New This Week:

3.33  ARTIFICIAL HORIZON.  Mid-1800’s marine navigational device used to simulate the earth’s horizon when the actual horizon was not visible.  This fine English example was made by the noted London instrument makers “Henry Hughes & Son,” as beautifully as extolled on the firm’s trade label in the lid.  This quality instrument consists of a pyramidal cover glazed on both sides.  The frame is blackened brass to prevent glare and the beveled optical glass panels are precisely set at 90 degrees to each other.  The cover fits snugly over the heavy cast iron tray with curved edges to contain the mercury.  To those ends a very stout metal bottle with pourable cap and threaded inner stopper is provided to contain and pour mercury in the tray.   Two pivoting boxwood arms hold the bottle in place.  The entire apparatus is neatly contained in its lovely hand-dove-tailed mahogany box with hinged lid, skeleton key lock and 2 hook and eye closures. Surprisingly this compact instrument weighs a hefty 10 pounds!  The device itself, as configured for use, measures 6 ¼ inches long by 3 ¾ inches wide and 4 1/8 inches high.  The box measures 7 ½ inches long by 6 inches wide and 5 inches deep, and is of exceptional quality as evidenced by  the slight wooden “skirt” around the base of the box.  Overall condition is nothing short of exceptional.  If this device was ever used, it was done in the most respectful manner. 1595  

When the ship’s navigator took a sighting with his sextant or octant he was measuring the angle between a heavenly body and the earth’s horizon.  With that information and the exact time the measurement was taken the ship’s location could be determined.  But what if the horizon was taken at night, or it was obscured by haze or fog?  An answer was the artificial horizon.  A few varieties were employed, including the use of a bubble level.  The most popular of these devices in the 18th and 19th centuries was the mercury horizon.  Instead of sighting the horizon, the navigator would take his reading of the heavenly body reflected from the surface of the mercury pool.  Since the surface of the mercury was level, (at least in theory) the reading was precise.  The problem was the constant movement of the ship made it difficult, if not impossible, to take a stable reading.

4.51  EXTREMEELY RARE MECHANICAL BANK.  Absolutely charming, 19th century savings bank boldly marked “JONAH AND THE WHALE” on both sides of the base in raised letters.  In whimsical fashion it depicts God with long hair and white beard in a flowing red cape standing in a small boat.  In his arms he holds the hapless effigy of Jonah in front of the waiting jaws of a huge whale.  Above Jonah’s head is a platform on which a coin may be placed.  When depressed, a spring -loaded lever at the end of the bank swiftly delivers the coin into the whale’s mouth!  Cleverly-designed, the whale’s agape mouth pivots up and down adding an uncanny realism to the action.  The entire bank is made of heavy cast iron.  The end opposite the lever is marked “BANK” in relief.  On the bottom of the bank is a locking trap door which allows access to the interior locked “safe.”  Amazingly, the original skeleton key for the lock is still present!  Important to the value of such banks is the originality of the surfaces.  This bank is in pristine original condition with fully 80% or more of the original paint still present.  The bottom of the bank is impressed “PAT JULY 15 1890.”  10 inches long, by 3 3/4 inches wide and 5 inches high.  Excellent original condition throughout with no damage or modifications.  The action of the bank is just as it was over 135 years ago!  4300

After a thorough research of comparable prices for similar banks, we have not found any bank of this quality or originality.  Other prices are as high as $12,500.  If you find an example in similar or better condition, we will match or better the price.

4.07  CHARMING SCRIMSHAW CROCHET NEEDLE.  A very delicate, precisely-carved knitting/crochet needle fabricated from the dense panbone of a sperm whale.  This expertly carved specimen features a diminutively-carved hand at the top holding a hammer!  The hammer is individually carved and actually moves freely within the grasping hand!  Below, the body of the needle is copiously decorated with carvings and embellishments.  Interestingly, as an indication of age and environment, one side is darkly incised while the reverse is nearly pure white.  6 ½ inches long.  Outstanding original condition in all respects.  WAS $795 NOW! 295

Not available or for sale in California.  Shipped from Massachusetts.

9.19   ALTIMETER/BAROMETER.   Very nice large 19th century gentleman's traveling weather barometer of English manufacture with the dual function of being an altimeter. This  larger than average portable instrument is in the form of an antique pocket watch with bow.  The silvered brass dial is hand-engraved.  It is calibrated from 25.5 to 31 inches of barometric pressure, divided down to 2/100ths of an inch.  It is marked "Compensated" and "Made in England"   The outer rim of the dial is marked in "FEET" from 0 to 5,000 divided down to amazing 20 foot increments!  To set and record a reading the rim revolves.  This is provided with pinpoint accuracy by the extremely fine steel indicator needle which is little more than a hair's width in diameter!  The solid brass case retains 95% of its lovely gilt finish This instrument is complete within its hinged wooden case with silk and satin-lining and Moroccan leather cover.  A small spring-loaded lever with brass button latch secures the case with a snap fit when closed.  3 ¼ inches in diameter and 1 ¼ inches thick.  The dial itself measures 2 ½ inches in diameter.  Fully functional and accurate.  Unusually fine original condition considering this is a working scientific instrument over 100 years old!  495

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

16.24  19th CENTURY GLOBE.  Authentic second half of the 1800's terrestrial globe of French manufacture.  The globe is signed in the South Pacific "G. THOMAS Éditeur =PARIS= 44, Rue N.-D.  (Fabrication Francaise)."  This 5 inch variety world globe was made in the traditional way with a plaster core overlaid by 12 chromolithographed paper gores.  The quality and detail for a globe of this size is really amazing.  The globe is supported on its original ebonized turned wooden stand with brass fittings.  11 ¾ inches tall by 6 inches in diameter on the base.  Outstanding original condition.  An absolute "gem" for desk, library or display shelf!  895

In the offerings of noted scientific instrument dealer "Tesseract," a similar 6 inch terrestrial globe, item 1, sold for $950 a quarter of a century ago from catalog 52, Spring of 1996.  (A dollar in 1996 was worth $1.78 today, or $1,691.00.  The price was about double back then what it is now, and this is 25 years older!).

"Thomas, G., Paris," is listed as a late 19th century publisher in Elly Dekker and Peter van Der Krogt's reference book "Globes From The Western World," 1991 Zwemmer, Philip Wilson Publishers, Ltd., London."  A nearly identical globe is featured on the cover of that book.

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.