Historic Nantucket, Fall 1995, Vol. 44 No. 2

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From the President o some, the beginning of my tenure as president of your board of directors may seem like the start of a new era for the NHA, but I don't see it that way. I conceive of the coming years as a period of consolidating the outstanding gains of the past few years and building upon them to assure the continuing growth and influence of our association.

We have many challenges to face in both the immediate and long-term future. Kim Corkran and Mark Beale, through painful belt tightening, led us to a balanced budget. In the process our staff has been reduced with the result that a few a tireless and dedicated few - are doing the work of many.

Our property-maintenance programs have been virtually put on hold. We have offered for lease two of our properties- the Old Town Building and the Thomas Macy Warehouse- to help raise the funds required to hold and care for other properties. Now we must address the task of developing major funds to rebuild our staff, to care for our properties, to meet our educational and exhibition goals. It's a big challenge, but one that I share with all of you, for each of you has a personal responsibility for the preservation of our heritage, a responsibility that you acknowledged when you became a member of the NHA. Last year, the year of our centennial, was a brilliant year of inclusion. We must not lose the benefits of joining together that unique time of purpose produced. We can't let the enthusiasm die down, the caring recede, until the work of the NHA is back in the hands of a few. This is our challenge, and I hope all of you will join me in meeting it. If you don't feel you are heard, speak again, and again, until you are. Criticism is as welcome as praise when it is extended in the spirit of improvement, of cooperation.

We are an organization in a community with a history of dramatic achievements in preservation. The NHA has the stewardship of the nation's finest collection of vintage, museum-quality houses and historic commercial properties, one of which now serves as our internationally renowned Whaling Museum. In our private homes we maintain living museums, held faithful to the past by inspired restoration and firm, intelligent building codes. Vast areas of the island are conservation lands, to be kept forever wild. The commercial development of Nantucket Town has been carefully orchestrated by thoughtful and respected restrictions. For all of these elements that shape our quality of life we owe thanks to the determination and foresight of those who came before us.

Today there is a growing recognition that this is not enough, that the lifestyle we all cherish, a lifestyle derived from Nantucket's unique history, is at risk. The NHA is a "can do" organization in a "can do" community. Our association must join with other groups on the island to develop ever more effective ways to preserve and enhance that unique character and quality of life.

My pledge to you is to nourish mutual respect and concern, to continue to reach out to the members of the NHA and to the Nantucket community at large so that we can contribute to that precious quality of life in ways that will be meaningful to future generations and cause them to be mindful of, and grateful for, our deeds in our time.

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New Executive Director ean M. Weber brings twenty-eight years of professional museum experience and Impressive academic credentials to her new position as executive director of the Nantucket Historical Association.

Weber received a bachelor's degree in art history at Brown University in Rhode Island, completed graduate studies in philosophy at Edinburgh University in Scotland and art history and humanities at the University of Iowa and the University of Louisville.

For five years she was the director of the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine . She has also been the director/administrator of museums in Rochester NY, Southampton NY, and

Louisville KY, and of state-museum systems in New Mexico and Wisconsin.

She has an impressive list of publications on museum- and history-related topics, including articles and exhibition catalogs.

She sees her appointment as both an opportunity and a challenge:

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" ... to maintain the association's mission to bring the public and our rare collections together while protecting and preserving the more than forty thousand artifacts, books, images, and manuscripts and our twenty-five historic sites and properties.

I welcome and encourage your ideas and comments, and your visits as well.

My door is always open."

jean Weber

The Nantucket Historical Association cordially invites you to the Second Annual Festival of Trees.

The Thomas Macy Warehouse will be tranjormed into an enchanted woodland to usher in

AMSUNDAY DECEMBER

3, 10:00 AM-5:00PM

For additional information or to purchase preview tickets, please call Amy Saunders at (508) 228-1894.

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The Gulf Stream Charts of Benjamin Franklin and Timothy Folger Captain John Lacouture, USN (ret.)

he Gulf Stream, so named T

by Benjamin Franklin in 1762, is a mighty river in the ocean that flows from the Gulf of Mexico around the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and along the East Coast, bending off to the northeast when it reaches the vicinity of Cape Hatteras. It continues on to lceland,the British Isles, and Norway. In the Straits of Florida the Gulf Stream is about forty miles wide and flows at a speed of about five miles an hour. As it progresses into the North Atlantic, it expands to several hundred miles in width and slows to about three miles an hour.

The Gulf Stream carries a greater volume of water than all the rivers of the world combined. It is powered by the rotation of the earth (called the Coriolis Effect), by winds, and by the sun's warming of equatorial waters. As the water warms, its level rises, and it flows toward the lower levels Captain Timothy Folger by George Fish, after Copley. of the surrounding ocean. This movement adds to the volume and force of fair wind before which he was sailing, and his ships were driven to the north instead the Gulf Stream.

The first European to recognize the Gulf of southward, his intended course. His Stream as a discrete oceanic current was pilot, young Anton de Alaminos, adapted Ponce de Leon, following his landing in his experience with the Gulf Stream by uti1513 at what is now St. Augustine, Florida, lizing the current to chart a course for in search of the Fountain of Youth. When Cortes's treasure ships from Mexico. This he tried to return to Puerto Rico he found course followed the stream to north of the the current to be more powerful than the Bahama Islands, then headed east passing

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near the Bermudas, which the Spaniards soon discovered as they sailed between the Gulf of Mexico and their Iberian homeland . The Spanish sailed the Gulf Stream in their eastward crossings for many years, but kept its existence a secret from all other nations' fleets .

Although some of the earl y American merchant, whaling, and fishing ships' captains were undoubtedly aware of the Gulf Stream's currents, there were no charts available for universal reference, so its use was limited to those individual navigators with personal knowledge of the stream .

The western portion of the Northeast Current, as it wa s known before Franklin named it the Gulf Stream in 1762, was first described by Walter Haxton, a captain engaged in shipping tobacco from his Maryland farms to London merchants . In 1735 Haxton drew the first large-scale mariner's chart of Chesapeake Bay, giving detailed soundings and sailing directions. He included, as an addendum to the chart, latitude and longitude points locating the "Northeast Current" along with estimates of the current's velocity.

Haxton commented: It is generally known by those who trade to the northern parts of America that the current which comes out of the Gulph of Florida runs constantly along the coast of Carolina and Virginia and considerably further to the Northward,

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Map of the Gulph Stream, Benjamin Franklin. 1769.

varying its course as it is obstructed by shores. Now if said current always runs nearly in the same part or space of the ocean (as from a great number of Tryals and observations which I have made in 23 voyages to Maryland, I have reason to think it does), the knowledge of its Limits Course and Strength may be very useful to those who have occasion to sail in it.

The British apparently ignored Haxton's description of the Gulf Stream, leaving it up to Benjamin Franklin and Timothy Folger, in 1769-70, to plot the course of the stream and publicize it. They did so to dissuade British mail packets from sailing against the current of the stream in their westward voyages to the American colonies, which added almost

two weeks to their crossing time.

Following a varied and generally successful career in the colonies, Franklin went to England in 1754 and was there off and on for twenty years, representing the colonies of Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts in various capacities at various times. One of the positions he held while in England was deputy postmaster general and later postmaster general for the American colonies. In 1768, after some years in the job, he questioned why it took the British mail packets so much longer to sail to America than it did most merchant vessels. In the fall of 1768 he discussed his concerns with his first cousin Timothy Folger, captain of a Nantucket merchant vessel.

Folger had grown up on Nantucket, and like so many of the ambitious young

men of the period had become involved in whaling, then the island's principal industry. He worked his way up through the ranks and ultimately captained various merchant ships that often sailed to London, where he occasionally called on his cousin Franklin.

During one of those visits, when Franklin voiced his concern about the length of time the British mail packets required to cross the Atlantic, Folger stated that it was obvious to him that British mariners did not know about the powerful current that flowed from west to east across the ocean. He then proceeded to sketch the course of the Gulf Stream on a map that Franklin handed to him and added marginal notes on how to avoid it.

That was the first accurate depiction of the Gulf Stream.

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1786 Map of the Gulf Stream.

In his writings at a time when 150 Nantucket whaling vessels were under sail, Franklin quotes Folger as stating: ... whales are found generally near the edges of the Gulph Stream, a strong current so called which comes out of the Gulph of Florida passing Northeasterly along the Coast of America and turning off most Easterly, running at the rate of 4, 3 1/2, 3, and 2 1/2 miles an Hour, that the whaling Business leads these people to cruise along the Edges of the Stream in quest of whales, they are become better acquainted with the Course Breadth, Strength and extent of the same than those navigators can well be who only cross it in their Voyages to and from America, that they have opportunities of discovering the strength of it when their boats are in pursuit of this Fish, and happen to get into the stream while the Ship is out of it, or out of the Stream while the ship is in it, for then they separated very fast and would soon lose sight of each other if care were not taken.

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Franklin had Folger's chart printed and distributed to British packet captains in 1769 or 1770, but they tended to ignore it, perhaps because they couldn't admit that colonial fishermen knew more about the ocean than did highly trained and experienced British mariners. When the American Revolution commenced, Franklin ceased distribution of the chart to prevent the British fleet from having the advantage of such valuable information.

In March of 1775 Franklin left London and sailed for home. The next year he was sent as envoy to Paris to negotiate a treaty with the French government. During those two transatlantic crossings Franklin tested the temperature of the Gulf Stream and learned that it was warmer than the surrounding waters . The discovery renewed his interest in the Timothy Folger chart, and he had it copied and printed by Le Rouge following his arrival in Paris. He intended to provide copies to all French ship captains carrying arms and supplies

to the American colonies.

The original Folger charts - as printed for and distributed by Franklin - disappeared and were assumed lost for almost two centuries until September 1978, when Philip L. Richardson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found two copies in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. They were most likely obtained and saved by the French during the years from 1776 to 1785 when Franklin was envoy to France for the American colonies. He was extremely successful in that capacity, prompting the French to supply weapons and ships to the American forces .

One famous example is the Bon11e Homme Richard, the ship on which John Paul Jones fought his most spectacular battles, and on which several Nantucket men bravely served. The French christened the ship in Franklin's honor, taking the name from his Poor Richard's Almanac .

Following the crucial American victory at Saratoga in 1777, Franklin persuaded the

A satellite infrared photo of the wamz Gulf Stream showing how it splits as it moves east and 110rth.

French government to form a military alliance with the colonies, ultimately ensuring Washington's victory at Yorktown when French warships under the command of the Marquis de Grasse prevented reinforcements from reaching the British troops.

In 1786, after the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin published Folger's sketch of the Gulf Stream as part of an article in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. In the article, Franklin wrote: The Nantucket whalemen, being extremely well acquainted with the Gulph Stream, its course, strength and extent, by their constant practice of whaling on the edges of it, from their Island quite down to the Bahamas, this draft of that stream was obtained from one of them, Captain Folger, and caused to be engraved on the old chart in London for the benefit of navigators by B. Franklin.

When the Folger-Franklin chart is compared to the most modem charts of the Gulf Stream, derived from sensitive infrared pho-

tographs taken from satellites, it is remarkable how accurately that 1768 chart depicts the path of the great "river in the ocean."

Southeast of Georges Bank, the wamz Gulf Stream swings east and confronts the cool Lnbrador current.

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A simplified sketch of the Gulf Stream taken from the satellite photo, by Wing Commander Ken McKny.

About the Author: Captain John Lacouture is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds advanced degrees from Princeton and Cambridge universities and the Naval War College. A naval aviator for thirty years, he commanded the aircraft carriers Saratoga and Independence. Captain

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Lacouture says "I presently write on subjects of my choice and smell the roses."

Editor's Note: Many thanks to Philip L. Richardson, chair of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Department of Physical Oceanography, for providing additional information and several maps and charts that have proven most helpful in preparing this article .

Ever Wonder About Those Meridian Markers?

Robert C. Orr mong the objects of curiosity to be A found in downtown Nantucket perhaps the most unusual are two stone markers - one on the curb of Main Street near the Pacific National Bank ("Northern Extremity of the Town Meridian Line") and the other ("Southern Extremity of the

Town Meridian Line") about 350 feet up the west side of Fair Street in front of the Fair Street Museum. They are aligned on the north-south meridian line approximately 70 degrees 8 minutes west longitude. They were placed there in 1849 by William Mitchell, an accomplished amateur astronomer who was an expert at rating chronometers and, at that time, cashier of the Pacific National Bank.

The stone meridian markers on Main Street and Fair Street had nothing to do with the actual "rating" process. Mitchell probably installed them more as a matter of interest than of functional use. His "Astronomical Journal" indicates that he was rating chronometers long before the markers were erected.

The only practical purpose of the line would be to determine the angle of variation (now approximately 16 degrees west at Nantucket) between true north and the north magnetic pole toward which compasses point. This angle of variation varies widely in different parts of the ocean, and for any given point it changes slightly every year.

It has been mistakenly assumed that ships' captains would take their compasses to these markers to determine the accuracy of their instruments. The notion has no substance because a compass in a place where there are no metallic or magnetic elements will always point to magnetic north.

Mr. Mitchell was a man of many parts.

In his autobiography, he summarizes his accomplishments this way:

some years President of the Board of Trustees of the Nantucket Atheneum a member and for many years Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Coffin School. For many years Chairman of the Committee for the Superintendence of the Observatory of Harvard College.

Clerk at two different periods of the

A cooper, a soap boiler, an oil and candle manufacturer, a farmer, a schoolmaster, an Insurance Broker, a Surveyor, a chronometer rater, an astronomical observer for the Coast Survey, Justice of the Peace, Executor of Wills and Administrator of Estates, Writer of Wills, deeds and instruments, Cashier of a Bank, Treasurer of a Savings Bank, and without emolument a member and for

87

Nantucket Monthly Meeting of Friends, once for ten and once for five years.

This article concerns Mitchell's role as "a chronometer rater."

The calculation for longitude (east-west position) by celestial navigation for a particular location at a particular time requires determining the exact position of a celestial body such as the sun, the moon, a planet or a star, west of Greenwich, England, and north or south of the equator at that exact time. These coordinates can be obtained

Navigators then repeat the process, using a different celestial body as a reference, and plot its "line of position:' The ship's actual position will be at the intersection of the two lines.

Ships' chronometers are set to show Greenwich Civil Time (GCT), the mean solar time at the Greenwich, England, meridian as recorded at the British Naval Observatory there . Even the best chronometers lose or gain a few seconds or fractions of a second every day . The chronometer error, and therefore the

A review of William Mitchell's Astronomical Journal indicates that he used observations of the moon and stars to ascertain exact Greenwich Civil Time at a given instant. By recording his chronometer reading at that instant he could determine its amount of error. By repeating the process over a period of days he could determine its "daily rate of gaining or losing."

Ship masters or navigators would bring their chronometers to Mitchell to have them "rated." He would determine error by observation or by comparing the time

William Mitchell and his daughter Maria, circa 1872. from the Nautical Almanac for every second of Greenwich Civil Time (GCT) throughout the year.

When navigators set out to determine the position of a ship by celestial navigation, they use a sextant to measure the angle (altitude) between the horizon and a celestial body and note the exact time as recorded on the ship's chronometer. Using the Nautical Almanac and other tables along with this estimated position, they can calculate what the true altitude and azimuth of the body would be if the ship were actually at the estimated position. The comparison of the observed altitude with the computed one gives the difference between the two, enabling navigators to plot a "line of position" from that sighting.

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"daily rate of gaining or losing," can be determined today by radio time signals from Washington DC, but in the 1840s the rating of a chronometer had to be done at a celestial observatory or by comparison with another chronometer whose daily rate was known.

When Mitchell was appointed cashier of the Pacific National Bank he moved his family into quarters above the bank and set up a small observatory on the roof so that he could more efficiently pursue his astronomic avocation. Mitchell instructed his daughter Maria, who demonstrated an interest in, and aptitude for, the science at an early age. As we know, she later became an internationally respected astronomer in her own right.

shown on their instruments to that on his own chronometer over a period of several days. This comparison would indicate the daily rate of gaining or losing. The navigator would apply this daily rate to the reading of his vessel's chronometer each time he took a celestial sight. It was important to ascertain the exact GCT of the sight because an error of just four seconds meant a discrepancy of one mile east or west of the vessel's actual position.

When two ships met at sea, they would often compare the time on their chronometers. It was agreed that one ship would signal, by means of a black ball dropped from the yardarm, at a prearranged moment. The other ship's master would check his chronometer to learn how nearly

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From William Mitchell's astronomiazl journal (property of the Marin Mitchell Association), 1845-1850, p. 69.

Reproduced by permission of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association. it agreed with that of his companion.

Ships at sea followed a standard procedure to assure that the vessel's chronometer was wound daily. At about ten minutes before noon (local time) the mate would report to the captain: "Sir, it is approaching eight bells and the chronometers have been wound." The captain would reply: "Strike the bells on time."

This procedure was vitally important because the chronometers had to be wound every twenty-four hours in order

About the author: A lieutenant in the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve, Robert Orr commanded a 327-foot LST in the Pacific, served as an instructor in navigation at the USCG Academy for two and a half years during World War II, and was the professional compass adjuster for the Gloucester (MA) fishing fleet.

for the daily rate to remain constant.

The records in William Mitchell's workbooks indicate that his daughter Maria assisted him in calibrating chronometers and became so proficient at the technique

that she was able to carry out the procedure by herself when she was only fourteen years old.

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From Nathaniel Bowditch's The New American Practical Navigator (NY: E. & G. Blunt, 1837).

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Whalers' Letters Elizabeth Shure Nantucket 9th mo. 19th 1808

Dear Husband,

I have felt a little guilty that I have deferred so long to write: but I had nothing worth communicating, nothing but what thou might reasonably suppose, that is, that I am very lonesome. Why should so much of our time be spent apart, why do we refuse the happiness that is within our reach? Is the acquisition of wealth an adequate compensation for the tedious hours of absence? To me it is not. The enjoyment of riches alone could give no satisfaction to me. In company I am not happy, I feel as if a part of my self was gone. Thy absence grows more insupportable than it used to be. I want for nothing but thy company: but there is nothing but what I could do better without ... .

While navigational aids like accurate charts and precise instruments helped Nantucket mariners avoid many of the dangers common to seafaring life, all the advances of "modern" science were of little use in easing the universal misery of separation and loneliness, an all-per- Phebe Coleman vading element of daily life here at home as well as aboard island ships as they sailed the oceans and seas of married to whaling captain Samuel the world.

Coleman for twenty-seven years and had The above letter, written by Phebe three children. Her husband spent only Folger Coleman (1771-1857) to her hus- eight of those years at home with her. band at sea, expresses the longing and sadNantucketer Florence Mary Bennett, ness that were so often a major component granddaughter of a Nantucket whaling of the life of a sailor's wife. Phebe was captain, recorded these recollections in an

90

article published in the 10 September 1924 issue of The Outlook Weekly: Picture the joys of a return from a Cape Horn voyage, one of three years! All the captains who chanced to be on shore walked to the wharf to meet the home-comer, and this guard of honor escorted him to his house pedestrian wise. The Cab was for ladies only One day tw o children had been playing together on Steamboat Wharf in a sail loft which belonged to the father of one of these little maidens. The boat from New Bedford had "blown" and was docking.

"Come, Lizzie, quick, q uick!"

One of the girls w as hurried by her uncle to a group of sea captains, all known to her except the one in the center, w hom they were welcoming. "Well, Lizzie Plaskett, who's this?" was the question . "I don't know, she answered, quite abashed by the stra nger's eyes, "unless it' s my cousin George Henry Brock, home from sea." "No, child, no!" cried the man, catching her up in his arms. "It's your own father. Run and tell mother that I've come to surprise her."

That was a poignant moment for a father, showing the kind of coin that life wrings from a seaman. The child had been scarcely four years old when he sailed away. "Don't let her forget me." Such was the burden of his letters in absence. "Talk to her about me." His wife had faithfully performed her part, but of course the demand for recognition under

7

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Excerpt from Captain Charles E. Allen's letter to his daughter Emma. those circumstances was unreasonable.

My mother used to tell how among her earliest recollections was that of her mother's taking her in her lap and saying, "Bye and bye the pigeon will come flying and say that father is on his way home." The child did not ask how the pigeon had the tidings or how it could impart them. But every pigeon that she encountered she viewed with veneration, believing that each bird of this kind knew always where her father was.

The women at home had to endure these long separations, the care of family, household, and property, and the constant bitter fear of disaster "somewhere."

Fancy having random news of the ship whose fortune meant everything to you as being caught in the ice far north in the Pacific, or having been last seen riddled by a gale and scudding off angry Cape Hom! Letters came more or less by chance, as this ship or that fell in with another bound homeward.

It was fashionable, as well as sensible, for the captain about to depart to have his likeness taken singly and also on the same plate with that of wife and child.

Those blessed daguerreotypes and ambrotypes! Somehow they reveal the true person rather magically.

In an 11 May 1837 letter, Nantucketer Jane Russell comments on the absence of a friend's husband: Elisa has had a letter from Shibael about a week ago. I should think he has

been very unfortunate indeed he has but 800 barrels of oil 30 months out, he was well, and we were very thankful to hear that. The time had begun to seem very long since she had heard it was 16 months that there had been no correct news he has been absent from home 3 years the 25th day of this month and she does not look for him before next November if he should live. Such voyages are enough to discourage anyone ...

Life was also extremely difficult for the men at sea. Apart from the dangers and hard- Captain Charles E. Allen ships that constantly confronted them, the separation from their homes and families weighed heavily upon them. A letter written by Captain Charles E. Allen, aboard the bark Sea Ranger, on Sunday, 5 November 1871, bears witness to this frame of mind: Dear daughter Emma, as I have been sitting here in my cabin, alone and lonely, the thought rushed into my mind: Is this all of life? My heart answered No. This is part which goes to make up the

grand whole. In truth I should feel very Sad if there was nothing more comforting for me than the knowledge that this whaling voyage commenced Oct. 9th 1869 and after passing through its various changes of ill success and good success, of Storm and Tempest, of trials by man, by Leviathan, and the Elements, I must, if spared return to my home at Nantucket, Four years farther on toward the end of my Pilgrimage, worn down in body, unfit for labor at home, and temporally poorer than when I embarked:

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~'-··~'··~~-<--'-~~:~~>.P/.~~~ -~- ~~~:~~but I have a hope that all this is not to be and that the End will produce a brighter and newer beautiful picture. Much after the following Scene. The voyage will have its dark and sun shine. Its bright and O'ercast sky, The storms will threaten our Bark. Yet we may be spared to again meet those from whom we are now far separated ...

In a 29 August 1859 letter to his sisterin-law, Hannah Marie Smith, Captain George Allen wrote:

of the family, you know with experience what it is to be left alone, still you were among friends and acquaintances while she is comparatively amongst strangers ... Thus far my voyage has been prosperous, and all wailles [sic] us pleasantly as the general run of voyages, I have a very agreeable set of officers, and that of course makes it more pleasant for me. But I am so lonely at times for my dear wife I can hardly content myself, and even think that it is so, that I am alone, that she has gone to heaven ...

.. . And, dear sister, cheer up your sister Lucie [his wife] in her loneliness, you can sympathize with her better than anyone

Mary Starbuck, author of My House and I, relates a tragic incident in which Captain

92

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Allen's melancholy musings actually came to pass. Captain Andrew Brock had been at sea with no word from home for many months. Mrs. Starbuck writes: Standing on deck as his ship neared the Nantucket bar after a successful voyage, he watched a fishing boat coming around Brant Point. As she passed close, she hailed the whaler. And the query came from on board the whaler: "What's the news from town?" The answer came clearly:" Andrew Brock's wife died this morning."

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Antiques Show hanks to the careful planning and hard work of Chairperson Lyndon Dupuis and her dedicated committee, and to the many volunteers, donors, and dealers whose participation made it all come together, our eighteenth annual antiques show was an unparalleled success, raising more than $115,000 for the association's treasury.

This year's honorary chairperson, Jean MacA us land, has been a life member of

T

the NHA for more than a quarter century.

She served on our board of trustees from 1988 to 1994. In addition to her many years of service and generous financial support, Jean has donated whaling implements to our collections, given the Research Center its first computer, funded the computerization of the NHA administrative offices, and provided our new offices on the second floor of the Peter Foulger Museum with a modern telephone system. Mrs. MacAusland's guidance and dedication over the years and her strong personal commitment to help pre-

serve Nantucket's precious heritage have been a priceless asset and inspiration to the association.

Special thanks to the Chase Manhattan Private Bank, once again the title sponsor of the NHA annual antiques show.

The Nantucket Historical Association is grateful to all who took part in this important event. Without their help it would not have been possible.

Give a Gift of Membership this Holiday Season ive members of your family and G your friends a gift that reflects your love for Nantucket. A membership in the Nantucket Historical Association includes unlimited free admissions to our museums and historic houses, free admission to our lecture series, unlimited use of the Research Center, invitations to special events, a subscription to Historic Nantucket, and ten percent off the regular price for all purchases from the Museum Shop.

A gift membership may be purchased from the Museum Shop, our administrative offices at 2 Whalers Lane, or by telephoning (508) 228-1894. We will send a special card announcing your gift along with membership cards, the NHA decal, a copy of the current issue of Historic Nantucket, and a copy of Historic Nantucket's special Centennial Issue.

The categories of NHA memberships are: Individual Family

$

30.00

A FLAG FOR NANTUCKET The flag is a burgee, a distinctive maritime shape common in ships' house flags. Colors are Nantucket's traditional blue and white: blue for the sea and the sky, white for the sand beaches girdling the island. The central theme is a swimming spenn whale shown in its natural element, the sea, against a cordage circle symbolizing both the globe which Nantucket whaleships ranged and the compass rose which guided them across it. North and south points of the compass indicate the magnetic poles from Nantucket, and are shown by an early harpoon, or "iron:'

50.00

Sustaining

100.00

Contributor

250.00

Hadwen Circle

500.00

Thomas Macy Associate

0

1,000.00

Memberships are renewable annually in April and are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Gift Memberships purchased through this

offer will be renewable in April, 1997.

For further information, please contact Amy Saunders at (508) 228-1894.

93

THE MUSEUM SHOP

The Museum Shop is ready to help you find the right answers to your Christmas-shopping questions.

Our Nantucket beach plum and rose hip jams and jellies and one-of-a-kind cranberry chutney are perennial favorites.

Our specially featured gift collections of these delights always spark rave reviews.

The exquisite photographs and evocative texts in the latest books of island images by Robert Gambee and Cary Hazlegrove capture the essence of this lovely place with warmth and insight, guaranteed to inspire precious memories of favorite Nantucket moments.

The NHA commemorative plates are genuine collector's items, beautifully illustrated with sketches of historic island landmarks.

All these and more are here to help you spread holiday joy.

Call or write with your order. We'll ship it to you right away.

Jams&Jellies Combination Packs Pack of 6 Hand-dipped Candles Gambee Photo Journal Hazlegrove Photo Journal

each$ 3.25 each 10.50 each 8.00 HardCover 45.00 Soft Cover 24.95 Hard Cover 29.95

The Museum Shop Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Reproductions and Adaptations Featuring Fine China, Furniture, Brass, and Silver Adjacent to the Whaling Museum, Nantucket

(508) 228-5785 Members of the Historical Association are entitled to a 10% discount upon presenting their membership card.