Category Archives: Boats and Ships

Extrait de Viande de la Cie Liebig Trade Card

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Trade card in french, circa 1927.

Price:  $5.00             Size:  About 4 and 1/4 x 2 and 3/4″

Les Navires À Voiles À Travers Les Âges – Sailing Ships Through The Ages

This was one of a ship series for (and perhaps by) the Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company. Glorious colors in this one. The back is talking about Antoine Flettner having invented a more efficient way of propelling ships, using rotating metal cylinders.

Regarding the date for this trade card – we’re going with the circa 1927 date, as that year is showing up on at least two other websites for the same card, and of course, we know it would have to be after Flettner’s invention, stated on the reverse as 1924/25.

Sources:  Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebig%27s_Extract_of_Meat_Company (accessed October 10, 2024).

Anton Flettner, German Inventor. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anton-Flettner (accessed October 10, 2024).

S.S. Vesterlide, 1917

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Old photo, white border. Circa March, 1917, Portland, Oregon.

Price:  $100.00           Size:  5 and 1/2 x 3 and 3/16″ 

A short-lived career….

This is a rare photo of the S.S. Vesterlide. At the time of this post, we’re not finding any others online. And, as it turned out, there was a very small window of time for photo ops, though, to be fair, her construction was pretty high-profile, so we wonder if more photos might have survived. Launched March 31, 1917, Vesterlide’s name was changed to War Baron shortly afterward. Then on May 1st, 1918, War Baron was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.

Many articles appear in newspaper accounts, along with photos. We’ll let them tell most of the story…..

The ship’s name, Vesterlide, translates as Westerner in Norwegian. Originally commissioned by a Norwegian firm, she was the first steel steamer to be built in Portland, Oregon – a momentous event for the city’s steel industry, and a source of pride for Portland. Throngs were on hand. Mayor Albee had declared it a “half-holiday,” people were up on rooftops and boys had climbed telephone poles. The launching took place at the Northwest Steel Company’s yards, and the spectators yelled their appreciation as the ship was sent gracefully into the Willamette River.

Below, March 31, 1917, Miss Marian Virginia Bowles, daughter of J. R. Bowles, president of Northwest Steel Co., gets ready to break the champagne bottle over Vesterling’s prow:

A photo montage from The Sunday Oregonian:

Looking down the ship launch path. Vesterlide entering the water:

But shockingly, a couple of the hawsers, the thick ropes helping to keep the 8,800 ton ship in check, failed – and Vesterlide was sent diagonally across the river, striking the sternwheeler, Ruth, in her mid-section. The collision:

More details…..From The Sunday Oregonian:

Surprisingly, the riverboat Ruth was raised and able to be completely restored. An official investigation found her officers not at fault. 

Vesterlide renamed War Baron – Spring of 1917

SS War Baron 

The exact date of rechristening, from Vesterlide to War Baron, is unclear. An article in The Oregonian, dated April 10th, mentions the new name, and by another report, in the same paper, dated May 12th, the steamer was getting her finishing work completed at the Willamette Iron & Steel Works.

Below, a nice photo with text that appeared in The Sunday Oregonian, July 8, 1917:

A good showing…..and what seems like a foretelling of fate:

War Baron was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U55 on May 1, 1918; Atlantic Ocean, eight miles northeast from Godrevy Lighthouse, St. Ives Bay, Cornwall, UK. Two lives were lost.

Sources:  “Steel Ship To Dip.” The Morning Oregonian. March 28, 1917. Wednesday, p. 18. (Newspapers.com).

“First Steel Craft Built In Portland Yards Is Launched.” The Oregon Daily Journal. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

“Big Cunarder Is Launched In City.” The Sunday Oregonian. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“Lines Fail to Check Big Vessel; Steamer Ruth Sinks Quickly.” The Oregon Daily Journal. March 31, 1917. Saturday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Versterlide Sinks Ruth; 3 Injured.” The Sunday Oregonian. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 40. (Newspapers.com).

“First Steel Craft Is Launched. Vesterlide Hits River Boat.” The Oregon Daily Journal. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Raising Of Sunken Steamer Ruth Will Be Started At Once.”  The Oregon Daily Journal. April 2, 1917. Monday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

“War Baron Is Title.” The Oregonian. April 10, 1917. Tuesday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“Cunard Crew Here.” The Oregonian. May 12, 1917. Saturday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“British Steamer War Baron.” The Sunday Oregonian. July 8, 1917. Sunday, p. 24. (Newspapers.com).

“Cunarder Exceeds Rating At Trial.” The Tacoma Daily Ledger. July 17, 1917. Tuesday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Torpedoing of War Baron Is Told In Letter.” The Oregon Daily Journal. April 2, 1917. Monday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

SS War Baron. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_War_Baron (accessed August 19, 2024).

Tennent, A. J. British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-Boats in World War I. (1990) Periscope Publishing, Ltd. Google.com books.

RPPC of Pier 7, Alakea Wharf, Honolulu, Hawaii

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Real Photo Postcard, unused. AKO stamp box. Circa 1924 – 1930. Photo image circa late 1910s.

Price:  $15.00   (As is – note the pieces of the postcard missing from the left corner and bottom border.)

Two steamers (names unknown) flank Honolulu’s Pier 7 and a portion of a third is visible on our left.

A few thoughts…..

I keep thinking someone should write a book about the history of this particular wharf, or maybe better yet, about all of the Honolulu wharves. (Alas, that can’t be me.) It’s just that in researching old newspaper accounts and searching Google books, etc., I’m hit with that poignant feeling of something having been forgotten. So much to re-learn so-to-speak….thinking of how Hawaii was such a crossroads, a stopover for ships from all over the world…..Mention of the wharf shows up in thousands of articles, too many to delve into, but we’ll include some of them here that will tell part of the story. (And I don’t know how you’ll feel, but I’d like to time-travel back to that masquerade ball in 1910).

About our postcard:

The photo used for this card was definitely taken earlier than 1924:  Another RPPC was found online of the same view that was postmarked 1921. That particular postcard had been mislabeled as the subject of a New York City pier. (Correction submitted August 2024.) It really goes to show how crucial it is to always look at the details, because when you click to enlarge the image, you’ll see the wording “Alakea Wharf” spelled out just a little below “Pier 7″……and Alakea Wharf was located in Honolulu, Hawaii:

Our postcard date estimate comes from the excellent Playle’s website, which identifies this particular AZO stamp box, (on the reverse) with its squares in each corner, as being from 1924 – 1949, however it’s probable that the card was produced in the 1920s. But, getting back to when the actual photo for the card was taken – I’d say mid-to-late 1910s, due to the look of the clothing styles. The car in the photo would be the best reference but it’s proving difficult to get a model and year for it since a crop of the vehicle is not very clear.

A little history from newspapers and books. Backtracking to 1893 – Alakea Street and the Pacific Mail Wharf:

Summer of 1907, Alakea Street Wharf completed

Alakea Wharf was named after its location, Alakea Street, which runs perpendicular to the waterfront. (It’s unclear whether it actually intersected.) From what we surmise from the article above, the Alakea Wharf appears to have replaced the Pacific Mail Wharf. Bidding for the new pier’s construction started in April 1906 and the work was completed around June or July of 1907:

Exterior and interior photo of the newly constructed wharf building, 1907 – from Governor Carter’s report for the fiscal year ending June 1907 (printed 1907). Note the lack of  “Pier 7” signage:

Below, February 1910, when the Elks Club put on their carnival and masquerade ball:

September 1910, Prince Tsai Hsun arrives in Honolulu: 

Heavy security at Alakea Wharf. Below, a couple of clips from a long account. The “knothole” referred to the press’ restrictions in attending a meeting that took place on board ship with officials and dignitaries.  

August, 1912. Friction starts a fire:

November 1912, discharged cargo holding up ships:

Name change – Alakea Street Wharf becomes Pier 7 in 1914:

On January 6, 1914, the Board of Harbor Commissioners unanimously voted that each of the nineteen Honolulu wharves should be called by a number. (There were twenty if you count Piers 5 and 5a as two separate entities.) See Maritime Hawai’i’s web post in sources.

Opium tins and an elusive diamond ring in, “Placer Mining in Honolulu.” Below, a portion of the January 1921 write-up:

March, 1922. During Prohibition, drinkers on board ship were toasting those below stuck in “dry-dock.”

Pier 7 today, 1988 – 2024

Today, the structure that was the Alakea Wharf/Pier 7 as it appeared in our postcard is no longer there. Pier 7 exists, but certainly, (as one would expect over a century later) not in the same capacity. When was the original building renovated or replaced? The answer would be in newspaper accounts, but the more recent decades in Newspapers.com are restricted due to copyright legalities. (Access to those years costs extra per month and are out of my price range.)

From 1988 – 2009, Pier 7 housed the Hawaii Maritime Center.

Falls of Clyde docked at Pier 7:

For some decades (start date not found) Pier 7 has been home to the historic vessel, Falls of Clyde. Built in 1878, she’s iron-hulled, four-masted full-rigged and is the last of her kind. She was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1989, but unfortunately had to be unregistered in 2024, due to condition issues. See the prior link (Wikipedia) and this 2023 KITV news article for her proposed fate.

Sources:  “Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes. A-B. https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php (accessed July 19, 2024).

“Honolulu’ New Dock.” Hawaii Herald. April 6, 1906. Thursday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Carter to Return In July.” Hawaii Herald. May 23, 1907. Thursday, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

“Late Wireless News.” Hawaii Herald. February 23, 1910. Wednesday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Alakea Wharf” and “Interior of Alakea Wharf Shed.” Report of the Governor of Hawaii to the Secretary of the Interior for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30 1907. Washington:  Government Printing Office. (1907). Google.com/books. 

“Prince Tsai Hsun Reaches America.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. September 14, 1910. Wednesday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Sulphurous Fumes Start A Stampede.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. August 28, 1912. Wednesday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

“Discharged Cargoes Choke All Honolulu Wharves And Make Proper Berthing Of Ships A Problem.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. November 15, 1912. Friday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“From Names to Numbers.” December 23, 2020. maritimehawaii.com. (Accessed August 1, 2024.)

“Captain Berger Will Have A Busy Week.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. January 10, 1914. Saturday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Placer Mining in Honolulu.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. January 28, 1921. Friday, p. 7. (Newspapers.com).

“Nothing to Brag About.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. March 12, 1922. Sunday, p. 48. (Newspapers.com).

Hawaii Maritime Center. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_Maritime_Center (accessed August 19, 2024).

Falls of Clyde (ship). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_Clyde_(ship) (accessed August 17, 2024).

Drewes, Paul. (2023, June 28). “State wants Falls of Clyde to go, to revitalize Honolulu Harbor pier.” Island News, kitv.com.

Old Photo of S.S. Northwestern

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Old photo, circa 1920s.

Price:  $25.00             Size:  About 5 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/4″

The S.S. Northwestern – a cargo and passenger ship running the Alaskan Coast

This one was found in a bin of loose photographs at a paper fair or antique store. No writing on the back and, at the time of looking through said bin, no potential relations stood out; none that would noticeably link themselves to this item, though they well could have been there. Knowing this, when singling out one photo to take home, there’s always that feeling of – possibly separating the poor individual from its home group. An integral portion of some family’s story is now being orphaned (sob!). Well no, not orphaned really, but adopted out. And then there’s always the flip side with its mysterious forces at play:  “One is better than none and if I don’t get this one, who will?”  In these situations, you can almost feel your purchase automatically opening a door (somewhere in the universe) with someone in the future finding the item (in delighted discovery), and relaying info to us such as, “My great-grandfather worked on that ship,” or “I have relatives that traveled up to [such-and-such] on this ship.” …..Back to the blank reverse, probably most of us have that tendency – to not take the time to put anything on the back. No judgement – it can definitely be tedious, and with all good intentions, often gets put off till “later.” And dealers (thousands of pieces passing through their hands) cannot realistically be expected to document where their acquisitions have come from. (Though once in great while you get lucky.) Fortunately, with this photo, we at least have the ship’s name which clearly shows. Here’s a crop, and I believe that’s a woman standing there – appearing for us just below the name and above the cargo in the netting. (Click to enlarge.) We’ll estimate the time-frame to be the 1920s, just due to the look of the clothing styles.

Source:  SS Northwestern. n.d.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Northwestern#/media/ File:S.S._Northwestern_moored_in_Seward,_Alaska.jpg (accessed July 16, 2024).

Merry Xmas From the Harms Family

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Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked December 23, 1921 from Sacramento, California. Publisher unknown. Series C-368.

Price:  $1.00

Greetings for Christmas

“I wish you a bright Christmas:

May gladness, like a sail,

Carry your ship through happy seas,

And joy and hope prevail.”

Addressed to:   “Mrs Ellison, 1314 F. St, Sacramento, Calif.”

The sender wrote:   “We wish you a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year. The Harms family.”

A one hundred and two year-old card this time, almost to the day, and it’s another from The Alice Ellison Collection. Nice calming sailboat scene, draped with holly and a peach-colored ribbon. Nice sentiments in the verse, too. (Ditto from Laurel Cottage to you all.)

Steamer White Horse on the Yukon River

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Old photo, white border. Circa 1901 – 1910’s.

Price:  $15.00            Size:  About 3 and 1/2 x 2 and 1/2″   

The sternwheeler White Horse pushing a load of lumber on the Yukon River….

Our photo above, as usual, was resized for the web and though you can enlarge the image (twice) the boat’s name (on the pilothouse) still won’t be readable. Below, a crop of the larger image size – here you may be able to make out what looks like “Horse” or “Morse.” Checking online, there were some possibilities under Morse but not being really convinced, I tried Horse and then thought of what might precede that word. This is the type where you can look at something fifteen times, give up, glance one last time and suddenly it seems to come into focus. (Maybe it’s intuition, I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s always most welcome!)

White Horse, later Whitehorse, was a sternwheel paddle steamer built in 1901 by the British Yukon Navigation Co. Her last trip on the river was made in 1955. See an excellent article on the Explore North website for details, including a timeline of some of her adventures and fate after retirement.

Below, an article from The Vancouver Sun, June 1916. In this neck of the woods it’s all about the ice:

Sources:  Lundberg, Murray. The Sternwheeler White Horse (later Whitehorse). https://explorenorth.com/library/ships/white_horse.html. (accessed August 13, 2023).

“Yukon River is Open Through to Dawson; Navigation Starts.”  The Vancouver Sun, June 5, 1916. Monday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

The Old Houseboat

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Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1907 – 1915.

Price:  $4.00

What confirms this structure’s status as a boat is the name at the stern – though very faint and indiscernible. And since the postcard’s image is so washed out, here’s a darker version:

So, unless someone is writing a book on old houseboats, I don’t see much monetary value here for this card. But we’ve had sales on items in the past – cover of a book on one, fashion example used inside another book, etc. – so, value is relative. Ha, it’s definitely true, sometimes I ask myself later, “Why did I buy this one?”  🙂 (No names, rather light…) Harkening back now to my mindset at the time, it was for the romantic notion of houseboats I’ve had since a child. (At least, I think this can be called a houseboat.) Woven in there somewhere is an antidote for a feeling – a lament, a long-running perception (that surfaces pointedly at times) that our present-day “expectation” is one of making everything ascetically acceptable (a nice lawn, nice-looking house, etc.) – an expectation that, in my opinion, often usurps the more important things in life – real friendship among neighbors, for instance….So it’s refreshing to travel back to the early 1900’s, to a time when a hand-built boat like this one would not automatically be viewed as an “eyesore” but rather, just simply for what it was.

The story from this captured moment….of course, we can speculate all day long, but my take….The houseboat belongs to the older gentlemen with the walking stick, having built it and lived on it for a time in his younger days. He’s got great anecdotes (that the rest of the family have heard a number of times – rolling eyes, 😉 ). He’s here to retrieve some items resting in storage, and he and the family have turned the trip into a nice outing and a photo op. (Note the three hats that have been removed and are laying on the ground in a pile.) Check out the expressions – the rather comical upwards glance of the lad toward the old man, the come-hither expression for the young lady (gorgeous lace collar), the straight-on pose for the woman (daughter or wife of the gentleman?), that air of history and ownership emanating from the old man, and never forgetting to mention, the family dog, happy to be out for the day with his “charges.”

Back to the boat – it’s quite long. I thought at first that the roofed portion on our left was from some building behind it, but no, that part is attached. Note the animal skins that lay draped over the top edge of the cabin (for keeping out the rain?). And the wooden or metal box attached to the cabin’s front wall, left of the doorway – the box meeting some type of practical purpose.

Port Said Entrée au Canal Old Postcard

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Divided Back, Used postcard. Postmarked November 11, 1913, Port Said, Egypt. Publisher:  The Cairo Postcard Trust. Series 306. Postally used stamp:  Postes Egyptiennes, Deux Milliemes, Green.

Price:  $15.00

Colored scene of Port Said, Egypt, entrance to the Suez Canal. Publisher or printer would have added the colors to this card which would have based upon a black and white photo.

Addressed to:   “Monsieur Foray, rue Pierre-Gay, Décines-Charpieu, Isère, France”.  The front is signed and dated by the sender. The signature (Springer?) is open to interpretation.

This card would be of interest to the Foray family. One possibility is Bernard Foray, who was married December 4, 1886 to Annette Vittoz in Décines-Charpieu.

Décines-Charpieu is located in Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France.  “Isère” in the address, was a little difficult to decipher, and then we wondered why it was included, but the question got sorted out by Wikipedia (in the History section):

“Décines left the department of Isère to join the department of Rhône in 1968, and became a member of the Communauté urbaine de Lyon in 1969. On 1 January 2015 Décines left the department of Rhône to join the Metropolis of Lyon.”

Sources:  Décines-Charpieu. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9cines-Charpieu (accessed May 28, 2022).

Archives départementales du Rhône; Lyon, France; Actes de naissance, de mariage et de décès. (Ancestry.com).

Old Spanish Bridge, Ocotlán, Jalisco, México

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Old photo, circa early 1900s. Printer/publisher stamp on back not readable.

Price:  $15.00             Size:  4 and 1/2 x 2 and 3/4″

A commercial-type tourist photo, the printer or publisher stamp (upside-down) is blurred but we can see that the first word is Laboratorios. The caption on the back reads:

“Lake freighters at Ocotlán, Jalisco, stone bridge in the background built by the Spaniards.”

Yes, the term “lake freighters” definitely seems out of place today. And, that’s the Santiago River, according to multiple websites showing shots of the same bridge….How nice, we can make out the name of the boat on our left, she was called Adelita. (Don’t you love when the light bulb comes on…..you’re staring at something that suddenly comes into focus?!)

The church in the distance is Señor de la Misercordia (Our Lord of Mercy). Originally, the site of the chapel La Purísima Concepción. The church was rebuilt and dedicated in the new name, after a documented occurrence – the Miracle of Ocotlán, (also called The Prodigy of Ocotlán, translation below). An image of Jesus Christ on the cross appeared in the sky October 3, 1847, to over 2,000 people. This was one day after the earthquake that killed over forty people and left much of Ocotlán in ruins. (Many websites say forty, however the eyewitness account from the town’s mayor says forty-six.)

In checking various websites regarding the miracle, I prefer one in Spanish (from Catholic.net), for content, but had trouble getting its English version, so here’s a quick copy and paste from Google translation:

Back to our photo:  Where is the rest of the church tower on our right? Had there been a problem with the film and it was edited out? No, it wasn’t that. (If anyone can fill us in on what was going on with this church tower for some years, please leave a comment!) Below, our photo, cropped and the 1932 one, in black and white, from a Google search and found appearing on Pinterest:

Last but not least, another crop, calling attention this time to the rather enormous wheels on the horse-drawn wagons:

Sources:  “Señor de la Misericordia de Ocotlán.” https://es.catholic.net/op/articulos/63499/cat/1241/senor-de-la-misericordia-de-ocotlan.html#modal (accessed April 14, 2022).

“Eye-witness account of an earthquake in Jalisco in 1847.” (February 21, 2010.) https://geo-mexico.com/?p=301. (accessed April 10, 2022).

“images of the churches in ocotlan jalisco mexico.” Google.com search. Cropped from search result of images that included Pinterest.com. (accessed April 10, 2022).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlD3I2oKV4.

E. K. Reynolds, Norwich CT Trade Card

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Trade card, lithograph by Bufford, Boston, Mass. Circa 1878 – 1890.

Price:  $15.00

“After the race – off City Point, Boston Harbor.”

“E. K. Reynolds, French China, Grockery, Glass Ware & House Furnishing Goods.  Norwich, Conn.”

Yep, that’s a typo there – of course, they meant Crockery. And in checking the internet, this card is the only one that we see right now for E. K. Reynolds. It’s in good condition, other than the white mark, top left-hand side of the card, which is paper that had gotten stuck to it, at some point. The lithograph company name is printed in the waves there on the bottom right.

Edward Kennard Reynolds was born December 3, 1834 in Cecil County, Maryland. He married Fannie Foster and they had two daughters, Bennibel and Nellie. Edward died September 5, 1884, and from city directories, Nellie carried on the family business for a while. The last mention found (in a quick directory search) is for Mrs. E. K. Reynolds, in 1890, business address 159 Main and 17 Shetucket. The earliest directory found was for 1878.

Sources:  Price, Lee & Co. Steadman’s Directory, Norwich, 1878. No. 18. P. 199. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

Price, Lee & Co. Steadman’s Directory, Norwich, 1890. No. 30. P. 402. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 05 June 2020), memorial page for Edward Kennard Reynolds (3 Dec 1834–5 Sep 1884), Find a Grave Memorial no. 92408525, citing Yantic Cemetery, Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA ; Maintained by Northern Neighbors (contributor 47033135) .