New This Week:

5.24 /11.  19th CENTURY BOS’N PIPE.  Hard to find, actively sought after, original sailor’s boatswain’s pipe with its original macramé lanyard.  This handsome relic dates to the late 19th century, Spanish-American War period.  The large sterling silver pipe has a distinctive tapered reed indicative of its early manufacture.  It is stamped “STERLING” on the keel.  The lanyard is of impressive size measuring 32 ½ inches in length.  It is hand-woven of cotton and contains two fancy knots at the terminus of each loop.  The pipe is 5 3/8 inches long.  It produces a loud shrill tone when played.  Overall condition is excellent, showing good age.  Well preserved in all respects after more than 125 years!  389

7.47  SHIPCARVING REFERENCE BOOK.  M.V. Brewington, “Shipcarvers of North America,” 1962, Barre Publishing Co., Barre, Massachusetts.  164 pages exclusive of index.  Hard cloth over with original dust jacket in color.  Mr. Brewington, curator of the famous Peabody Museum, Massachusetts, authored several ground-breaking books on nautical topics.  This edition focuses on the rarely discussed topic of decorational ship carvings which adorned  18th and 19th century American sailing ships and the men skilled artisans who made them/.  The content ranges from the early colonial days of America into the 1900’s.  Topics include colonial carvings, independence, frigates and packets, the clipper ships and the end of the era.  It is complete with an extensive biography and a list of American ship carvers.  Profusely illustrated in black and white with period photos, original line drawings and sketches.  Truly a wealth of information on ship carvings.  On e of our all time favorites.  We consider it a “must have” for the serious nautical library.  59

10.03   U.S. NAVY DIVER’s PLAQUE.  Massive World War II era First Class Diver’s plaque of solid bronze mounted on a large sculpted walnut backing shield.  The plaque is faithfully cat in high-relief showing a classic U.S. Navy Mark V deep sea diving helmet flanked by stylized dolphins on both sides. The casting measures 11 ½ by 12 inches and its mounted shield I is 19 ½ inches high and 15 ¼ inches wide.  The entire presentation weighs an impressive 15 pounds!  Excellent original condition in all respects.  This plaque is a much than is typical, indicating it may have been displayed on the ship’s quarterdeck or in the officers’ wardroom.   895

This plaque came from the USS CHANTICLEER (ASR-7).  CHANTICLEER was launched in November 1942, going on to see combat service in World War II, Korea and  Vietnam.  In her long career she participated in several rescues and salvage operations under the most grueling conditions.

(See item 10.04)

21.08  CASED TELESCOPE.  Extra nice early 1900’s gentleman’s 3-draw telescope of French manufacture;.  This handsome, high quality optical instrument is all brass with the main tube covered in rich leather. The brasses retain their bright original lacquered surfaces and the leather covering is without flaw.  The high quality two-part achromatic lens in combination with the 4 internal lenses produces a clear, upright image of high magnification.  This telescope measures 8 7/8 inches long when compressed and a full 24 inches long when extended.  It is complete with BOTH lens caps.  The objective is a press-on cover marked “MADE IN FRANCE.”  The ocular cover is the pivoting type.  This pristine telescope is complete with its original cloth and stiff cardboard case with press-on cap measuring 9 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.  Overall condition is outstanding.  295

11.58 CARVED COCONUT.  Unique, mid-1800’s or earlier, sailor-carved coconut from the South Pacific.  This great example has precise meticulously-carved geometrical designs over its entire surface.   The absolutely exacting designs speak of an incredibly-skilled craftsman.  This type of “horn” was often used to carry black powder.  There is no evidence here to suggest that was its function.  More so, it was the work of a gifted sailor intended to impress.  5 by 4 inches.  Perfect original condition.  Worth much more!  396

13.88  MINT CHELSEA CLOCK.  An amazing find!  Offered here is an older large Chelsea ship’s bell clock in unused, factory mint condition -- still in its original presentation box!  This is an 8 ½ dial ship’s bell clock featuring a silvered brass dial with large Arabic numerals and a minute chapter ring swept by Breguet-style blued steel “moon” hands.  The dial is marked “CHELSEA SHIP’S BELL” between the two winding arbors and the Fast/Slow micrometer adjustment is at the 9 o’clock position.  It is complete with the silvered brass (not plastic) reflector ring encircling the dial.  The high quality 11 jewel movement is Chelsea’s finest quality all brass ship’s bell type with lever escapement made in America. The massive brass case is of the classic ship’s clock type with flared bezel, hinged on the right, opening and closing with a button latch on the left.   The case number XXXXXX* matches the movement number, dating the clock to the early 1990’s.  The case measures 10 1/8 inches in diameter on the bezel, 10 ½ inches wide on the mounting flange and is 4 inches deep.   This clock comes complete in its original box with felt-covered foam rubber padding measuring 12 ½ by 14 inches and 5 ½ inches thick.  The entire presentation weighs nearly 19 pounds!  Complete with original Chelsea-marked winding key. Price Request  

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

The Chelsea Company website offers a new 8 ½ inch ship’s bell clock for $5,250. The reflector ring is plastic.

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 placed on public display in Old Twon, San Diego. In late 2025 it found its next enduring home on the shores of the Great Lakes in Wisconsin.

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.