Stone Boat Yard...

...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 unable to find a listing for W.F. Stone boatyard in either the San Francisco City Directory or in the Marin County Directory. What I found instead were two previously unacknowledged business partners.

From 1853 until 1975 three generations of the Stone family built some of the most celebrated wooden work, pleasure and racing craft to come from the shores of San Francisco Bay; and until 2004, Stone Boat Yard continued to carry the family name and legacy under new ownership. As the businesses grew and evolved over 141 years, William Isaac Stone, his son W. Frank Stone, and his grandson Lester F. Stone opened and closed boatyards in two San Francisco locations, in Tiburon (Marin), and on both sides of the Oakland-Alameda estuary. In the Historic Documents Department we refer to these boatyards by the shorthand "Stone Boat Yard," and more formally as the W. I. Stone boatyard, the W. F. Stone boatyard, the W. F. Stone & Son boatyard, and finally, as the Stone Boat Yard. These names reflect the history of primary ownership change and were, we assumed, the correct and incorporated business names. Our assumptions were wrong.

I've found a Swann amidst the ducklings of Tiburon. From 1893 to 1899 Frank Stone operated a boatbuilding yard on Beach Street in Tiburon in 1893, in partnership with someone only identified as Swann, and the business was called Stone & Swann. Who was Swann? I don't know! The only information I have comes from a business card which was duplicated on page 62 of James Heig's Pictorial History of Tiburon (San Francisco: 1984). Do you know who Mr. or Ms. Swann was? If so, please leave a comment.

Another heretofore unknown individual person was Edgar N. Van Bergen, Frank Stone's business partner at Harbor View in San Francisco, where they did business as Stone & Van Bergen from 1899 until 1911. After his stint in the shipbuilding business, Edgar Van Bergen became the general manager of a liquor wholesaler on Battery St. in San Francisco. Edgar's path through San Francisco can be followed in the pages of Crocker & Langley's San Francisco City Directories. Do you know anything more about Edgar? If you do, please let us know on the comment page.

I guess the cold fog and sharp wind got on Frank Stone's nerves. In 1912 he moved his home and business to the sunnier side of the bay where he owned and operated a shipyard in partnership with his son, Lester, until his death in 1924. W.F. Stone & Son built wooden boats along the shores of the estuary in Oakland from 1912 to 1941, and in Alameda from 1941 to 1975.

You can find out more about this collection by looking at the finding aid on the Online Archive of California.

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & functioning commenting.

Alaska Packers Association Fleet List

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


Star of Alaska (now Balclutha) under sail, undated, J7.90n (SAFR 21374)

Iron and steel sailing vessels:

• Star of Alaska (built 1886, ship 3m), ex-Balclutha (ship 3m)
  
• Star of Bengal (built 1874, ship 3m)
  
• Star of Chile (built 1878, bark 3m), ex-Coalinga (bark 3m), ex-La Escocesa (ship 3m)
  
• Star of England (built 1893, bark 3m), ex-Abby Palmer (bark 3m), ex-Blairmore (ship 3m)
  
• Star of Falkland (built 1892, ship 3m), ex-Arapahoe (ship 3m), ex-Northern Light (ship 3m), ex-Steinbeck (ship 3m), ex-Durbridge (ship 3m)
  
• Star of Finland (built 1899, bark, 3m), ex-Kaiulani (bark 3m)
  
• Star of France (built 1877, ship 3m)
  
• Star of Greenland (built 1892, bark 3m), ex-Hawaiian Isles (bark 4m)
  
• Star of Holland (built 1885, bark 3m), ex-Homeward Bound (bark 3m), ex-Zemandar (ship 3m)
  
• Star of Iceland (built 1896, bark 3m), ex-Willscott (bark 3m)
  
• Star of India (built 1863, bark 3m), ex-Euterpe (ship 3m)
  
• Star of Italy (built 1877, bark 3m, formerly ship 3m)
  
• Star of Lapland (built 1902, bark 4m), ex-Atlas (bark 4m)
  
• Star of Peru (built 1863, bark 3m), ex-Himalaya (bark 3m)
  
• Star of Poland (built 1902, bark 4m), ex-Acme (bark 4m)
  
• Star of Russia (built 1874, ship 3m)
  
• Star of Scotland (built 1887, bark 4m), ex-Kenilworth (bark 4m)
  
• Star of Shetland (built 1899, bark 4m), ex-Edward Sewall (bark 4m)
  
• Star of Zealand (built 1899, bark 4m), ex-Astral (bark 4m)
  

Wooden sailing vessels:

• Bohemia (built 1875, ship 3m)
  
• Centennial (built 1875, barkentine 4m, formerly ship 3m)
  
• Electra (built 1868, bark 3m)
  
• George Schofield (built 1870, ship 3m)
  
• Indiana (built 1876, ship 3m)
  
• James A. Broland (built 1869, bark 3m)
  
• Llewelyn J. Morse (built 1877, ship 3m)
  
• Morem (built 1870, ship 3m)
  
• Metha Nelson (built 1896, schooner 3m)
  
• Nicholas Thayer (built 1868, bark 3m)
  
• Premier (built 1876, schooner 3m)
  
• Prosper (built 1892, schooner 3m)
  
• Servia (built 1883, ship 3m)
  
• Tacoma (built 1881, ship 3m)
  
• Will W. Case (built 1878, bark 3m)
  

Other vessels:

• Alitak (built 1901, motor ship)
  
• Arctic (built 1904, steamship), ex-Newport News (steamship), ex-Oldenwald (steamship), ex-St. Jan (steamship)
  
• Bering (built 1920, steamship), ex-Salatiga (steamship)
  
• Chirikof (built 1908, steamship), ex-Lurline (passenger ship)
  
• Delarof (built 1920, steamship), ex-Mohinkis (steamship)
  
• Etolin (built 1913, steamship), ex-Matsonia (passenger ship)
  
• Kodiak (built 1912, steamship)
  
• Kvichak (built 1900, tugboat)
  
• Salmon King (built 1918, steamship), ex-H.B. Lovejoy (steam schooner)
  

Sources:

• Lyman, John. "The Alaska Packers, San Francisco." Sea Breezes. Dec. 1934 and Jan. 1935. Print.
  
• Huycke, Harold. "The Great Star Fleet." 1960.
  
• Loring, Charles M. 1947. Data & notes on the sailing vessel fleet of the Alaska Packers Association, San Francisco, Calif.
  

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & functioning commenting.

Hot Vichyssoise

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 stock. Season with salt and white pepper to taste and simmer the soup over low heat until the potatoes are tender. Add 2 cups hot milk and 4 tablespoons butter. Strain the soup and pour it into a tureen. Add 12 slices of French dinner rolls. Serves 4.

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & functioning commenting.

New in the SF Maritime NHP Library

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 file, 33 Kb)
  

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & functioning commenting.

Two steamers meeting, and passing

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)

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feeds and commenting.

Digging for Gold at the Library: Paasch

(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 Keel to Truck," etc. (or at least that is how he has listed himself on the title page...I hope his friends just called him Paasch), is probably better known for his multilanguage dictionary, From Keel to Truck. The Illustrated Marine Encyclopedia was published in response to the success of that title as apparently many readers wrote asking him to expand the English definitions. He accommodated and added material related to merchant service in general. The result is a classic of maritime reference.

What makes Illustrated Marine Encyclopedia so interesting to me (besides the fact that the book is dedicated to "His most Gracious Majesty Leopold II King of the Belgians, Duke of Saxony, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Sovereign of the Independent Congo State"--a controversial dedicatee indeed) are the titular illustrations. The drawings are not only beautiful but so exact that they almost appear to be 3-D. They pop from the page and invite you to invest time in exploring the smallest of the details. The explanations of what exactly (and I do mean exactly) you are looking at are on the opposite page. This is the sort of reference book you could curl up with by a fire. I've included some of my favorites below, but come to the library and see for yourself!

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feeds and commenting.

When running free

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)

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feeds and commenting.

Red-lined wrasse

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.

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & commenting.

What d'ya mean by "Crow's nest?"

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 lookout.



The Park's full hull model artifact, English galleon Golden Hind, catalog number SAFR 22687, has excellent examples of crow's nest perches on the main and foremast. See it for yourself. The Golden Hind is currently on exhibit in the Prismatarium room of the Museum Building.

Citations:

Rogers, John G. Origins of sea terms. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1984.
MacEwen, William A. and A.H. Lewis. Encyclopedia of nautical knowledge. Cambridge, Md.: Cornell Maritime Press, 1953.

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

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feeds & commenting.

With Wind on Same Sides

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)

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feeds and commenting.

New in the SF Maritime NHP Library

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 Accessions, July 16-31, 2011
  (.pdf file, 16 Kb)
  
• Library New Accessions, Aug. 1-15, 2011
  (.pdf file, 28 Kb)
  

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & functioning commenting.

Digging for gold at the Library: Cramp's Shipyard

(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 of the William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company, the I.P. Morris Company, and the Kensington Shipyard Co. Most of the slim volume is photos of their various ships which is nice, but we've seen images like those a million times. The thing that knocked my socks clean off (I'm still looking for them...if you see a pair of rainbow toe socks anywhere, they're mine) are the beautiful photographs of the equipment and machinery. Some of these things don't look like they belong of this temporal world. Rather, they look as if they should be in a Dr. Seuss book or in the movie Metropolis. I submit for your approval:



Where do those tubes go, I wonder? Willy Wonka's Shipbuilding Factory?



Anyone up for a game of pool?





It's reminiscent of Dr. Doolittle's snail, no?



Hooooooonk! It calls to mind an ungainly instrument.



I wish this was my playhouse.

Come by the library anytime to check out Cramp's Shipyard and drool over the wonderous machines.

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & functioning commenting.

Hydraulic Dredging

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five (it lacks an rss feed & commenting):

(by Mariah Robertson, Archivist)
Patent no. 318,859 was designed by Alphonzo B. Bowers and patented in 1885 via the United States Patent Office. Bowers was originally from Maine and moved to the San Francisco area in 1853 and began to design machinery engineered to advance the development of the Bay Area just after the Gold Rush. Nearly 85 years after his passing, the Alphonzo B. Bowers Papers were donated to the Historic Documents Department and have been processed and are open for researcher use.

A very interesting aspect of this collection is it seems to be an accepted fact that Von Schmidt was the inventor of the hydraulic dredge. But according to the court documents contained in the collection, in 1888, Bowers sued Colonel A.W. Von Schmidt for infringement and won. This suit was the basis for many future lawsuits regarding infringement of his patents. Some of the companies sued were Williams & Bixler, the Golden State and Miners' Iron Works, the San Francisco Bridge Company, the Pacific Coast Dredging and Reclamation Company (San Francisco), L.W. Bates of Chicago, and the New York Dredging Company. An 1897 appeal case ruling declared Bowers to be the inventor of the hydraulic system of dredging. He spent the rest of his life in litigation regarding infringement lawsuits in the United States, Cuba, and other countries.

What time is it?

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five (it lacks rss feeds & commenting):

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:


What time is it where you are? How many bells?

What d'ya mean by "Donkey's Breakfast?"

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)

--Mirrored from Full Fathom Five due to its lack of rss feed & commenting.

Digging for Gold at the Library: Shipshape

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feed & commenting:

(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’s scads 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 Shipshape shines. For example, the third most important thing to do as soon as you board (after finding your room and noting the time of breakfast) is to "fix the time of your bath" (177). Would you have had the forethought to do that on your own? No, of course not. The rest of your voyage would be spent sneaking in baths willy-nilly, haphazardly washing yourself in an unscheduled manner. It’s simply not decent.


Caption: Unfixed bath times result in chaos and anarchy.

Shipshape also gives the low down on the officers. "The captain is generally polite but a silent man" and "If you want liveliness, it will be bad luck, should you sit at the doctor’s table and not get it" (178) and "Your modern Steward is human, almost humane" (184).


Caption: This guy would beg to differ with that statement.

But the most intriguing part of Shipshape is the chapter dealing with deck games. In my last post, we discussed what to wear while playing quoits. Now, we finally learn what quoits is. Or at least you would have learned, but I’ve decided to cut the quoits description to focus instead on Bumble Puppy.


Caption: BUMBLE PUPPIES!

The name of the game is actually more thrilling than the game itself, which is basically tetherball on a ship. But if you are on a ship and are anxious to make friends, I recommend suggesting a friendly game of Bumble Puppy. Who could refuse such an offer?


Caption: Play Bumble Puppy with me! (photo credit Nixx Photography)

Ships on the Shore

For those of you reading the blog via your feeds, I wanted to call your attention to an addition to our blog roll, Ships on the Shore, a very interesting blog where Jamin Wells writes about shipwrecks--news, research, and the thoughts of one who studies them.

Thanks to Jamin for alerting me to Ships on the Shore!

Wind on Different Sides

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of commenting & rss feed:

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.

New in the SF Maritime NHP Library

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss feeds & commenting:

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)
  

Hal Roth Papers

Mirrored from Full Fathom Five, due to its lack of rss & commenting:

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, Margaret, aboard their yacht Whisper, and wrote 13 books and numerous articles regarding their journeys.

Roth's travels took him to many faraway locales, including French Polynesia, the Mediterranean, South America, Japan, and around Cape Horn. In 1971, he was awarded the Blue Water Medal from the Cruising Club of America for his circumnavigation of the Pacific Basin.

He was also an accomplished photographer who studied under Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. In addition to an extensive representation of maritime photography, the collection also includes beautiful images of California landscapes and San Francisco's Chinatown.

There are so many treasures waiting to be discovered!