New This Week:

4.40   SCRIMSHAW SPOOL HOLDER.  Very unusual whaleman-made device used to display thimbles of thread in an elegant manner.  This scrimshaw sewing stand consists of three whalebone columns holding early wooden spools of thread.  The columns each have a flattened handle at the top for removal.  The entire body of the unit is beautifully-turned solid mahogany.  It consists of 2 tiers supported by elaborately-carved whalebone columns.  At the bottom are three equally well-carved bone “feet.”  This charming device was obviously made by the whaleman as a thoughtful present to his seamstress wife.  Emphasis on the ability to excel in sewing was paramount in the upbringing of young wives in the 1800’s, as evidenced by school girl ‘samplers’ and other examples of their knitting and sewing prowess.  5 1.2 by 3 ½ inches in diameter.  Condition is outstanding and original.  This is truly a unique example of scrimshaw which not only incorporates island products encountered on a voyage, but also alludes to the sailor’s need to recognize his wife’s sacrifices during a long whaling voyage.  A most representative piece of intimate scrimshaw from the mid-1800’s.  WAS $795 NOW ! 495

Literature:  Robert Ball, “Nautical Antiques,” 1994, Schiffer Publishing Co., Atglen, Pa.  This very item is pictured on page 98 with the caption “Fine scrimshaw thread holder for 6 or 9 spools of thread.  Made of a turned wood center post joining a circular top and base and supported by three turned whalebone posts with three whalebone pins to hold the spools.  Three egg-shaped feet.  Ca. mid-nineteenth century.  Height 5.”

8.78  BRIDGE BOX.  Authentic early 1900's ship's telescope box from the bridge wing of a British merchant steamer.  This high quality box was hand-made, quite likely by the ship's carpenter, with dove-tailed joints out of solid teak.  It has all brass hardware including 2 brass hinges, screws and a heavy brass hasp.  Indicative of its quality the top of the box is fitted with a very clever trough to catch rain leaking through the joint in the lid.  The interior is lined in green felt.  The box measures 24 ¾ inches wide, 8 ½ inches deep and 10 ¾ inches high.  Condition is excellent showing good age and ample use but no abuse.  As an added feature this offering comes with an antique padlock with two keys.   This is a rare relic, since most or its genre did not survive the salvage yards.  Excellent for a variety of innovative "re-purposed" uses!  379 

10.88  HARD HAT DIVER's PATCH.   Extremely rare, early 1900's cloth label bearing the trademark of the first and most famous deep sea diving helmet makers "SIEBE GORMAN & CO, LTD."  This cotton cloth patch depicts a 6 bolt helmet flanked by the words 'DIVER BRAND.'  It measures 2 by 2 ¾ inches and is in excellent condition.  A super scarce, beautifully preserved relic from the early days of hard hat diving.  95

5.22/13.09  U.S. LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE CLOCK.  Genuine, early 1900’s clock from an identified lighthouse!  This handsome little clock was made by the prestigious Chelsea Clock Company of Boston, Massachusetts and is marked “CHELSEA BOSTON” at the bottom of the silvered brass dial.  The dial is encircled by a minute chapter ring and is marked with bold Roman numerals swept by blued steel spade hands.  The Fast/Slow adjustment and the subsidiary seconds bit are below the XII.  The bit shows single seconds marked in increments of 10.  The clock retains its original silvered reflector ring covering the periphery of the dial.  The high quality jeweled movement is marked “BOSTON CLOCK CO. BOSTON U.S.A. with the serial number 278XX B*.  This is Chelsea’s innovative Boston movement which featured a miniaturized 7 jewel timekeeper with non-corrosive nickel plates.  It is mounted in its very heavy nickel-plated brass case with classic flared screw-on bezel containing its original wavy crystal glass and retaining wire.  The back of the case is stamped with the matching movement number “278XX.”*  The clock measures 5 5/8 inches in diameter and is 2 ½  inches deep.  Outstanding original condition keeping excellent time after more than 90 years.  Complete with original old “bat wing” Chelsea winding key. Price Request  

* For the privacy of the ultimate owner the complete serial number is being withheld. 

According to Andy Demeter in his groundbreaking reference book “Chelsea Clock Company, The First Hundred Years,“ 2001, Demeter Publications, Chelsea, Massachusetts, the Chelsea Company produced Boston Clock movements from about 1914 through 1930 and dated this clock to circa May 10, 1922.  But in his 2nd Edition Demeter indicates this exact clock, serial “278XXB,” was delivered to the U.S. Lighthouse Service on July 29, 1932.  We cannot account for the discrepancy in dates, but the 10 year timeframe is certainly consistent with the date of the Lighthouse Service and the lighthouse in which it served.

According to the party from whom we acquired this clock, it came from an old Bellingham, Washington estate.

Ships heading from Bellingham Bay through the Straits of Juan de Fuca passed Burrows Island, where strong eddies and rip tides made passage unpredictable.  In 1897 the Lighthouse Board noted that vessel traffic through the Strait was increasing.  In response to the need it requested $15,000 to build a light and fog signal on the south west point of Burrows Island -- a point of departure for vessels plying the strait.  Congress approved construction of the Burrows Island Lighthouse in 1903.  The shoreline of Burrows Island is primarily sheer steep rock.  Steep hills covered with evergreens and grass cover much of its interior. The light station was built on one of the few level spots on the island’s shoreline.  Work began in May 1905 and the wooden frame lighthouse was first lighted on April 1, 1906.  It had a white light with a red sector shown from a 4th order Freznel lens  The station originally included the combination light tower and fog signal building, the keeper's quarters, oil house, a boathouse and a derrick. 

Burrows Island Lighthouse was automated in 1972 when the final Coast Guard personnel left the station.  The boathouse and keeper's dwelling were boarded up and a fence erected.  In the early 1990's a modern optic replaced the Freznel lens in the lantern room.  Today the complex is still standing as an historical site.

During its service as the Burrows Island Lighthouse the keepers were:   James B. Hermann (1906),  Eugene M. Walters (1907),  Edward Pfaff (1907),  William J. Thomas (1907 – 1913),  Thomas J. Stitt (1913 – 1920),  William Dahlgren (1920 – at least 1921),  Daniel W. Clark (1924 – 1931),  Robert R. Bay (1931 – 1932),  John T. O’Rourke (1932 – 1943),  Richard Johnson (1960 – 1963),  Frank Showers (at least 1966),  David J. Grotting (1969 – 1972).

In 1789 Congress passed an Act creating the United States Lighthouse Establishment (USLHE) which was operated by the Department of the Treasury.  The Act also transferred ownership of all existing private American lighthouses to the U.S. government.  In 1852, the United States Lighthouse Board was created.   The Act dissolved the prior administration of lighthouses under the Treasury Department's Lighthouse Establishment.  The board consisted of six senior Naval officers governing 12 lighthouse districts, each having a Naval inspector who was charged with building lighthouses and maintaining their good working order.  The Lighthouse Board immediately set to installing state-of-the-art Freznel lenses in all newly-built lighthouses. The Board also oversaw the construction of the first lighthouses on the West Coast.  By the Civil War, all U.S. lighthouses had Freznel lenses.  In 1886, electricity was tested to illuminate the Statue of Liberty.  Thereafter the lighting of the statue was the Lighthouse Board's responsibility.  It remained such until 1902, when the "modern age in lighthouse illumination" began.   In 1900, the Lighthouse Board started converting lighthouses to electric service. 

In 1910, the Board was changed in favor of a civilian run "Lighthouse Service."  It is uncertain as to exactly when the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment became the U.S. Lighthouse Service.  Both terms for the agency appear to have been used interchangeably in the second half of the 19th century. 

In 1939 the U.S. Lighthouse Service itself was disbanded and merged with the U.S. Coast Guard.

17.27/18.98  OCEAN LINER BUNK LAMPS.  Exceptional matched pair of 1st Class Cabin bunk lamps retrieved from an English passenger liner during the Golden Age of liner travel. These classic Art Deco lamps are pleasingly cast in “tear drop” form in solid bronze!  The extremely heavy bodies house the thick ribbed Fresnel glass lenses which focused the light for the reader.  The tops and bottoms of the lamp bodies are vented to prevent overheating. Each is professionally wired for standard 110v American service. The old fashioned style toggle switches are brand new, UL approved, ready for hook-up.  These lamps will accommodate a 60W or smaller incandescent or similar size LED bulb. 7 ¾ inches high by 5 3/8 inches wide and 4 ¼ inches deep, weighing an amazing 6 1/2 pounds each!  Pristine original condition with an old high luster polish. Ready to use. Circa 1930. 595/pr

Contemporary lighting fixtures are very expensive, as anyone who has recently visited a high end hardware or lamp store can attest.  Here we have a genuine antique set of finest quality ship’s lamps about 80 years old, offered for far less than equivalent modern repros of inferior quality, which these days are typically made in China!  A lightweight “tinny” porch lamp was recently advertised in “Home and Garden” magazine for $295.  The lamps offered here are the real deal!

20.00/21.61  RARE TELESCOPE CANE.  Amazing, very early 1800’s English gentleman’s walking stick with the most unusual dual function of being a long distance telescope!  This ingenious device is all brass in its traditional black leather covering.  It has a large turned ivory knob and brass ferrule.  Both the knob and the ferrule are threaded.  Unscrewing them reveals a genuine, tapered single draw telescope of the “spyglass” type.  The draw on the ferrule end is engraved in fancy script with the makers “G. & W Proctor, London.”  The doublet objective lens measures 1 1/8 inches in diameter.  In combination with the classic 4 element lens system it provides a highly magnified upright image free of chromatic distortion.  The telescope itself measures 25 ½ inches long closed and 31 inches extended to infinity.  The lovely knob is 2 5/8 inches in diameter and 1 ½ inches tall.  It is connected to a threaded brass band ¼ inch thick and 1 ¼ inches in diameter.  Such a configuration, which required frequent opening and closing, is still in remarkable original condition.  The fittings are tight, sturdy and fully functional.   A true rarity, both as a telescope and a cane!  1095

George and William Proctor were listed as opticians in London from 1790 - 1830.  (Gloria Clifton, “Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550 – 1851,” 1995, The National Maritime Museum, Philip Wilson Publishers, London.)

AUTHENTIC LIGHTHOUSE. The ultimate! This was an exceptional opportunity to own a very historic relic of America’s rich maritime heritage embodied in the original lamp room from the famous Ballast Point Lighthouse, which served its sentinel duties in the channel of San Diego Bay from 1890 until 1960. This incredibly well-preserved piece of history was built according to specifications laid out by the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1885. A copy of the original specifications are included as are much printed references and photographs. Erected in 1890, the 5th Order lighthouse was a significant aid to navigation in conjunction with the Point Loma Lighthouse (1850) poised at the entrance to San Diego Bay. Ballast Point Light was situated further inside the massive bay on a point which jutted into the seaway which posed a hazard to shipping. 135 years old! SOLD

HISTORY

On October 2, 1888, recognizing the need for a harbor light in the increasingly congested channel of San Diego Bay, Congress authorized $25,000 for the construction of a lighthouse to be built on Ballast Point. Fashioned in the late Victorian style, the entire structure took 3 months to build beginning in March 1890. The light was first lit on August 1st. It was a sister of the lights at San Luis Obispo and Table Bluff, south of Humboldt Bay. All were wood framed structures with attached living quarters. The ironwork for the lantern was forged in San Francisco and carried south to San Diego by ship. The French firm of Sautter, Lemmonier, & Cie. manufactured the Freznel lens for the Ballast Point Light in 1886. The fixed 5th Order lens was visible for a distance of at least 11 miles.

When California was still part of Mexico the peninsula jutting into San Diego Bay was known as Punta del los Guijarros or “Pebble Point.” For centuries cobblestones washed down by the San Diego River had been deposited on the point. When California gained statehood in 1850 the point was renamed Middle Ground Shoal. As time went on and merchant traffic in the harbor increased, many sailing ships found it convenient to load or discharge the stones as ballast. The practice continued and eventually the name “Ballast Point” stuck.

Accompanying the Ballast Point lighthouse was a huge 2,000 pound fog bell in a wooden tower. In 1928 it was supplanted by a single tone electric diaphone horn.

The first keeper of the light was John M. Nilsson, assigned duty on July 15, 1890. The second was Henry Hall, who took the job on December 1, 1892. Perhaps the most famous keeper was Irish born David R. Splaine, a Civil War veteran and veteran lighthouse keeper, who assumed the post in 1894, having served at Point Conception, the Farallons and San Diego’s own Point Loma light from 1886-1889.

In 1913 the original old kerosene lamp was replaced with an acetylene burner. Acetylene gave way to electricity in 1928. In 1938 a filter was fitted inside the 5th Order Freznel lens giving the light a distinctive green hue for recognition. One of the last keepers of the light was Radford Franke who recalled receiving the order to “douse the light” upon the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

By early 1960 the light was deemed to be of no further service, so in June of that year the lantern room was removed to a salvage yard. The wooden tower and its brick and mortar foundation remained a couple of years later until they too were declared structurally unsafe and demolished. The bell tower continued to survive, mounted with a 375 mm high intensity lamp on its roof. However the value of maintaining any light on Ballast Point diminished with the installation of harbor entrance range lights. In the late 1960’s the bell and its tower were dismantled. The tower found its way to a private residence in Lakeside, California. The bell had a more circuitous later life. It was purchased from a San Diego area junk yard in 1969 for its scrap value of 5 cents per pound! The one ton bell remained on local private property until 1991, when it was put on loan to the San Diego Maritime Museum. In 1999 the bell was transported to the son of the original buyer, living in Colorado. Then in 2002, the bell finally found its way to the home of the owner’s granddaughter living in Vermont, where it rests to this day.

The story of the lantern’s later life is even more fascinating. The nation was just recovering from the Cuban Missile Crisis between JFK and Khrushchev, when in 1964 the Cuban government cut off the fresh water supply to the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay. By that time, an experimental desalinization plant had been in operation at Point Loma for 2 years. The Navy hastily ordered it to be disassembled and shipped through the Panama Canal to Cuba. A gentleman working as a crane operator during the process noted the shabby lantern room in a trash heap nearby. He inquired as to the fate of the relic and was told it was salvage. Asking if he could purchase it, the yard foreman told him he could “have it” if he would haul it away. With that, for the next 34 years the lantern room served as a gazebo in the backyard of the man’s residence in Bonita, California. It was purchased by the present owners in 1998, fully refurbished, and then placed on public display ever since. Now it is time for it to find its next new home. According to the crane operator who delivered the lamp room it weighs approximately 5 tons. It will require a crane and a flat bed truck for removal.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

F. Ross Holland, “The Old Point Loma Lighthouse,” 1978, Cabrillo Historical Association, San Diego, California

Jim Gibbs, “The Twilight of Lighthouses,” 1996, Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA.

Kin Fahlen and Karen Scanlon, “Lighthouse of San Diego,” 2008, Arcadia Publishing, San Francisco

Kraig Anderson, “Forgotten Ballast Point “Lighthouse” Seeks New Home,” article in “Lighthouse Digest,” East Machias, Maine, September – October 2011, Vol. XX, no. 5 pages 34 – 37.

“Mains’l Haul,” a periodic publication of the San Diego Maritime Association, Summer 1990, Vol. XXVI, No. 4, pp. 11-12.