Hello readers! My name is Jessica and I’ve been a volunteer at The Mariners’ Museum Library for just over a year now. I am transcribing a set of logbooks from a 1850s whaling voyage right now, which includes a log from the captain, his wife, and his ten year old daughter. The variety of perspectives [...]

Good morning, readers!   I hope everyone is safe after our brief snow storm last night. I’d like to take some time this morning to tell you about our first exhibit for the new year, 1973: The Year of the Monitor. This exhibit commemorates the discovery of the USS Monitor, the Civil War ironclad that sank in a storm off of [...]

As I was speaking with a colleague one evening, the topic of traditions for good luck in the New Year came up and inspired this post. I wondered, since a variety of cultures practice such unique traditions, what are some of the traditions associated with maritime culture? The one iconic tradition that came to mind [...]

Hello Friday readers! While assisting in a rare book project the other day, I came across something that caught my eye. It was a book called Specifications for Reconditioning of the SS “Leviathan” and the Conversion of the Vessel to Burn Oil as Fuel by the International Mercantile Marine Company. I know, it’s a very heavy [...]

Hello again, readers, and welcome back to the Library blog. A quick look at modern popular culture will make it clear even to the most casual of observers that the Caribbean Pirates of the 17th and 18th century are icons in family entertainment. Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” series has been immensely successful, and the [...]

Hello readers, and welcome back to the Library blog. Today, we are going to take a break from the topic of piracy to explore the world of steamships 100 years ago today. This past summer, we saw a lot of coverage of the world’s fastest transatlantic steamship, the SS United States. But what was the [...]

Hello readers, and welcome back to the Library blog. It has come to my attention that an increasing number of patrons are interested in the writings of Alexandre Exquemelin, a pirate – or buccaneer – in the early days of piracy in the Caribbean. Therefore, this blogger has decided to review Exquemelin’s 1684 publication of [...]

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Library blog. While perusing the Library stacks in search of an interesting volume on piracy, I discovered a khaki leather-bound book titled “History of the Pyrates” by Capt. Charles Johnston. Based on the condition of the volume, I expected it to date from the 1920s. Imagine my surprise [...]

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Library blog. Since the early 1700s, Lloyd’s List has been an excellent go-to source for information regarding shipping news. Lloyd’s List – or rather, lists – cover a large swath of information, from updates on worldwide commercial ports to a tabulation of worldwide ship losses. That last particular [...]

Hello readers, and welcome back to the Library blog. Many of the posts on this blog over the past few months have concerned the SS United States. While this blog will by no means abandon the proud ship as a subject matter, it will nonetheless begin to focus on a new topic: Maritime Piracy. Piracy [...]