Position: President and Director

Mystic Seaport, The Museum of America and the Sea, located in Mystic, Connecticut, currently is seeking a new President and Director. Driven by the exciting goals of the planned transformation of the Mystic Seaport Museum, this individual will leverage the foundation built to date by the Board and the retiring President, Rear Admiral Douglas H. Teeson, to take the Museum to the next level.

Founded in 1929, Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. With an operating budget of over $20 million and a full-time staff of over 200 people, the Museum attracts more than 300,000 visitors annually. Mystic Seaport’s assets include four National Historic Landmark vessels, an operational preservation shipyard, an interactive 19th century New England seafaring village, the Nation’s most extensive (non-Naval) maritime library, and the famous Rosenfeld collection of yachting and maritime photography. Mystic Seaport also offers educational programs for all ages, ranging from summer day camp and sailing lessons to higher education programs, including the prestigious undergraduate level Maritime Studies Program in partnership with Williams College. It is not only an institution of great historical prestige but one that is also embarking on very exciting changes for the future to better serve its many local, national and global constituencies.

The new President and Director will work with the Board of Trustees and oversee the senior staff of the Museum. Additionally, the President and Director will externally serve as the key representative to the community and world for Mystic Seaport. He/she will have responsibility to create and sustain a stronger base of financial support across a very broad set of constituencies, with the goal to solidify and strengthen the institution’s leadership role in education and other museum core functions.

Given the breadth and diversity of responsibilities and constituencies involved in this position, the President and Director must be a talented, experienced museum, education or fundraising professional who is a proven leader with a strong development record or obvious potential to be a skilled fundraiser. The successful candidate will have the respect of his professional peers, and should possess a commitment to education and the role of museums as public institutions. He/she must possess a talent in working with business and community leaders in groups and on a one-to-one basis. For additional information on Mystic Seaport, please visit www.mysticseaport.org. All nominations and applications should be sent to: MysticSeaportMuseum@heidrick.com Mystic Seaport Museum is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer

Pirate festivals

I've just learned about a truly fascinating expression of maritime culture: the Northern California Pirate Festival. And it's not the only one; PirateFestivals.com helps you "Find Your Place to Plunder!"

Unfortunately I haven't yet made it to a pirate festival, but it sounds like a great way to truly explore the ways that historical pirates are imagined in popular culture (while enjoying good food and music!) Is it historical reenactment? Living history? Does it matter?

The Changing World: Pirates

On the latest episode of the The Changing World from the BBC's World Service, Nick Rankin explores the myths and realities of pirates--their romantic images as well as piracy against the contemporary cargo ships that move ninety percent of the world's trade.

The show is entertaining as well as informative and comprehensive in its examination of piracy. Nick Rankin's interviews include David Cordingly and Professor Jeffrey Richards from Lancaster University discussing the facts and fictions of historical piracy before covering the threat of contemporary pirates off the coast of Somalia.

The show then goes further to examine intellectual theft: the piracy of today and tomorrow.

Steamship Historical Society Announcement

Dear Friends,

President Bob Cleasby asked me to share this important, historic news with you today: everyone now can access close to 40,000 images right from our website homepage. Simply direct people to www.sshsa.org and click on the link leading to the Image Porthole. Non-members simply click "Guest" and "Enter" . We are still tweaking, adding features, and finalizing our special Members Only section of our website. Once these are complete over the next several hours and coming days all of our members will have direct access to important data, documents, and membership info. This is a milestone day for SSHSA-Gang Way!!!!!!!!

Sincerely,

Matt

Matthew S. Schulte, Executive Director
The Steamship Historical Society of America
1029 Waterman Avenue
East Providence, Rhode Island 02914

(401) 274-0805 www.sshsa.org

El Niño and Magellan

The news about anthropologists Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Richard Callaghan's upcoming paper on the possible influence of the El Niño phenomenon on Magellan's route has been covered in many sources, but the Discovery Channel's article is worth a read. Not only do they illustrate the article with a beautiful 16th century map, but go to the trouble to create links to some excellent sites, such as Fordham's article on the voyage in their Modern History SourceBook.

Australian maritime museum under attack

A Chermside man has been remanded in custody after allegedly climbing the mast of the HMAS Diamantina and threatening police at the Queensland Maritime Museum at South Bank last night.

Thomas Daniel Elborne, 28, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning after an incident about 9pm last night.

A Police Media spokesman said police were called to the Queensland Maritime Museum after reports from security that a man had climbed a fence into the area.

It is alleged the man attempted to light fires and proceeded to climb the mast of a ship in the dry dock.

Elborne allegedly threatened police before coming down from the mast.

He was charged with three counts of serious assault and one count each of wilful damage, threatening violence, carrying dangerous goods on vehicle, trespassing and unregulated high-risk activities.

He was ordered to appear in court again on July 7.

The HMAS Diamantina is a River-class frigate that served in World War II. Built by Walkers of Maryborough, it was the vessel that accepted the surrender of Japanese forces at Nauru and Ocean islands in 1945.

After the war, it served as an oceanographic ship and discovered the deepest point in the Indian Ocean - now known as the Diamantina Trench.

It was consigned to the dry dock at South Bank in 1980, and is now a popular tourist attraction.

CFP: 12th North Atlantic Fisheries History Conference / Norfolk, VA /

North Atlantic Fisheries History Association (NAFHA)
Old Dominion University, Department of History

First Announcement

12th North Atlantic Fisheries History Conference
August 2009 in Norfolk, VA (USA)


The North Atlantic Fisheries History Association (NAFHA) and the Department
of History at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA invites you to
participate in the 12th North Atlantic Fisheries History Conference to be
held in August 2009 in Norfolk, VA (USA). This meeting is designed to
stimulate scholarly exchange between researchers at all levels (from
graduate students to senior scholars) and all disciplines which relate to
the long-term development of fishing activity and its impact on the marine
environment.

Proposals for papers and sessions relating to any aspect of the history of
the North Atlantic fisheries are welcome. However, contributions addressing
the special theme of the conference - Fisheries Management in a Historical
Perspective - are especially encouraged. Session proposals should include
an outline of the theme, a short description of the thematic scope and a
list of participants already contacted by the session organizer.

Although a general "Call for Papers" will be issued in late summer/early
autumn 2008, proposals submitted ahead of the call are encouraged.
Proposals, and requests for further information, should be submitted to
nafha2009@odu.edu

The North Atlantic Fisheries History Association (NAFHA)
is an international, interdisciplinary organization that aims to enhance
our knowledge and understanding of the historical development of the
fisheries conducted in the North Atlantic. NAFHA meets its aim by fostering
research activity, chiefly through the promotion of conferences that bring
together established and emerging scholars to examine socio-cultural,
economic, political and environmental aspects of commercial fishing
activity over the last millennium. The findings of these conferences,
together with monographs and reference works, are disseminated in the
Association's publication series, Studia Atlantica. For further
information, visit www.hull.ac.uk/nafha

The History Department at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA
is one of very few North-American university departments with a dedicated
focus on maritime history. Research at the department deals with a variety
of topics related to fisheries history of the Atlantic region and maritime
history around the world, and faculty members include renowned specialists
in this field. Members of the department participate in the intercollegiate
interdisciplinary Maritime Consortium at ODU that brings together scholars
from various disciplines including the humanities, sciences, social
sciences and professional schools who are dealing with maritime affairs.

Norfolk, VA is a major seaport of the USA located directly at the mouth of
the Chesapeake Bay. A rich local history of fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay
and the Atlantic Ocean characterizes the region as well as maritime
industries, marine related research institutions and government agencies
like NOAA and the USCG.

Looking forward to seeing you in Norfolk, VA in August 2009

Dr. Ingo Heidbrink
-NAFHA Presidency-
Associate Professor - Department of History
Old Dominion University - Norfolk, VA
e-mail: nafha2009@odu.edu or iheidbri@odu.edu



><°>  <°><  <°><  <°><  <°><
<°><  <°><  <°><
Dr. Ingo Heidbrink
Associate Professor
Dept. of History
8046 Batten Arts and Letters Building
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA 23529
tel. 757-683-3656 or -3949
fax. 757-683-5644
mail: iheidbri@odu.edu
Skype: ingo.heidbrink

Call For Papers:

"Rough Waters":
The United States' Involvement in the Mediterranean during the Late Eighteenth Century and Early Nineteenth Century"

International Conference organised by the Centre de la Méditerranée Moderne et Contemporaine, University of Nice, France

Nice, 17 - 18 October 2008

Scientific committee:

Silvia Marzagalli (professeur d'histoire moderne, CMMC, Université de Nice)

John J. McCusker (Ewing Halsell Distinguished Professor of American History
and Professor of Economics, Trinity University, San Antonio, USA)

Allan Potofski (maître de conférence habilité, Université de Paris 8)

James R. Sofka (Adjunct Faculty, Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville
USA)

François Weil (directeur d'études, EHESS, Paris)


American naval operations during the two world wars, followed by the Sixth
Fleet's half-century of stable presence in the Mediterranean, amply demonstrate
the involvement of the United States in this space, and its acute interest is
bound to grow in the future. Beginning in the seventeenth century, New England
ships and sailors frequented the western rim of the Mediterranean, protected by
the British fleet. But the independence of the thirteen colonies created new
challenges for the United States: How to assure the security of the ships
against Berber corsairs? How to react to news of the enslavement of United
States citizens? How to organize an efficient consular service permitting the
circulation of information between distant areas, especially in light of the
limited means of communications during this epoch? Which products, which
marketplaces, which ports, deserved the particular attention of American
armatures and merchants? What commercial strategies to adopt in the
Mediterranean, above all, during the revolutionary and Napoleon's wars that
opened a golden age for the American merchant marine? This conference proposes
to study how the arrival of a new power in the Mediterranean modified the
balance of power of this space, and how the American political and economic
actors fit into the region's geopolitics. From the eighteenth to the beginning
of the nineteenth century, the majority of these questions remain largely
without a response, for reasons that have to do with historiographical fashions
that have privileged Atlantic studies, as well as with the difficulty in
retrieving and exploiting adequate source material.

The arrival of the United States in the Mediterranean was the last episode of
early-modern Europe's domination of the region's commerce by the Atlantic
powers. Incursions of Northern Europe's ships and merchants beyond the Rock of
Gibraltar after the thirteenth century modified the commercial and political
dynamic of the Mediterranean world in a radical manner. Starting with the
second half of the sixteenth century, the Atlantic powers took increasing
control of the navigation across the sea, and merchants established a growing
presence in the principal ports where they were prominent in the most lucrative
markets. The consolidation of North European commercial interests was
accompanied by intense diplomatic activity to establish privileged relations
with the nations of the Mediterranean rim, and to protect themselves against
the exactions of the Berber corsairs, eventually by the ratification of
successive treaties. These choices generated complex geopolitical
calculations: the Senate of Hamburg, imperial city and meeting place for
exchanges in the North Sea, preferred to relinquish all navigation in the
Mediterranean in order not to compromise its relationships with Spain, then
violently hostile to any agreements with the Berber corsairs, with whom the
Hanseatic city had developed close commercial relations during the sixteenth to
the seventeenth centuries. The English and Dutch, followed by the Swedes and
Danes, penetrated deeply in the Mediterranean and their merchants sought to
obtain advantageous commercial conditions with certain nations and to secure
reliable intermediaries along the coast and the islands of the sea. As the
United States began to develop national independence, its officers and
merchants blazed a path through this complex universe, while taking advantage
of the experience of Europeans by amassing increasing amounts of practical
information.

We intend to analyze how the young American republic comprehended and invested
in the Mediterranean Sea just after Independence. Also, we will examine how
the geopolitical interests in this space were represented to shape policy
orientations in a decisive manner. If diplomatic aspects and Jefferson's
Barbary War (1801-1805) have attracted the attention of scholars, the economic
aspects and the implantation of a consular service still remain neglected. This
conference will allow researchers to take stock of our understanding of
Mediterranean history and to open up new directions in historical research. It
has as an ambition to serve as a basis for future scholarship, notably, on the
consular service and on the circulation of information about the Mediterranean
outside of the immediate area: these will constitute the two major themes of
research engaged by the Centre de la Méditerranée Moderne et Contemporaine in
Nice, France in its program for 2008-2011.

We particularly encourage submission of paper proposals on diplomatic aspects,
on the attitude of different European and Northern African powers towards
American presence within the Mediterranean, on economic issues and
entrepreneurial strategies at work, as well as on the representations of the
Mediterranean world in the US.

Paper proposals (in English or French) should be sent by e-mail to Silvia
Marzagalli, by 10 June 2008 Marzagalli@wanadoo.fr Please provide your
institutional affiliation, a full address, and a short summary of the intended
paper (150-250 words).

Position: Project Cataloger

Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.

REPORTS TO: Collections Cataloger
DEPARTMENT: Collections and Research
DATE: May, 2008

PURPOSE OF POSITION
10 month, grant-funded position, responsible for the processing and cataloging of recently acquired items including historic photographs, ship models, boat parts, tools, clothing, furniture and miscellaneous items, providing physical and intellectual access to the Curatorial Department collection at Mystic Seaport. Please send resume, cover letter and three references to Human Resources Office, 75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355. For an application or additional information, please call the Human Resources Office at 860.572.5346 or visit our website at http://www.mysticseaport.org Mystic Seaport is an EOE/AA employer.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
• Examine, number, measure and describe artifacts, research artifacts and associated people, vessels and subjects.
• Enter detailed catalog data and cross references into Museum’s database program, Mimsy XG using appropriate formats and standards.
• Work with photography staff, collection managers and photographic service provider to coordinate object photography, creating film and digital images.
• Observe present and emerging metadata and cataloging standards and best practices as applied to the Mystic Seaport collections, and the coordinated use of these standards within collections cataloging.
• Participate in Subject Headings and Vessel Authority Cataloging meetings.
QUALIFICATIONS
• Ability to participate and thrive in a team setting,
• Bachelor’s degree and 4 years museum experience (or equivalent).
• Familiarity with museum practices and standards.
• Proficient with general computer programs.
• Detail oriented and able to handle and work with fragile objects with great care.
• General knowledge of American or maritime history and terminology.
OTHER DESIRSBLE REQUIREMENTS
• Current knowledge of applicable Museum metadata standards and practices related to metadata creation and authority control, including AACR2 (RDA), DACS, TEI and LCSH.

Happy Birthday Jerome K. Jerome

On May 2nd, 1859, Jerome Klapka Jerome was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England. According to the wonderful Jerome K. Jerome Society Website, he confided to his friend these four ambitions:

1. To edit a successful journal.
   
2. To write a successful play.
   
3. To write a successful book.
   
4. To become a Member of Parliament.
   

Although never becoming a Member of Parliament, he achieved his other three goals, and became very well known for his novel, Three men in a boat, to say nothing of the dog. This book continues to be popular and to exert its influence--for example, upon Connie Willis' very entertaining To say nothing of the dog.

Position: Museum Technician, FT Temp

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is seeking a temporary, full-time museum technician.

Salary range: 20.66 - 20.66 USD Hourly

Open period: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 to Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Major Duties: Major duties of this position include performing specialized cleaning of objects and historic furnishings on display at the Maritime Museum Building, Park Visitor Center, Hyde Street Pier, and in museum storage facilities. Incumbent performs curatorial housekeeping on museum storage facilities, maintains day-to-day inventories of objects, and assists in completion of Annual Inventory of Museum Property. Other duties may include 1) monitoring temperature, humidity, light, and pests in exhibit and storage areas, 2) preparing objects for storage, including stabilization and moving of very large industrial artifacts with forklifts, pallet jacks and other lifting/moving devices, 3) cataloging museum collection objects, and 4) assisting in the preparation of objects for exhibits.

See the full announcement on USAJobs.

Darwin's private papers and more

Cambridge University Library, which holds all the Darwin papers, has announced the largest release in history--some 20,000 items and 90,000 images, including the first draft of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. For details, see the What's New section of Charles Darwin online.

Many items are available in a variety of formats--text versions which load quickly and may be searched, and many with additional page images. They've even just released an audio book of Darwin's Beagle Diary, with a link to a text version if you wish to read along.

The site is also rich in materials about Darwin, including information on the Census of the Extant Copies of the 1st Edition of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species with instructions on participation. And coming in 2009 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species (November 24, 1859) and the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth (February 12, 1809)--will you be celebrating Darwin 2009?

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day

Today is the first national Poem in Your Pocket Day! Part of National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day has been celebrated every April in New York City, and this year has gone national--will you help make it international?

Celebrating is simple: pick a poem, carry it around, read it and share it. If you need a poem, there's a wealth of poetry, including poems about the sea, at the Academy of American Poets website (the sponsors of National Poetry Month), even a selection of poems in .pdf specially formatted for folding up and carrying in your pocket including one that tells us, "Science, ships, politics, cities, factories, are not nothing..."

Mystic Seaport Leader Announces Retirement

Museum Set to Begin Nationwide Search
Mystic Seaport President and Director Douglas H. Teeson announced Monday to the Museum’s staff, volunteers and trustees his plans to retire in the coming year.

Teeson, who has led the nation’s premier maritime museum for the past seven years, will continue in his current role until a successor is chosen. A nationwide search for the Museum’s next CEO will begin soon. Once a successor is in place, Teeson plans to continue serving the Museum in an emeritus role, focused on fundraising.

Boat Design Quarterly

It's back! Issue no. 31 (Feb. 2008) of Boat Design Quarterly is out. The last issue came out about a year ago, but the editor states in the latest issue that subscribers will receive the full four issues for each subscription, that they will publish on a more reliable schedule, and that back issues are still available.

Not of National Significance

The latest issue of California History magazine from the California Historical Society contains a heartbreaking article, "Not of National Significance: Failed National Park Proposals in California" by Lary M. Dilsaver, professor of Historical Geography at the University of South Alabama. The article discusses many natural maritime resources, such as Point Conception, as well as cultural maritime resources including the Angel Island Immigration Station and the USS Potomac.

Why read the article? Because many of the proposals are still active.

The lighter side of preservation

Being the first of the month, this is the day when many conservators and preservation staff, including myself, perform the necessary yet often tedious task of checking the hygrothermographs, delicately changing the paper in them, doing the light meter readings, compiling all this data on our collections facility's environmental condition, etc. So I sent out the following email:

...the Library Friends installed new, automated hygros that download their data through a wireless connection, and a volunteer is doing the compilation and reporting! Cool, huh!

It worked; at least one person (the day is young) didn't notice that this message was sent on April Fool's Day.

How was your April Fool's? Although a solid component of many communities, information on practical jokes is hard to collect--necessarily fleeting by nature, the setups are temporary, and the victims often reluctant to share their experiences.

How about you? Ever observed April Fool's day aboard ship? Ever been around what the folklorists call the "initiation ritual?"

Update: A colleague tells me that at the air museum where she used to work, people were sent out for "prop wash." (Other people, of course!)

Chronicling America

The Library of Congress (as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program) and the National Endowment for the Humanities recently added More than 79,000 newly digitized newspaper pages to their site, Chronicling America. If you're wondering what's there, follow the See All Available Newspapers link on the left for a chart of the available papers, with earliest and latest dates, sorted by state. (The chart is also available in a quick-loading text file.) From here, you can click on the little chart symbol in the left-hand column, which will take you to calendar pages from which you can browse particular issues. This is a great way to browse an individual paper by date, page by page, if you have the time and a high-speed internet connection; I started with the S.F. Call for Jan. 1, 1900, and came across news of foreign navies, "Battle in a Chinese Junk," and "New Ships Built During the Year."

For maritime information for a particular city, you can also select the View Newspaper Pages link on the home page. This takes you to a page where you can select particular city pages from a state-by-state sorted list, where you can search and easily choose date range limitations. When your search results are displayed, you can sort them by date (which genealogical researchers might find helpful). I searched for the term shipping just to have some fun, and retrieved pages from UC Riverside that were absolutely delightful--the comics! "The Adventures of Handsome Hawtrey and Faithful Fritz"--my search on shipping hit on the word ship in the captions.

The navigation is easy; links at the top of the frame allow you to zoom, move the page, view text only or pdf, download the page, or move from that page to other pages in that paper or through your search results. You can even select a link to display the page in basic HTML, if your browser is having difficulty displaying the default advanced HTML page.

1 Down, 2 Up and then some

One of Maritime Compass's fans recently alerted me to the comings and goings of West Coast Maritime Museums.

For those of us who have been following the trials and tribulations of Seattle's maritime museum, it appears that all has ended sadly. The Odyssey Maritime Museum is set to close.

Meanwhile across the Sound in Bremerton, the Puget Sound Navy Museum held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the doors of the museum after being moved to its new location on the Bremerton waterfront Aug. 24.

While further North, the City of North Vancouver welcomes the provincial government's announcement of its official support of plans to establish a National Maritime Centre for the Pacific and the Arctic on the City's historic waterfront.

Back down south the Tahoe Maritime Museum’s staff is already preparing for the renovated museum’s grand opening celebrations this coming May.

Conference - Pacific Passages: Connecting East, West, and Center in the Pacific Basin

Histories of the Pacific, histories in the Pacific, histories around the Pacific-the proliferation and increasing prominence of Pacific history
offers various ways to conceptualize its geographies and understand its peoples.  This conference examines different approaches to Pacific
histories and cultural encounters throughout the Basin and also considers oceanic frameworks as a historical methodology.

Friday, April 4, 2008

8:30    Registration & Coffee

9:30    Welcome Robert C. Ritchie (The Huntington)

       Remarks David Igler (University of California, Irvine)

       Session 1      Oceans Connect: The Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans as Historical Frameworks

       Moderator:     Carole Shammas (University of Southern California)

                      Alison Games (Georgetown University)
                      "Transoceanic Connections in the Seventeenth Century"

                      Rainer Buschmann (California State University, Channel Islands)
"Caught between Fluidity and Insularity: Pacific Identities in the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Centuries"

                      Sugata Bose (Harvard University)
                      "Turbulent Passages from the Indian Ocean across the Pacific: Negotiating the Cross-Currents between Oceanic and Global Histories"

12:30   Lunch
1:30    Session 2      The Local and Global: Indigenous Communities and Outsiders

       Moderator:     Nigel Rigby (National Maritime Museum)

                      David Howell (Princeton University)
                      "Homeland Security: Preparing for Foreign Invasion in Late Tokugawa Japan"

                      David Igler
                      "Captive Taking and Other Conventions of Contact on the Northwest Coast"

                      Bronwen Douglas (Australian National University)
                      "Race and Encounters in Oceania: Science, Agency, and the Vacillations of a Nineteenth-Century Naturalist"

Saturday, April 5, 2008

9:00    Registration & Coffee

9:30    Session 3      Race, Migrations, and Rights around the Pacific

       Moderator:     Adria Imada (University of California, San Diego)

                      Andrea Geiger (Simon Fraser University)
                      "Cross-Pacific Debates about the Contours of Race and Class: Meiji-Era Japanese Immigrant Challenges to North American Categories of Exclusion"

                      Manuhuia Barcham (Massey University)
                      "Empire and Indigenous Sovereignty: Arguments over the Treaty Option"

                      David A. Chappell (University of Hawaii, Manoa)
"A 'Headless' Native Talks Back: Nidoish Naisseline and the Kanak Awakening in New Caledonia"

12:30   Lunch
1:30    Session 4      Borders, Empires, and Security

       Moderator:     Margarette Lincoln (National Maritime Museum)

                      Arturo Giraldez (University of the Pacific)
                      "The Military Revolution in Asia: The Case of the Philippines in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries"

                      Adam McKeown (Columbia University)
                      "The Pacific from Basin to Border, 1850-1930"

                      Ryan Jones (Columbia University)
                      "The Pacific: Russia's First Globalizing Experience"

This conference is funded by The John Haskell Kemble Endowment



Pacific Passages:
Connecting East, West, and Center in the Pacific Basin


Name(s):       _____________________________________________________

Address:       _____________________________________________________

Email/Phone:   _____________________________________________________

Affiliation:   _____________________________________________________

Conference registration and meals by reservation only.  No confirmation
will
be sent.

Conference registration fee                                  25.00
(Graduate students free)

Buffet lunch (April 4)                                       16.50

Buffet lunch (April 5)                                       16.50

Vegetarian (circle one)        Yes     No

Total                                                        ______


Please return form and check payable to "The Huntington"
by March 28, 2008.
Mail to Susi Krasnoo, The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino CA
91108.

Sept. 12, 2008, deadline for submissions

The deadline for submissions for the Sixth Karl Kortum Award for Maritime History has been announced: Sept. 12, 2008. The $1000.00 award is given biennially by the Library Friends, and to be eligible, research which is unpublished at the time of submission must draw on the oral history collections of SF Maritime NHP. (Truth in advertising: that's my employer.)

New guide to imaging equipment

Trudy Levy, consultant and imaging coordinator for California's Califa Library Project, has written a new guide to imaging equipment to help libraries in planning digitizing projects. The guide covers flatbed scanners, film scanners, and digital cameras, and doesn't just recommend, but includes the reasons behind the recommendations--making interesting reading for anyone considering such purchases. It's also short and sweet; rather than comprehensive reviews of everything available, it tells you what's the best and why.

What's your official state book?

Usually I just link to the cool posts at 'Sea-Fever', Peter A. Mello's excellent maritime blog but today his post is so relevant to the interests of Compass folks that I have to add a little teaser to make sure readers follow the whole story.

http://sea-fever.org/2008/03/10/moby-dick-coast-to-coast/

"At the same time that marine scientists sighted a white killer whale off the Aleutian Islands of Alaska last week, a group of fifth graders were testifying to members of the Massachusetts legislature about a bill up for consideration that would make Moby-Dick: or,The Whale by Herman Melville the official book of the states of Massachusetts."

How cool is that! Heck I didn't even know states had official books so while I'm off to find out Connecticut's, you can read the post.

Finding Odysseus' Home

The question of where in the modern world Odysseus' Ithaca lies calls to us as strongly as ancient Ithaca called to that wandering hero, but we've never been certain of its location. Now we have more evidence to consider: an ancient tomb has been found on the island of Lefkada. Mycenaean era tombs are very rare in the western Ionian Sea islands, and until now were unknown on Lefkada. This discovery could revive debate over the location of ancient Ithaca: is it modern Ithaki, Lefkada, neighboring Kefallonia, or elsewhere?

If this discovery inspires you to pick up a copy of The Odyssey, my favorite English translation is Richmond Lattimore's.

Land navigation

If you can't make it to Mystic's Celestial Navigation Weekend, you can still celebrate the science of knowing where you are. Knowing your latitude and longitude is the first step to learning how to determine your local time, and March, the time of the spring equinox, is a great time to do it. As the world wakes from winter, tracking the sun's movement north towards the summer solstice is as important to gardeners wondering where the best patch of sun will be in the yard as it was to mariners surrounded by the sea.

Sundials on the internet lists sundial vendors and how to set them up, but more fun are their six sundial projects for you to make. They also have a good explanation of the difference between local time and standard time, tools for determining your latitude and longitude, and instructions for determining true north.

And don't stop with sunset; the night sky is one of our oldest navigation tools. The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich posts a wonderfully readable monthly article about what to look for in the night sky, with links to printing sky maps. More observatories can be found via the Librarian's Index to the Internet: choose the category, "Science," then "Astronomy," then "Observatories."

CFP: Celestial Navigation Weekend

Through March 31, 2008, The Planetarium at Mystic Seaport in conjunction with the "NavList" are accepting proposals for presentations to be made during the three-day event. Appropriate topics include: traditional navigation techniques including Sumner Lines, lunar distance observations, Noon Sun sights, etc.; unique personal experiences in celestial navigation, for example, emergency navigation; anything related to the fiftieth anniversary of the modern Nautical Almanac; other aspects of traditional position finding. Please note: elementary navigation lessons, topics focused on the period before the year 1750, and modern electronic navigation tools like GPS are specifically excluded. Drop us an email through the web site listed below, and we will happily consider your topic for our program. Talks or presentations should range from 15 minutes to one hour in length. A standard digital projector will be available. Some of the topics of presentations from the "Navigation Weekend" two years ago are listed here: www.fer3.com/Mystic2006.

Mariners Museum archivist charged in theft

NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The former head of a Virginia maritime museum has been charged with selling off items from its Titanic collection and other memorabilia.

Lester Weber, onetime director of the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, was charged along with his wife with 26 counts of theft, fraud and failure to file tax returns.

Federal prosecutors allege the couple stole historical items from the museum between 2002 and 2006 and peddled them on eBay, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot said Wednesday.

The allegedly stolen items include photos and papers from a mother and son who had survived the 1912 sinking of the Titanic.

Weber and Childs made their first appearance in federal court yesterday after the indictment (made late last week) was unsealed. They were released on $5,000 bond each. "In four years and nine months, the couple sold nearly 1,500 items [on eBay], receiving $162,959 from buyers across the country, according to the indictment. They also are accused of failing to report income from those sales in four years of tax returns."

Weber began working at the museum in 2000, and was the head of the archives for the six months before he was fired on 25 September 2006.

The civil suit against Weber and Childs is still pending, authorities said. The museum issued a statement yesterday saying "We will have no comment on this matter while proceedings under the indictment are pending." Weber and Childs told the court yesterday that they are "broke, unemployed and that their house is in default. A federal magistrate granted their request for court-appointed lawyers." They'll be in court next on 27 February for arraignment.

The full indictment is posted at: http://www.wavytv10.com/PDFs/Childs.Indictment.1.19.08.pdf

Talking Heads

I've been contacted recently by a respected film company who would like "an expert" to talk about Irving Johnson. They were a little taken aback by the fact while I know a great deal about the Johnson's and their cruises (have read all the books, and processed all their manuscripts (don't tell anyone, but I read them all too) that I don't feel qualified in saying I'm an expert.

So - anyone out there want to volunteer?

Or- would anyone care to define what makes one an expert?

Recent Grant Awards

The Annapolis Maritime Museum has a grant from the Four Rivers Heritage Area to record 12 oral histories on the oystering industries. full story

The Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Hudson River Valley Greenway Council. The funding will be to build new kayak and rowing shell docks at the Museum’s Rondout Creek location a part of the Hudson River Water Trail. full story

The Port of Seattle is writing off another $1.5 million in debt from the Odyssey Maritime museum. full story

Position: Maritime Museum Curator

City of Los Angeles - Department of Recreation and Parks

Maritime Museum Curator

The City of Los Angeles – Department of Recreation and Parks is currently seeking to fill Maritime Museum Curator position within the Los Angeles Maritime Museum and welcome all interested individuals to explore this great opportunity.

SALARY: $47,940 annually

DUTIES:

Supervise the care of the Museum's collection of maritime artifacts and create new educational exhibits for the education of the general public and school groups. Duties include: evaluation, accession, and conservation of collection, as well as working within the community to identify and acquire appropriate additions to the collection. Refine and update exhibits as necessary to ensure that subject matter is relevant to Museum's mission. Maintain an inventory of acquired items and provide for proper storage. Supervise volunteers and interns working on collection and exhibits. Work with Museum Director and appropriate staff to create long-term plan for funding, care and display of collections.

Assist with creation of new programs for public and school groups. Duties include: organizing guest speakers, creating hands-on activities for family visitors, training volunteers, and promoting of Museum through newsletter articles.

Assist with operations when needed, including special event staffing and special tours.

REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor of Arts Degree from an accredited 4-year college or university is required. Masters of Arts Degree preferred with concentration in history or Museum studies.

Two years of curatorial and exhibit experience required as well as knowledge of Museum standards and procedures.

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested candidates must submit both a completed City Application Form and resume. Please send your completed City Application Form and resume to:

City of Los Angeles

Department of Recreation and Parks

1200 W. 7th Street, 3rd Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Attn: Diane Moore

The City Application Form may be obtained at: http://www.lacity.org/per/application.pdf

Position: Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, seeks and Collections and Research Access Associate. This is a full time 35 hour/week position.

The successful applicant will provide intellectual, physical and electronic access to the Collections of Mystic Seaport specializing in, but not limited to the historic, contemporary and Rosenfeld photograph and image collections. Requirements include Bachelor’s degree with general computer knowledge and historical curiosity. Candidate must be team and customer-oriented with the ability to handle fragile objects. Starting pay $11.00 – $13.00/hr depending upon qualifications.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Staff the Collections Reference and Research Room on a rotating basis. Duties include shelving of retrieved Collections materials, circulation of books, answering phones, overseeing reading room, etc.
• Respond to reference requests, including onsite, written, commercial and personal, related to the Collections using all available Collections Access Systems.
• Master the various means of Collections access, including but not limited to Voyager, XG, websites, visual files, card files and databases.
• Serve as the point person and coordinator for access to the historic, contemporary and Rosenfeld photograph collections.
• Advise patrons and clients on research and derivative fees when applicable and initiate production orders for Production Team.
• Help maintain Collection-wide Customer Relation Database
• Work with the licensing and product development groups to bring Collection to a wider audience through publications and products
• Participate in developing a Collections Access Plan to establish and maintain a fine-tuned, web-centric system of access to collections information.
• Work as part of team to develop Collections Cataloging priorities. Specifically providing information on optimizing Collections usage and the understanding of the need to get the information about Collections out to users in a timely fashion.
• Improve and increase public Web resources related to the Collections
• Promote awareness and use of the collections, advocating the department within the Museum, related professional communities, educational institutions and the general public.
• Encourage and recruit other staff in the department to participate in various outreach efforts
• Compile Collections access statistics and prepares monthly reports
• Co-ordinate tours and programs at the Collections Research Center under the direction of the Association Director of Collections Access and in accordance with Department policies

QUALIFICATIONS

• General knowledge of maritime history and terminology
• Ability to participate, lead and thrive in a team setting
• Bachelors Degree
• Knowledge of search strategies and information retrieval practices
• Strong foundation and belief in providing superior customer service
• Ability to work with and continuously learn common computer applications
• Detail-oriented and able to handle fragile objects with great care.

For information or an application visit our website www.mysticseaport.org or call Human Resources 860.572.5346. To apply, send cover letter, resume and names of three references by Feb 8, 2008 to: Mystic Seaport Museum, PO Box 6000, Mystic, CT 06355, Attn: Human Resources.

If you get a chance to go to Dallas

Artdaily.org reports that the Dallas Museum of Art will present the largest and most comprehensive retrospective ever presented in the United States of the career of J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851), one of the greatest landscape and seascape painters in the history of art. The exhibition opened Feb. 10 in the J. E. R. Chilton Galleries.

The show will be in Dallas February 10 - May 18, 2008, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York June 24 - September 21, 2008. The show is presents in association with Tate Britain, London, which is lending 86 works from its vast and impressive Turner bequest.

Theft of diving suit reported

Part of a historic deep-sea diver's suit has been stolen by thieves who ram raided Lowestoft Maritime Museum last week.

Thieves are believed to have driven a motorbike through the reception doors at the museum between Saturday February 3 and Tuesday February 5 and hacked off the brass fittings of the old diving suit, which was displayed in a glass display cabinet.

Speaking to the Lowestoft Journal, Museum Curator Peter Parker said: “I came down to find they had got through the front door of the cottage; it looked like it had been ram-raided by a motorbike and the locks and deadlocks had been knocked out. It seems as though someone knew what was in the museum and they wanted it.”

Although the museum says the historical importance outweighs any monetary value, the items are believed to be worth in excess of £2,000.

Singalong Pirates

It's that time of year--love, song, and pirates. If you're going to be in the San Francisco Bay Area on Frederic, the Pirate Apprentice's birthday (otherwise known as leap day, Feb. 29), check out The Lamplighters' Pirates of Penzance Singalong. One of the top Gilbert & Sullivan companies in the world, The Lamplighters offer not only a memorable production in the best nautical tradition, but at this Singalong, there will be prizes for the best costumes!

Happy birthday, Jules Verne

Jules Verne, author of the work that made many fall in love with submarines, Vingt mille lieues sous les mers (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), was born on this day in 1828.

His works are full of stirring adventure, and were often published with covers as enticing as his prose. Andrew Nash's website, JulesVerne.ca, has many images of covers, spines, and sets, that will send your imagination under the sea, across the sea, and to the moon.

To read more, click on the image above to go to the Wikipedia article on Verne--scroll to the "External Links" section at the bottom to link quickly to etexts, free audio books available on line, and more bibliographies and criticism.

Who issued mariners' documents?

gCaptain mentioned a great article, Coast Guard wasn't always in charge of mariners' documents, by Capt. Kelly Sweeney. He provides an overview of the issuance of seamen's papers in the U.S. from the mid-19th century to the present, and the direction of future merchant mariner licensing.

And where can researchers find most of these documents? The National Archives.

South Street Pier Space Under Dispute

Home to the Peking Wavertree and
and other fine historic vessels, South Street Seaport is fighting for pier space to dock, maintain and promote it's collection.

Pier 15 is under the jurisdiction of the Economic Development Committee which has been redesigning the pier to accommodate more business and open space use as opposed to maximize it's waterfront use. (Full Story)

Seems short sighted and backwards. Here you have a draw to the natural history of a world famous port as well as a whole new way to open up the City and developers just want to make more of what already crowds the city blocks. As Frank Sciame of the Seaport Board says, "“Why wouldn’t the city want that pier to be authentic, historic, a benchmark that was the very history of South St.?” Why indeed?

Photo from New York Photo

Minnesota Lakes Maritime Museum

Fred Bursch, president of Bursch Travel, was elected president of the Minnesota Lakes Maritime Museum board of directors.

Bursch is a founding director of the Maritime Museum, a nonprofit organization in Alexandria that supports preservation of antique and classic watercraft, resort memorabilia and sporting equipment. It's open to the public from May 15 to Oct. 15.

Storm Uncovers Shipwreck On Cape Cod Beach

WELLFLEET (AP) ― The remains of what experts think was a 19th-century schooner have been discovered on a Cape Cod beach.

The 50-foot keel and wooden ribs appeared on Wellfleet's Newcomb Hollow Beach on Tuesday, apparently pushed to shore by waves from a storm Sunday.

Full story.

Singing down memory lane

I had heard that Amazon was selling mp3s of out of print albums, so I took a look to see if they had any shanties. What I found inspired this rather blatantly commercial post:

Boy. Have they got shanties! They have shanties in English, German, and even "Ali alo" in French. You can hear a sample of the song before purchasing (click the little white "play" arrow in the gray box to the left of the song), and some albums have a "Preview all" link at the top of the list of songs. You can buy an mp3 album, or buy just one song (most songs are around $.99). Searching by genre is very general; the albums I saw were listed as "Traditional Folk" or even, "Folk > General." So searching by a known artist or possible title keywords might be a better bet.

And the best news of all: the mp3s are DRM free. From the Amazon music download FAQ:

Digital Rights Management or "DRM" commonly refers to software that is designed to control or limit how a file can be played, copied, downloaded, shared, or accessed. DRM-free means that the MP3 files you purchase from Amazon.com do not contain any software that will restrict your use of the file.

As a hint of how cool I think this is, I have to tell you that I'm an ardent supporter of local, independent music stores (for me, that means Down Home Music and Amoeba Music), so it takes a lot for me to give some free advertising to Amazon--it takes my being thrilled to be able to buy DRM-free out of print music. DRM-free because it tends to work better on my devices, including my mp3 player (a Sandisk, because it can record radio shows while I'm in meetings!). And you can shop Amazon somewhat mindfully--there are many nonprofits which have a link to Amazon that gives them a portion of the purchase price (from Amazon's cut--not yours).

Position: The Naval History Society Collection at the New-York Historical Society

Full-Time Project Archivist for 9 Months
Collection Description: The Naval History Society Collection (NHSC) is a compilation of materials that document historical events in American and British maritime and naval history. The collection is comprised of fifty distinct collections of Navy related individuals or ships, along with two collections of organizational records of the Naval History Society. It includes approximately 78 linear feet of correspondence, letterbooks, journals and diaries, lectures, essays, account books, biographical writings, genealogical information, scrapbooks, orders, notes, articles and clippings, photographs, manuscripts, and ships’ logbooks relating to naval history. The collection brings together the documents of famous individuals as well as the letters and records of lesser known enlisted men.
Job Description: The New-York Historical Society is seeking an experienced archivist to process the Naval History Society Collection. The archivist on this grant will begin by surveying the fifty individual collections of the NHSC and consulting with the Chief Conservator regarding any preservation issues. The project archivist will then arrange, describe, and re-house the fifty distinct collections into acid-free materials. MARC records and finding aids will be created for the general collection as well as for select individual collections. The finding aids will then be marked up in Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and placed online with other N-YHS finding aids.
Qualifications: M.L.S. from an A.L.A.-accredited library school or M.A. with an archival concentration or archival management certificate. One to two years of archival processing experience. Excellent interpersonal skills, flexibility, and the ability to work with people as well as independently. Experience using MARC format and Encoded Archival Description (EAD). Dedication to archival principles, practices, and ethics.
To Apply: Send cover letter, résumé and the names of three references by mail or fax (applications sent by e-mail will not be reviewed) to:
Jean Ashton
Vice President and Library Director
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
Fax: (646) 293-9409
Please, no phone calls.

Meet the Author

Inspired by Heather's recent posting on author Trevor Corson, I attended a talk/book signing by him. If you get the chance, definitely go! He talked about both his books, The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket and The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean (P.S.). But even more impressive were the videos. Lets just say, all is not fair in Lobster love and war, but it's fun to watch.

Position: Archives and Library Director

Independence Seaport Museum is seeking a full-time Director of the J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library. The position reports directly to the Museum President and supervises one full-time professional assistant, one full-time temporary project archivist, volunteers and interns. The archives and library director is responsible for managing a repository of approximately 4,000 linear feet of archival collections and research library of 15,000 volumes.

Duties: Candidate will be required to arrange, describe and create electronic catalog records in OCLC for archival collection; provide reference service to the public; build archival and printed collections through purchase and donations; plan research, write labels and design exhibits for the department’s exhibit areas and Museum’s website; envision and lead development of automation and digitization projects; plan processing, conservation, cataloging and other projects, and work with the development department to write grants seeking project funding; perform copy and original cataloging for printed materials; serve on exhibition and planning committees, and work with other Museum departments on institution-wide projects; manage department budget; report to Archives and Curatorial Committee of the Board; represent the Museum at Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries and other meetings, and participate in consortium projects and; give presentations about library collections for prospective donors and VIPs.

Preferred Qualifications: Qualifications: • M.L.S. or M. A. in History with certificate in archives management. • Three to five years experience in special collections library or research setting • Formal training in archival practice and care in handling unique material • Facility with OCLC mixed materials cataloging and standard professional tools and programs • Ability to work both independently and with the public • Knowledge of American and maritime history and technology preferred.

Application Instructions: To apply, please submit via email an electronic letter of interest and resume to: cburkert@phillyseaport.org or mail to Archives & Library Director Search, Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19106. No phone calls please. Deadline: February 15, 2008.

Behind the Scene Tours

The last few months have been busy ones. What with the holidays and sudden rise in people wanting "Behind the Scene Tours" of our Collections Vaults. Since moving into the new facility 7 years ago, tour requests have been steady but slow, maybe one a month. Suddenly they've just exploded. Weekly groups of 35, 60 and now 80 NEED to get into places built to safely secure art, objects, photographs, rare books, and manuscripts in humidity and temperature controlled environments.

Is anyone else experiencing this? In early January there was a flood of announcements on new exhibits, and a lengthy discussion of whether or not to allow grade-school classes into the reference rooms, but I've not noticed anyone talking about, or offering this type of "Behind the Scenes Tours".

Don't get me wrong, it's great to take them IN. It never fails to increase my appreciate for the Collections. Just this week alone I opened a random drawer and found over 30 Inuit animal carvings. They are just amazingly animated! Cute even. People are always surprised and impressed by the immensity and range of the collections, and it feels good to share, but the point of having that material is also to preserve it, and I wonder how this effects that? We've decided on a ratio of one staff member for every 10 tour-ists, but is that enough? We're also considering charging? mostly as a means of encouraging people to appreciate the experience, but do we charge everyone? What about fellow museums? etc. And what are they doing? Do other museums provide these tours? Under what circumstances? for Whom? Do you charge?

Calling all writers

Trevor Corson's blog, The Scrawling Claw, is one of my must-reads. I really enjoyed his book The Zen of Fish and was delighted to find that the writing on his blog is also entertaining and informative. Typically he writes about seafood and fisheries issues, but he lately wrote about his experiences at the Key West Literary Seminar.

Are you a writer? A maritime historian? Do you write historical fiction? If so, check out the 2009 Key West Seminar, "Historical Fiction," when they "will be including writers of historical fiction and writers of history (a.k.a. historians)." Speakers will include Andrea Barrett, whose novel The Voyage of the Narwhal remains one of my favorites.

And if you go, drop us a line!

The Literary Lotus

On Literary Lotus, Christine Thomas writes about a wide range of topics, including the maritime world. She recently posted the last entry in a book of the sea roundup, her review of Vaka Moana, Voyages of the Ancestors: The Discovery and Settlement of the Pacific, edited by K. R. Howe. Also, don't miss the links on the blog, which include her reviews of maritime books published elsewhere.

And do check out the older posts; Christine is generous in sharing her reviews, interviews, and information about the books mentioned by her and others. If you're looking for something to read, for yourself or someone else, she even posts gift guides. She'll guide you to books about the sea that feature topics other than explorations or voyages: legends, traditional navigation, surfing, poetry, and much more.

Sing me Ishmael

Moby Dick has been called the greatest American novel, and adaptations have included films, cartoons, comic books, musicals--and now, another opera. (In 2004, Moby Dick: Scenes From an Imaginary Opera premiered in Princeton, New Jersey.) This time, Gene Scheer is writing the text. How will they handle the whale on stage? They're not telling!

Position: Mystic Seaport

Collections Access Assistant

Part-time (21/wk) temporary, entry-level position to provide intellectual, physical and electronic access to the Collections of Mystic Seaport and assist in the creation and organization of maritime-related internet resources.

The successful candidate will demonstrate an ability to participate successfully in a team setting, have a strong belief in providing superior customer service, and possess excellent organizational skills and computer literacy. Knowledge of Microsoft Access, SQL, search strategies/information retrieval (Voyager, XG, card files, etc.) or information science desirable. Duties include assisting patrons, staff and volunteers with Collections, proof datasets for accuracy and create new ones, scan/archive collection-related image, locate and organize maritime related internet resources. For information send an email to kelly.drake@mysticseaport.org. To obtain an application visit our website www.mysticseaport.org or call Human Resources 860.572.5346. To apply, send cover letter, resume and names of three references by Feb 8, 2008 to: Mystic Seaport Museum, PO Box 6000, Mystic, CT 06355, Attn: Human Resources. Mystic Seaport is an AA/EOE employer.

Position: Collections Manager

Independence Seaport Museum

Location: Philadelphia, PA USA

Description: Responsibilities include, but may not be limited to, the creation and maintenance of relevant recordkeeping systems, organization and housing of objects in collection storage areas, and observation and care of all collection needs whether on exhibit or in storage. The Collections Manager reports to the Curator. Tasks and Duties Registration: All aspects of the processing, cataloging of the collections; Management of the collections management database; Manages loan agreements and condition reports and insurance; Maintain the disaster preparedness plan for the collections; Manages ethical and legal issues related to the collections; Risk management including disaster mitigation planning , security, integrated pest management, insurance; Manages rights and reproduction requests. Collections: Storage of collections and the implementation of re-housing projects; Monitors environmental conditions and coordinates with the Facilities Dept.; Monitors the security and condition of the collections on display and in storage; Coordinates conservation program and long-range collections care planning; Tracks and documents conservation proposals and treatments; Maintains records related to collections care. Exhibitions: Maintains exhibits and coordinates repair of interactives; Assists with preparation and installation of loan and permanent exhibitions and their maintenance; Manages packing of artifacts and shipping arrangements. General: Directs volunteers and interns in the curatorial department; Assist in the development of departmental and inter-departmental policies. M-F, 9-5, some evening and weekends. Salary based on experience, competitive benefits.

Preferred Qualifications: Applicants must possess either an M.A. in museum studies or a related field with a minimum of three years professional museum experience, or a B.A. in American or maritime history, anthropology, archaeology, museum studies or a related field followed by five years of professional experience in object care and conservation at a museum. Must be organized, detail oriented, show measurable initiative, have good interpersonal skills and demonstrable writing skills. Position requires substantial practical knowledge and ability with collection management software. Ability to operate hand tools and developed skills with the installation and maintenance of exhibitions is a plus. Must have a valid driver’s license.

Application Instructions: Please respond with cover letter and resume by 1/18/08 via mail or e-mail, no phone calls: Craig Bruns, Curator Independence Seaport Museum 211 S. Columbus Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19106 cbruns@phillyseaport.org

The Unfortunate Malefactor

There are some treasures of maritime history within online collections related to the law. You can find a broadside describing the trial and execution of William Donovan for mutiny and murder at Dying Speeches & Bloody Murders, Harvard Law School Library's Crime Broadsides Project.

And, from there, don't miss the link they provide to the online Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London, 1674 to 1834--you can search the proceedings by crime, and to find "Piracy" or "Returning from transportation," pop open the "Specific Criminal Act" list. And to search for ships, use the keyword search option and pop open the "Search in" list and select "Crime location"--you can even just put in the word "ship!" (And Rumpole fans, take note, you can turn up Timsons if you search for them by "Defendent surname!")

Job Position: Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Acting Curator of History New York, NY
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Applications Contact person: Lesley Klein
Email: lklein@intrepidmuseum.org
Application due date: 2008/1/15
Salary range: competitive hourly rate
Web Address: www.intrepidmuseum.org
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is seeking a person to be an acting Curator of History, a 40 hour/week consultant position that may lead to a full-time position in late 2008. The ideal candidate will have a Master's degree in history with a knowledge of twentieth-century American history and three to five years experience in a museum, historical society or similar position dealing with the collection, display and public interpretation of artifacts. Knowledge of American military, political and naval history, and naval aviation are additional assets. The acting Curator of History will actively work with both the museum's Chief Curator and Collection Manager in selecting artifacts for the museum's grand reopening in Fall 2008 and, if chosen for the full time position, will work with both Chief Curator and the Collection Manager in acquiring new artifacts for future display and researching the permanent collection. Competitive contractor rate. Competitive salary and benefits if the acting Curator of History gets converted to a full time employee.
Resumes should be submitted to: resume@intrepidmuseum.org

New York Fishing Company

Many today in history sites are announcing that the New York Fishing Company was the first company to be chartered in what became the United States (on January 8, 1675) but there is some debate about this. From The Modern Corporation and American Political Thought: Law, Power, and Ideology by Scott R. Bowman, 1996, p. 312:

Depending on the classification employed by scholars, the number of colonial business corporations will vary slightly. For example, Simeon Baldwin identifies six, Joseph Davis identifies seven, and between them they list a total of eight such corporations. Both authors include the Free Society of Traders, which although chartered in England by William Penn in 1682, was intended to be an American corporation. The Free Society of Traders appears to be the first colonial business corporation, if one excludes the English trading companies that founded many of the colonies. (Baldwin lists the New York Fishing Company [1675] as the first, but Davis points out that this company was not incorporated.)

Generally I find the pursuit of maritime superlatives like "firsts" tiresome, however, in this case, my curiosity was sparked--I wondered about the extent of maritime influence on colonial business ventures and went on to learn more.

To continue on this topic, and follow the citations to Baldwin's and Davis' books, you can find the above quoted page on limited preview at Google Books (or follow the links there to get the book from your local library or to purchase it.)

George MacDonald Fraser, R.I.P.

The author of The Pyrates and the beloved Flashman series died Wednesday at age 82. Obituaries are available at The Telegraph, Guardian, and the BBC.

Update on the Free China

If you read Hans Konrad Van Tilburg's new book,
Chinese Junks on the Pacific: Views from a Different Deck you may be interested in the San Jose Mercury News article from Dec. 22 about the effort to bring the junk Free China back to life.

And check out the video and audio links that accompany the article!