New This Week:

3.59    EARLY BOXED COMPASS.  Really exceptional, miniature 19th century American small craft compass made by the noted nautical instrument makers “R. MERRILL’S SONS, NEW YORK” as boldly signed around the center pivot.   This delightful presentation is virtually unique, in that we have never seen such a diminutive example in our 45+ years in the nautical antiques business.  The little antique compass has a beautifully stenciled dry card, reminiscent of its much larger cousins.  The classic compass rose is marked in points, with the Cardinal and Intercardinal points identified.  North is designated by an ornate fleur-de-lis.  Remarkably, the card is clearly divided down to ½ points of the compass.  Yet it is a mere 1 7/8 inches in diameter!   The compass card rides on a very high grade brass pivot with quality agate bearing.  This is a most unusual feature for a compass of this size.  The card is housed in its original weighted bowl suspended in brass gimbals in it s original dove-tailed pine box with sliding lid.  The box measures 4 1/8 inches square and 3 ½ inches tall.  The compass body itself is 2 1/8 inches in diameter.  Without a doubt this is the smallest  genuine sea-going compass of its type extant.  Totally original and in excellent working condition.  A real keeper!  649

3.60   CHIP LOG.  Offered here is a virtually non-existent example of a late 18th century or very early 1800’s log used to measure a sailing ship’s speed.  This “chip log” so named from the 1500’s when a wooden chip (log) was literally thrown over the side and its distance measured with a sand timer to determine the distance the ship travelled.  This later, more sophisticated form evolved in the 1700’s.  It consists of a triangular wooden board, with a lead weight attached to its curved edge.  Three holes are drilled in the surface to allow passage of sea water.  At the three corners of the triangle are hemp lines rove through with leather grommets and rose head knots, all done in very ‘marlinspike’ seaman manner.  The three lines terminate some 22 inches above in an eyelet seized with small stuff covered by a sewn leather sheath.  In practice, the log was thrown over the side and floated vertically owing to its lead weight.  As such, in theory, it retained its position in the seaway as the ship sailed on.  11 ¼ inches tall by 11 ¾ inches wide and 1 ¾ inches thick.  The painted pine surfaces retain their very desirable old ‘Colonial era’ green paint.  Excellent overall condition showing good actual use, but no abuse.  This is a RARE, early navigational relic from the age of sale of unusually large size!  Definitely a museum piece, very reasonably priced!   395

Peabody Museum curator M.V. Brewington in his monumental navigational instrument reference book, “The Peabody Museum Collection of Navigating Instruments,” 1963, Peabody Museum, Salem Massachusetts, lists 3 examples in the museum’s prestigious collection on page 83.  All three logs are nearly half the size of the example offered here.

From the Middle Ages, the earliest form of dead reckoning navigation incorporated the use of a chip log and timer.  The distance travelled by the ship was measured in “knots” tide in a line, the passage of which was timed by a sand glass.  By the early 1800’s this practice gave way to the taffrail log, invented by Edward Massey, which recorded the ship’s travel mechanically using a rotating “fish” connected to a geared counter.

5.74/13.32  EARLY U.S.N. BOAT CLOCK.  Very sought after warship’s clock made by the venerable Seth Thomas Company of Thomaston, Connecticut for the United States Navy.  This high grade relic from the “Great War” era has a blackened brass dial with bold silver Arabic numbers.  It has a minute chapter ring swept by spade hands with silvered tips.   It is marked “U.S. NAVY BOAT CLOCK” below the center arbor and just above the winding arbor.  The subsidiary seconds bit is below the 12 showing single seconds marked by 10’s.  The Fast/Slow adjustment is above the 12.  The dial is encircled by its original silvered brass reflector ring.  The classic flared marine clock case is made of heavy brass with a screw-on bezel.  This is Seth Thomas’ model No. 112 with all brass, 7 jewel movement, Breguet type hair spring and compensated balance.  The serial number is stamped on the middle plate 174** and the back plate is engraved “Seth Thomas, Thomaston , Conn.”  The back of the clock case is stamped “924.”  4 ¾ inches in diameter and 2 1/8 inches deep.  Outstanding original cosmetic condition in a bright brass finish.  This clock has just been thoroughly serviced by a professional watch and clock expert and is an excellent timekeeper.  Complete with period winding key.   849

According to Marvin Whitney, author of “Military Timepieces,” 1992, AWI Press on page 415, Seth Thomas began manufacturing its No. 112 Boat Clock shortly after World War I.  An example with serial number 35147 is depicted as dating “Ca. 1924,” fully 17,500 production numbers later than the example offered here.

* For the privacy of the buyer this serial number is being withheld.

7.26/13.31  CHELSEA OVERHAUL MANUAUL.  Official publication entitled “Manual For Overhaul, Repair and Handling of U.S.N. Mechanical, Boat and Deck Cocks CHELSEA TYPE With Parts Catalog, Bureau of Ships, Navy Department, April 1953.”  This glossy soft cover  book contains 101 pages, fully illustrated with excellent line drawings and detailed parts lists accompanying exploded views of the various models.  The Table of Contents lists:  “Section I- Introduction, Section II-Description, Section III-Disassembly Procedure, Section III-A- Escapement Disassembly, Section IV-Inspection, Repair and Cleaning, Section IV-A Escapement Operations, Section V-Reassembly Procedure, Section VI – Test, Adjustment and Final Inspection, Section VII-Maintenance Parts Catalog, Section VIII-Special Service Tools and Testing Devices.”  Excellent condition.   All there is to know about Chelsea marine clocks. 49

9.34  CASED SURVEYOR’s COMPASS.   Late 19th century precision surveyor’s pocket compass of French manufacture, made for the Western market.  This high quality pocket instrument is all brass made in two tiers.  The bottom is a silvered brass compass rose with the Cardinal and Intercardinal points identified.  In tiny letters below the “W” it is signed “Made In France.”  The second tier has a surrounding silvered ring calibrated in single degrees marked by 10’s, 0 – 360.  The high quality double-ended compass needle is supported on a brass bearing with an agate pivot.  A caging device operated by a small button on the side between “E” and “SE” locks the needle in place during transport.  The surround of the compass body is scored in sectors coinciding with the major compass points within.  The two sight vanes align along the North/South axis.  The peep vain is above the “S” with the hair line vane above “N”.  Together they will sight and take a compass bearing of a distant object using the caging device to set the compass needle when sighted.  The vanes fold into a positive position for use and neatly fold down when secured.  Remarkably, this instrument comes complete in its original wooden carrying case with leather covering and velvet interior.  It is hinged and secured with 2 early-style hook and eye closures.  The compass measures 3 ¼ inches in diameter and is 3 inches tall overall with the vanes extended.  The carrying case is 3 7/8 inches in diameter and 1 1/8 inches thick.  Amazingly well-preserved showing good age and careful use.  The compass is lively, accurate and the caging function works properly.  A fine 1800’s scientific instrument at a guaranteed to sell low price.  349

9.21 MARCHING COMPASS. Very high quality pocket compass made for the American Corps of Engineers for World War I. According to Kronelia Takacs in her monumental reference work “Compass Chronicles,” 2010 Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, pages 73 - 74, a number of British firms manufactured military compasses in WWI. The most widely used was the Verner’s Pattern prismatic compass, Mark VI, made as early as 1905. The dial has 2 scales. The inner area is graduated every 5o, numbered every 20o. The numbers on the outer edge are reversed to be read through the prism and they start form South towards West. The edge of the dial is marked every 1o. North is indicated by a prominent arrow running from the center. The high quality pivot is jeweled. This all brass compass has a hinged lid with glazed port and line of sight. When the lid is opened a clever prong engages the compass’ caging device freeing the card. The pivoting prism can then be move into position to sight the target through the glazed lid while simultaneously reading the compass bearing! The surroundings sides of this complicated device is marked in 5o increments numbered by 10’s 0 through 34 and in ½ points of the compass rose with the cardinal, intercardinal and subcardinal points of the compass identified. The top face of the compass body is marked “ENGINEER CORPS U.S.” The bottom is backed with a rubber insulator and is marked “C.E. (Corps of Engineers) 1918” with the serial number. The top has a pivoting brass suspension loop. This precision instrument comes in its original leather carrying case with closure. The case has a belt loop for attachment. The compass body is 2 ¼ inches in diameter. The case measures 3 ¾ x 2 ½ x 1 ¼. Remarkable original condition. 249

AUTHENTIC LIGHTHOUSE. This is the ultimate! Here is 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. 13 feet 10 inches high with a maximum width of 8 feet 8 inches. Weight approximately 5 tons. It will require a crane and a flat bed truck for transport. 129 years old! Price Request

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.