Price: $3,500.00
Unbound. 53 snap shot images taken onboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. 3.25" x 3" mounted on slightly larger thick card with all edges of the mount gilt. All images are captioned on the verso. Tiny initials on verso of most cards ("G.B.H."?), penciled numbers on verso, small crack in one corner, ink drip on verso of one pictures, a little overall rubbing on the images, overall very good or better. A number of the subjects, seamen and officers, are identified in the captions.
The Enterprise was a barque-rigged screw sloop, launched in 1874, often used for survey duty, and in support of other ships of the fleet. These particular images were taken on her next-to-last cruise, sailing from Boston in 1888 for two years in the waters of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the east coast of Africa, and returning to New York in 1890. The images are casual, good humored, and vernacular, all but a very few feature life of shipboard - those mostly of other ships they encounter, showing sailors about their duties: bending on the main sail, calling the watch, sailing the captain's gig, in heavy seas, clearing fouled lines, heaving the lead, repairing sails, on lookout, distributing mail, mess call, stowing hammocks, using the sextant, examining a captured sea turtle, lounging on the deck on Sunday.
A pleasing, informative, and relatively early look at life at sea in a sailing ship.
Item #543841
