LETTERS
EDITOR'S LOG "Friends we have not yet met," is what Marie Lore calls members of the Society who write in to us with one thing or another on their minds. "It's so pleasant to know they think of us as persons!" Marie is volunteer Membership Secretary, as she has been these past se¡1en years, since the National Society moved out of South Street Seaport Museum. (It was headquartered there 1970-76.) Before that, she had been volunteer guide and interpreter aboard South Street's historic ships, particularly the Gloucester fishing ~chooner Lettie Howard. Many of us, when we think of the Howard, see Marie's bright, winsome face and hear her mild voice setting forth facts of fishing off George's Bank in one-man dories. Marie herself has been to sea in the Howard's old stamping grounds, watching whales from the deck of the tall ship Regina Maris off Peaked Hill Bar. She goes on other expeditions too, often with her friend Edna Fitzpatrick who works with visitors to the piers at South Street. Marie does not discriminate on grounds of age. When she visited London a while back she was escorted about by a 28-year old member whose heart she had won in correspondence. They both, incidentally, had an unexpected thrill meeting our Advisor George Campbell crossing the street, 3,000 miles from Marie's home but only about 30 miles from George's new home in the seaside town of Brighton . And of Captain James Roberts, who sailed in the South Street square rigger fflzvertree in 1897-8, she notes: "Captain Roberts was almost 90 when I first met him, and we had a fine friendship for three years." Marie was amused but understandably indignant when one of our members told her he had thought she was an invented person, her name a simple adaptation of "marine lore." No, she is real , very real , and she helps make the Society real for many people.
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We do mean to move on to regional meetings, in the United States and, through the World Ship Trust, in other nations. " Mountains never meet, but men do" is a good saying. But a true sense of community exists among us, I keep feeling, in our shared concerns, and , in Hakluyt's happy phrase, the 'traffiques and discoveries' of our lives. Look at the splendid letter from Mr. Jones on this page! Almost as good as being there, and sharing that "dark draught beer that puts feathers on the insteps." PS SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1983
"On Such Drawing Boards .. !' I am filled with admiration at the skill, energy and dedication of those engaged in restoratory projects like the Wavertree. I would love to assist in such an enterprise, but this is not possible, having nothing to offer but manual skill, and that too far away. But I do have a glimmer of insight to offer into the character of the builders of vessels such as the Elissa and the Wavertree. I can recall a Greenwich dock road pub at lunchtime, over 30 years ago. A bunch of shipyard workers burst in, engaged in animated conversation , difficult for the stranger to understand. As the subject was not football, it had to be ships. As a seaman, with some knowledge of ship construction, I gathered that the point under discussion was a construction question-a detail of the ship's side where the superstructure met the main deck. The man doing most of the talking was, I judged, a former makerofplates ; and the burden of his argument seemed to be the general incompetence and doubtful antecedents of drafting and design departments. "So I told the useless b-----d that the b----y stringer plate canna' be cut in the way of a weather bulkhead':_here he hesitated , making a small gesture with his right hand, his left holding a half-empty pot of Scotch ale (dark draught beer that puts feathers on the insteps). The gesture was interpreted by the barman, who silently wiped the bar counter dry, and handed the speaker a piece of chalk from under the counter. The chalk was taken, with no acknowledgment, and within a seconds a detailed sketch of the section in question was appearing. I and my shipmate were pushed aside by the press of men crowding around the sketch , arguing, agreeing, pointing and correcting. I would suggest that on such drawing boards were the beautiful ships of the 1880s perfected. A. 0 . JONES Durban , South Africa AOF "This Wonderful Artist" Enclosed is my check for $65, in payment for the Anton Otto Fischer biography. I am delighted to know that a book of the works of this wonderful artist exists. I have admired his talent for many, many years, and have saved reproductions of his work appearing in the old Saturday Evening Post. I am sure that there are many others like myself, who would want the book if they knew of its existence. FRANK V. HALE Salem, Massachusetts
Wanted: Aged Freighters I am making a study of the last old cargo vessels still in service around the world. Particular emphasis is placed upon finding vessels that are close to their original design and condition, though virtually all have been re-powered. Some of these vessels are floating museums, in about the same condition as when they were built. My interest and experience with old tramp steamers began nearly twenty years ago when I owned my own company in Southeast Asia. We were involved in chartering freighters, and old ones were all we could afford . We took them up the jungle rivers of Sumatra and Borneo to load logs under contract with the Indonesian Government. I'd be glad to hear, through NMHS, of any old steamers your readers may know of. MICHAEL KRIEGER Lopez Island, Washington
In maritime museum collections, only the Robin in the Maritime Trust fleet in London survives to represent the "dirty British freighter " that swept square riggers from the seas. News of any surviving old steamers will be gratefully received by NMHS and forwarded to Mr. Krieger to assist in his study. -ED. From a Friendly Banker I want to thank you most sincerely for sending along that file of SEA HISTORYS. More than once during the past few days I have succumbed to temptation , putting down whatever it was I was working on to steal a few minutes with the magazines. I felt a little less guilty about this when my boss dropped by the other day and, spying SEA HISTORY on my cluttered desk, took a seat and spent 15 minutes browsing through a few issues. NAME WITHELD New York City More Than a Bit ... Enclosed are my last four monthly payments of $9 to complete my year's subscription as Patron of the Society-total $108. I hope this helps a bit. PHILIP J. DAILY Fullerton , California
It helps more than bit. Monthly payments accounted for 11 percent of contributions received in January-March. Envelopes for this purpose are available from Marie Lore, at NMHS, 15 State Street, New York NY 10004. -ED.
Thanks to changing exchange. rates we are now able to offer this noble work, the definitive biography by AOF's daughter Ktitrina, including 117 color plates, for $50. -ED. 3