New This Week:

3.74  EXCELLENT EARLY ENGLISH BOX SEXTANT.   First half of the 19th century pocket sextant, also known as a “lifeboat sextant” or “box sextant.”   The instrument is engraved in lovely cursive script ”Adie, London  “  just above the scale. This splendid example of the scientific instrument maker’s art has an inlaid silver scale precisely divided in single degrees from -5 to 160 sub-divided in 30 arc minute increments.  This effectively makes it a rare “quintant.”  The pivoting index arm with silver vernier reads right to left from 0 – 30, calibrated to provide a reading with an accuracy of 1 arc minute -- incredibly accurate for such a small instrument!  The entire body is made of the highest grade nickel brass, also known as “German silver.”  It has a large knurled knob operating the index arm.  A smaller knurled knob is attached for adjustment of the internal index mirror.  The outer case of the sextant is fitted with a sliding clover which provides a peep sight and accommodates the fine 2-draw telescope to be inserted with a press fit when opened.  It also allows for the 2 pivoting sun filers to flip into position.  The sextant has a knurled perimeter opposite the viewer’s side.  The separate threaded cover screws on to it, providing a clever “handle” for taking observations.  When reversed it seals the instrument from the elements at sea.  On the cover are hand-engraved extrapolation tables for sightings from 45 to 84 degrees.  Outstanding original condition in all respects.  The sextant measures 3 1/8 inches in diameter and 1 2/4 inches thick when closed.  Very highest quality!  695

Patrick Adie was a well-respected English mathematical and philosophical instrument maker beginning in 1845 until 1868 at 395 Strand, London.  He was the son of the most distinguished early 1800’s Scottish scientific maker Alexander Adie.  (Gloria Clifton, “Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550 – 1851,” 1995, The National maritime Museum, Greenwich, Phillip Wilson Publishers, Ltd. London).

A NOTE OF CAUTION. Due to their populaity with collectors such sextants are now being reproduced in India. Made of brass, and often photo etched with a London maker's name, these instruments appear real to the unwarry buyer, looking for a bargain.

6.18  BRASS CANNON.    Unusually heavy, solid brass naval cannon on carriage.  This hand-made cannon was milled and turned out of solid block of pure brass!  The cannon lays in its cradle and is removable.  The touch hole goes through to the bore of 5/8 inch.  The two front wheels on the carriage revolve.  The entire presentation measures 8 ¼ inches in length overall and weighs an amazing 9 pounds!  The barrel is 7 ¼ inches long.  The carriage is 3 ¾ inches wide and stands 3 ½ inches tall.  An impressive piece of machinery!  550

11.92  SHIP IN BOTTLE DIORAMA.  Truly delightful ship in a bottle presentation depicting a large 3-masted bark sailing under full sail, passing a towering lighthouse and the departing pilot schooner.  This large, imposing ship flies a total of 19 billowy sails. The hull and deck detail are exceptional for a model of this type. The raised focsc’l has a capstan and starboard running light.  The name board reads “MAYME.”  The main deck has 2 deck houses.  Both the raised focs’le and poop dick have life lines.  The poop has a skylight/steering gear box, partially covered by the spanker sail.  The hull is a lovely powder blue and the boot topping is classic red lead.  MAYME was undoubtedly a typical iron-hulled ship from the 1880’s.  In the foreground, the lighthouse is poised on a cluster of  treacherous, craggy rocks awash with white capped seas.  The jaunty little pilot boat displays the identification “F 2” on its mains’l.  The entire presentation is encapsulated for eternity in its very clear glass 3-sided pinch bottle with cork closure and sealing wax on the neck.  Two of the three sides are painted on the interior -- the back in deep blue with clouds, and the base with an undulating sea.  The bottle measures 8 ¼ inches long and 4 ½ inches wide on each of its triangular sides.  Condition is nothing short of spectacular.  Beautifully-preserved.  795

This remarkable example of a late 1800’s ship in a bottle may not be the largest or most complex of its kind.  But, in a charming way, it represents the epitome of this form of sailor folk art which engenders a realistic drama at sea rather than just a static model ship.

This example is the third of such S.I.B. we have encountered in our 45+ year tenure in the nautical antiques business.  The first, purchased in 1979, came from the son of the owner who received it as a gift from Walt Disney.  The second was found in an antique shop in Santa Barbara, California in the 1990’s at a price of $995.

12.47  SAILOR’s VALENTINE.  An exceptional example of an authentic 19th century shellwork “valentine” purchased by a sailor as a memento of his port visit to the Caribbean island of Barbados in the second half of the 1800’s. This remarkable example consists of two octagonal flats hinged together in what is known as a “diptych” presentation.  Each flat contains literally hundreds of meticulously-placed sea shells which provide a very pleasing geometric display.  The left side depicts a sentimental “heart” encircled by 3 layers of concentric shells in a contrasting colorful array.  5 pink shell clusters form rosettes within the circumference.  The right panel features a large pink rosette in the center within a diamond encircled by three complex rings of intricate shell patterns.  Again, there are 4 pink shell rosettes complimenting the center display.  These shellwork panels are housed in their traditional Spanish Cedar cases, beautifully constructed exhibiting expert carpentry using decoratively-molded stays which secure the original old wavy glass.   Each flat is 9 1/8 inches across. It measures a total of 18 1 /18 inches wide overall.  When closed the presentation is 2 5/8 inches thick.  A brass hook and eye on the left assures a solid closure when closed.  Examples of this quality and pristine condition rarely come on the market.  They really don’t come much nicer!  Guaranteed to be the best original of its type available anywhere!  A true classic!  2800

12.18  EARLY LUSTERWARE MUG.  Delightful early 1800’s earthenware mug with  endearing nautical scenes.  This hard-fired mug depicts both classic nautical scenes, “THE SAILOR’S FAREWELL” and “THE SAILOR’S RETURN!”   The stenciled images on opposite sides are enhanced with the distinctive hand-applied bright pink luster. Two charming poems relate.  First is the sailor’s departure: “Far from Home Across the Sea / To Foreign Climes I go, While far away think on me / And I will remember you.”  Then the obverse depicts his joyous homecoming: “Now safe, returned from dangers past / With joy upon the shore, May no more the tempests blast / Nor oceans angry roar.”  This desirable mug is in excellent original condition with no damage.  It measures 4 ¼ inches wide on the base, 5 ½ inches with the handle and stands 4 inches tall.  Circa 1843.  Rare in this condition, over 180 years old!  295

Literature:  Capt. P.D. Gordon Pugh, O.B.E., Royal Navy, “Naval Ceramics” 1971, The Ceramic Book Company, Newport, England. Plate 92 “Mug inscribed with the Sailor’s Farewell… Purple-Lustered Earthenware, Sunderland, c. 1843.

12.95  LARGE NET SHUTTLE.  Authentic late 19th century net making tool. This unusually large example is bound with several fathoms of heavy cotton line.  The shuttle is meticulously hand-carved of oak.  Due to being wound with the cordage only the tip and the tail are visible along with both sides of the tool.  Owing to the heft of the line and the size of the shuttle, it is safe to assume it was used in the salt water fishery.  Amazing original condition.  This is a humble working relic, beautifully preserved, from a time gone by. Certainly a museum piece in the fishing-related industry.  95   

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.