is in fact the author of Illustrated Marine Encyclopedia. Paasch, or more formally Capt. H. Paasch, Knight of the Order of "Leopold," of the Imperial Order "Francis Joseph," of the Military Order of "Christ," etc., Member of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, Surveyor to Lloyd's Register for Belgium, Author of "From

When Running Free

When off the wind and going free,
Keep clear of ships close-hauled you see,
And running with the wind dead aft,
Give way to every sailing craft.

Another instructive rhyme from Nautical Nursery Rhymes, by Billy Ringbolt, which resides in the "Peterson, Peter H. (Capt.) Papers, (SAFR 18665, HDC 571)."

(Contributor: Heather Hernandez, Technical Services Librarian)

The red-lined wrasse (Crenilabrus pavo Linnaeus), plate 6 from the Library's copy of the beautiful book, Taking one's own ship around the world, a journal descriptive of scenes and incidents, together with observations from the log book, recorded on the voyage around the world, October 25, 1928, to May 16, 1929, of the yacht Ara, commanded by the author, William K. Vanderbilt.

 

A sailor get's a bird's-eye view of his environment from a crow's nest.  Galleons of the 16th century often had one or more crow's nests situated high on the tallest masts, where a sailor often shared this lofty perch with crows brought aboard in a cage, hence the term, "crow's nest."  If the captain wanted to locate land, a crow was released from the perch and the navigator sailed in the direction of the bird's flight as it invariably headed towards land.  Modern mates use the term to describe any kind of protected station fitted aloft to accommodate a

Here's another instructive rhyme from Nautical Nursery Rhymes by Billy Ringbolt, which resides in the "Peterson, Peter H. (Capt.) Papers," (SAFR 18665, HDC 571):

With Wind on Same Sides

When vessels are sailing with wind the same side,
To continue their course they might foul or collide,
The one that's to windward is the one to keep clear,
From her course give the other no reason to sheer.

(Contributer:  Heather Hernandez, Technical Services Librarian)

Here are the Library's lists of new accessions for the last half of June through the first half of August; for more information on any title, contact us or search our catalogs:

• Library New Accessions, June 16-30, 2011 (.pdf file, 27 Kb)
• Library New Accessions, July 1-15, 2011 (.pdf file, 27 Kb)
• Library New
  
  More..

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

The other day I was walking through the stacks and I caught a glint of gold. Now, I am neither a bird nor a rat nor a raccoon nor Gollum, but when I see something shiny, I must investigate further.

What caught my eye was a 1920 book entitled Cramp's Shipyard. In the picture below it is difficult to see how nice the cover is. It's more gold than yellow.

"Shiny!"

The book is a brief history

(by Mariah Robertson, Archivist)

Patent no. 318,859 was designed by Alphonzo B. Bowers and patented in 1885 via the United States Patent Office.

Aboard a ship, time is told by the striking of the ship's bell. Charts at the Antique Horology website, and the Wikipedia article, illustrate how many bells at what time. In the library we have extensive collections of ephemeral items, and this handy chart is part of our file of printed ephemera dealing with bells--it illustrates the system graphically:

A "donkey's breakfast" is "a sailor's nickname for a straw mattress, issued in some forecastles in the early 19th century."

(Source: Rogers, John G. Origins of sea terms.)

And, what's a "forecastle?" "A forward living compartment for the crew."

(Source: Kerchove, Rene de. International maritime dictionary.)

(Contributors: Palma J. You, Archives Technician & Heather Hernandez, Technical Services Librarian)

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

In my last post, we discussed what to pack on an ocean voyage.So now that you are sure to look your best, we’ll move on to what to do when you’re under way (besides standing there looking fabulous).

The book Shipshape or Sea-legs Without Tears by Edmund Vale will be our guide.Written in 1931, Shipshape has excellent advice for the novice traveler.  There’sscads of technical information--entire chapters devoted to the Engine Room and the Bridge, for instance.But let’s be honest.What we care about is the nitty-gritty on the social scene.That’s where

Here's another instructive rhyme from Nautical Nursery Rhymes by Billy Ringbolt, which resides in the Park's Peterson, Peter H. (Capt.) Papers (SAFR 18665, HDC 571):

Wind on Different Sides

With wind on starboard you hold right of way,
But with it to port you must not delay
To do what is best in order to steer
Quite clear of the other and not interfere.

Here are the Library's lists of new accessions for the last half of April and the first half of May; for more information on any title, contact us, or search our catalogs:

• Library New Accessions, May 16-31, 2011 (.pdf file, 32Kb)
• Library New Accessions, June 1-15, 2011 (.pdf file, 29 Kb)
  

The Hal Roth Papers, 1938-2009, have been cataloged and are now available to researchers. During the work on the collection, Alison Fudge, Archives Technician, wrote:

The Archives recently acquired the collection of Hal Roth, and I am hard at work helping to process the collection so that it will soon be ready to share with researchers. Roth was a noted seaman and author who sailed around the world with his wife,

If you search our Museum Web Catalog, you'll find several examples of cribbage boards such as the one below.  Popular for centuries, today in the U.S. alone it is played by over 10 million people!

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

If you're getting ready to take an ocean voyage, there are some staples you would pack: sunglasses, a set of quoits, a bathing suit with matching cape and

Here are the Library's lists of new accessions for the last half of April and the first half of May; for more information on any title, contact us, or search our catalogs:

• Library New Accessions, Apr. 17-30, 2011 (.pdf file, 92 Kb)
  
• Library New Accessions, May 1-15, 2011 (.pdf file, 118 Kb)
  

...by "Craft?"

"It is a very general word.  In the nautical sense, it refers to virtually all ships and boats, large or small.

It comes from the Old English, craeft, which is believed to refer not only to boats and ships but to the skills required to build them."

Source: Rogers, John G. Origins of sea terms.  Mystic, Conn. : Mystic Seaport Museum, 1984.

--Contributor: Palma J. You, Archives Technician.

The Library recently acquired a lovely little book, "Viking" across the Atlantic : and a short summary of the Norwegian Vikings and Vikingships by Alfred A. Holm (Chicago : John Anderson Pub. Co., 1893), which is also available online.  Assistant Curator Ted Miles sends in this report about the replica vessel, "Viking:"

I was recently asked what is the oldest replica in the world? This is not the time to debate the terms. Is it better to call it a replica, a reproduction or whatever? We can do that another day. You might want to read my article on "Historic Reproductions:

(by Judy Hitzeman, Museum Curator (Registrar))

Bow of the King Philip (Photo copyright Judy Hitzeman, all rights reserved)

The three-masted clipper ship King Philip recently reappeared on Ocean Beach in San Francisco.  Built in Massachusetts in 1855, King Philip was a Cape Horner, making regular trips between New York and San Francisco.  On January 25, 1878, while leaving San Francisco, the tug towing her out to sea had to leave to aid another

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

The other day I was answering a reference question about steamship routes and it gave me a chance to visit one of my favorites sections of a library, the ol’ Gs, better known as "Geography (General). Atlases. Maps."   As a Maritime Library, the expectation is that we would be more interested in charts than maps, and while there are some charts that are interesting to look at for reasons other than navigation, nothing beats a map in my book for unintentional art.  Today’s library treasure is Derek Hayes’s Historical Atlas of California with Original Maps, published by University of

The Library's new accessions lists from the latter half of March and the first half of April are now available.

We download these lists from OCLC, whose public interface is known as Worldcat.org.  Although we catalog directly on OCLC, we do not have the type of subscription that would allow us to appear as a holding library on Worldcat.org, but you can see our holdings in the NPS Combined Library Catalog.  (See our Catalogs & Finding Aids page for catalogs listing other Museum

According to the library's 1988 edition of The Oxford companion to ships and the sea, a fathom:

...comes from the old English faedm, to embrace, and is a measurement across the outstretched arms of a man, approximately 6 feet in a man of average size; the length of a nautical fathom is therefore 6 feet.

So how far is "full fathom five?"  About 30 feet, or a little over 9 meters.

(by Ted Miles, Assistant Curator)

Starting in July 1948 maritime historian John Lyman wrote and edited a mimeographed news letter called Log Chips: A Periodical Publication of Recent Maritime History. Each issue is twelve pages and each volume consisted of 12 issues. There were four volumes and later on of his friends Norman Brouwer edited a series of Log Chips Supplements.

The material covered within these pages is wide ranging and is a wonderful resource for those people who are interested in commercial sail in the Pacific after about 1860. For example there is a List of Launchings in the United Kingdom in most issues. The iron and steel sailing vessels

 

Are you renovating a Hicks engine, or making a scale model of one?
Or even if you want to look at the engineering plans, we are an excellent source of accessible information.  The Park’s archive collection, HDC 1092 SAFR 17336, includes blueprints, assembly and price lists, a catalog and instruction manual, photographs, and

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

Sometimes when you come to the library, you know exactly what material will be the most useful for your research.  Other times, the library seems to be laid out before you as a vast and uncharted landscape of great unknowns.  Like a prospector, you must dig a little here and there with hopes of striking it rich.  In this regular feature we will mine the collection for veins of information and see if we can make our research fortune.

Today we are digging for treasure in the Coast Seaman's Journal, a periodical started in 1875 by the Coast Seamen's Union.  Our library has a run from 1875 to 1918 as the Coast Seaman's Journal and then from 1918 to 1929 in its second

 

This small treasure resides in the "Peterson, Peter H. (Capt.) Papers," (SAFR 18665, HDC 571) and expresses principles of seamanship in verse, such as:

Meeting on Opposite Tacks

On opposite tacks, when approaching too near,

The ship on the starboard has nothing to fear;

The one on the port tack has either to stay,

Or put up her helm and get out of the way.

For more on Taylor's Nautical School, the issuer of the booklet,

Today is Picture a Museum Day--people are using the hashtag #MuseumPics on Twitter and on Flickr.

Interested in seeing photos from our Museum and other maritime museums?  Search "maritime" in the Flickr group--new photos will be going up all day!

The Library's new accessions lists from the later half of February and the first half of March are now available.

We download these lists from OCLC, whose public interface is known as WorldCat.org.  Although we catalog directly on OCLC, we do not have the type of subscription that would allow us to appear as a holding library on WorldCat.org, but you can see our holdings in the NPS Combined Library Catalog.  (See our Catalogs & Finding Aids page for catalogs listing other Museum

We do!  Prior to the digital revolution, marine engineering plans often needed to travel between builders, owners, consultants and architects.  Document tubes were used to protect plans while in transport.  I am currently processing a large (94 linear feet) collection donated by Pillsbury & Martignoni, Naval Architects and Marine Engineers of San Francisco who were in business during the first half of the 20th century.   Most of the plans inventoried thus far relate to tugs, towboats, sport fishing boats,

When Shakespeare has Ariel sing this song in Act 1, scene ii of The Tempest, he sings of transformation--of the ordinary becoming something beautiful at the end of its life:

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes; 
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rare and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-Dong.
Hark! now I hear them -- Ding-dong, bell.

Here in the Collections Department at San Francisco Maritime, what we collect, preserve and make available were often ordinary objects at the ends of their useful lives--sometimes,