MARITIME ARTIFACTS
Working
the
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If it was one of the tools of the trade aboard a ship, it’s likely to be in the crosshairs of nautical collectors. Photos courtesy of Northeast Auctions (center column) and Eldred’s
By Douglas R. Kelly
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Photo courtesy of Eldred’s
f you’ve been on the bridge of any ocean-going vessel in the past 10 years, you’ve seen them: computer monitors, keyboards, and enough high-tech gadgets to keep an IT department busy around the clock. There may be a traditionallooking throttle control somewhere in that cluster of cutting-edge devices, but that’s about all that the bridges of today’s vessels share in common with those of just a few decades ago. “I’ll never forget going on a cruise with my wife, and during the trip, she arranged a visit for me with the captain,” says Eric Bakker of Antiques of the Sea in Sunset Beach, Calif. “I got up to the bridge, and it was totally devoid of any of the good stuff! No steering wheels or anything…. They just use a little joystick, and it’s all computerized. All of the good stuff is gone!” The “good stuff” looms large in the world of maritime antiques: telegraphs, ship’s bells, binnacles, logbooks, deadeyes, telescopes, sextants…. If it was a tool of the trade onboard a ship, odds are there’s a ready market for it in North America.
THE BIG STUFF Adrienne and Michael Culpepper have owned and operated Nautical Antiques & Tropical Decor in Galveston, Texas, for 12 years, and their customers tend to gravitate to larger ship-used items such as telegraphs (deckmounted throttle control stations) and binnacles Made by Chadburn’s of Liverpool and dating to the late 19th or early 20th century, this telegraph fetched $290 at Eldred’s in July 2011.
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Left: This 12-inch brass yacht binnacle with compass and two removable oil lanterns drew $950 at Northeast Auctions in 2011. Right: Even with a rear door panel missing, this binnacle (by Negus of New York in the late 19th or early 20th century) sold for $1,035.
(deck-mounted instrument stands). “People see the bigger items and they just have to have them,” says Michael. “Maybe it’s because they’ve seen only one in their entire life. “We move the big instruments pretty well,” he adds. “But I’ll tell you, they have gotten more expensive lately…. Our cost has gone up drastically, especially with the old brass telegraphs with bells. Binnacles are a little easier for us to find, but the telegraphs and the steering stations have really gone up in price.” Binnacles and telegraphs can be a challenge to display, given that they originally were bolted to the deck of a ship. Buyers therefore generally will have a base (larger than the footprint of the telegraph or binnacle) made out of mahogany or teak, and they’ll bolt the unit to the base. This stabilizes the unit while saving wear and tear on the buyer’s floor. In some regions, on the
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other hand, telegraphs and binnacles are experiencing a downturn in interest, with the sputtering economy at least partly to blame. “These larger decorative pieces have cooled off to an extent,” states Bill Bourne, assistant vice president at Eldred’s, an auction house in East Dennis, Mass. “Years ago, you had restaurants that would buy binnacles and place them in the front entryway. There was more ‘participation,’ and there was more interest at that point in time.” Joe Elder, co-owner with his wife, Alison, of Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery in Portsmouth, Va., has experienced a similar slowdown. “When we first went into this business, larger binnacles and telegraphs and steering stations were very popular,” Elder says. “But they have really fallen off. I think it’s because they’re on the more expensive side, usually in the $2,000–$5,000 range. Since 2007, they’re just sitting.” Douglas R. Kelly is editor of Marine Technology magazine and a collector of pop culture antiques. His byline has appeared in such publications as Model Collector, Associations Now, Back Issue, and Buildings. 11
stands how those reproductions can fool people. They were “really good,” she says, “so a lot of people mistakenly believe they have a real [United States Navy] Mark V dive helmet. When people find out about it, they’re shellshocked. We actually had one [of the reproductions] a few weeks ago, and we sold it for around $225, whereas with a real one, you’re looking at This deadeye comes from the wreck of the whaling ship Wanderer, which sank in a storm off the New England coast in 1924. It sold for $230 at Eldred’s in 2011. (A deadeye is wooden block used in the rigging of sailing vessels; its three holes are designed to receive a shroud or “stay” so as to adjust tension in the rigging.)
Photos courtesy of Eldred’s
HELMETS AND BELLS Diving helmets represent an area of intense collector interest, with some examples changing hands for thousands of dollars. But as with any category that experiences a lot of activity, there are fakes and reproductions out there. A number of diving helmets “were reproduced back in the 1980s and ’90s, and a lot of people got tricked by them,” says Michael Culpepper. “In fact, in the early 1980s, somebody [a dealer within the marketplace] had a bunch of dive helmets made in Taiwan, and they all had the same date on the marker.” Adrienne Culpepper under
This logbook came from the Massachusetts whaling ship York and detailed a Pacific Ocean voyage during the 1840s. It sold for $34,500 at the July 2011 Eldred’s sale.
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Photo courtesy of Skinner Inc.
Photo courtesy Daniel L’Hommedieu.
Left: Ship-used communications devices like this World War II-era United States Navy telephone can be rewired to work with today’s phone systems. Right: A bidder at Skinner Inc. spent $11,260 to acquire this brass 8½-inch double-frame bridge sextant made by Ramsden of London. Dated “1800,” it features an ebony handle and came with a fitted birch box.
$6,000 minimum.” So what can a careful buyer look for to determine whether a helmet is the real thing? “The easiest way to tell a repro with dive helmets is weight,” offers Adrienne. “A real one will weigh about 65 pounds, while fakes weigh 35 to 40 pounds. If you reach over to pick it up and it’s a breeze, it’s a fake.” Ship’s bells have also seen their share of repros and fakes. And it’s not always new bells that trap the unwary, says Elder. “Anyone can have a name engraved on an old bell and make it look like it came off of an early ship when it may not have,” Elder says. So if you see a name on an old bell, he adds, remember that they didn’t necessarily “start off in life together.” There are clues to look for when examining a ship’s bell, and Michael Culpepper says those clues can be found both on top and underneath. “You want to make sure the letters are actually cast into the bell, rather than tacked on with a brazing tool,” says Michael. “But even then, you should look under the bell…. That clanger is going to hit in certain spots on the inner surface. If it was actually in use [for many years], there are going to be worn spots around there.” Another clue that a bell is a reproduction, Michael adds, is the presence of “little pieces of brass sticking out, sometimes called flashing…. Over the years, the surfaces of that bell would have gotten very worn. Still another clue, he adds: look for marks. With an authentic piece, the maker would “buff out extra material, going over it and over it as they go down in the level of grit used,” Michael says. “But makers of repro pieces generally don’t want to take the time to do that, so they just hit it with a hard grinder. So you can look for those grind marks and pick up on it pretty quick.” January 2012
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S group of 17 rare silk trade banner sold for $125,35 s Auctioneers in an 0 at James D. Julia painted silk bannerAugust sale. The handto illustrate various s were originally used blacksmiths, shipbu trade groups (including and butchers) that ilders, printers, masons, were represe nted Maine Mechanics Charitable Associa by the the late 18th century tion in eye-catching Folk . Each banner features Art depictions on and a printed stateme one nt on the reverse side . c
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erious autograph collectors love finding celebrity-signe most are authentic.d checks, trusting that turned up at FreemaAn interesting example n’s in Philadelphia August: a check drawn in on London’s Nationa Westminster Bank l in directors of MacLen 1976 and signed by two as in Paul McCar Music. That’s MacLen tney and John Lennon whose signatures , appear in blue and ink, respectively. The Beatles broke black 1970, but remain up in ed partners. The signedMacLen business check sold for $10,000 .
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TRENDING UP? If there’s one maritime subcategory that has solid potential for growth, Joe Elder believes it would be ship’s clocks. “You can get some really good Chelsea clocks,” Elder says, “but you have to be careful and make sure the numbers match up, and that the casing and the works match up. I think a Chelsea clock is a great investment. You can buy some really nice clocks for not a lot of money.” Michael Culpepper agrees. “I think wind-up ships’ chronometers are an area where, if you get a really good one, they can appreciate in value pretty quickly, especially if you get a Western example, like German chronometers, or old English and American ones, made and used anywhere from the 1940s to the 1960s. If you hang onto one of those for 20 years, it’s a good one investment-wise.”
Photo courtesy of James D. Julia Auctioneers
The antique ship’s clock above, made by Chelsea in Boston c. 1911, brought $10,665 at Skinner Inc. in 2009, far exceeding the pre-sale estimate ($1,000–$1,500). It stands 17 inches tall and features a mahogany stand supporting a lacquered brass case.
aintings related to nautical topics can sell for a wide range of prices, making marine art an enticing area for both serious collectors and those on a budget. An August sale at Northeast Auctions in New Hampshire illustrates the range. On the high end was the auction’s highlight: an 1856 work called The Sloop “American Eagle” (pictured at right, top). Painted by James Bard (1815–1897), the 32 x 52-inch oil on canvas sold for $212,400, well above its pre-sale estimate ($80,000–$120,000). The subject, the American Eagle, is “a part of Hudson River legend,” as the catalog notes. Built by John I. Woolsey, the vessel was thought to be the fastest sloop in Haverstraw Bay in the mid-19th century. At the time, Haverstraw boasted a thriving brickmaking industry, employing schooners and sloops to haul bricks up and down the river supplying the building trades, particularly New York City. A more affordable piece, American Ship Passing a Lighthouse, drew $3,775. Painted in 1841 by Clement Drew (1806–1889), the 14 x 20 oil on canvas (pictured at right, bottom) had a pre-sale estimate of $2,000–$3,000.
Photo courtesy of Freeman’s
Photo courtesy of Skinner Inc.
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This ship’s bell clock was made by Seth Thomas c. 1904, and was purported to be from the cruiser U.S.S. Charleston. It sold for $375 at Eldred’s in July 2011.
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