Monthly Special Sales!

10% - 50% off on select items or pages.

See Home Page for more Details.

Select Subject Pages Below:

 May 2012 Catalogue Page.

Items Just Received

Climate Change - Global Warming Information

Alaska Items...

For additional items please see our many other pages as well. 

21228e. na. LIGHTHOUSES AND OTHER AIDS TO NAVIGATION IN ALASKAN HISTORY. US Coast Guard. 1990. [reprint of 1974 edition.] 87p. Soft wraps. A book like this should be published on every state, for the extensive vintage photographs and the history provided are exceptional. By 1940 there were 457 minor and major lights in Alaska , 15 fog signals, 316 buoys and much more. The book describes the role of the Lighthouse Service in Alaska from the 1860’s until 1938 and then continues with the work of the Coast Guard since. Includes historical summaries of light stations, architectural descriptions, wonderful early photographs and much more. Over 80 photographs include brass hardware, post lights, buoys. Lighthouse tenders and crews, depots, station boats and boathouses, keepers and their families, and more. Clean, crisp. (VG+). $34.

2738a. (photo) Landing Supplies at Tree Point Light Station, Southeast Alaska c.1915. Clear view shows crew in surfboat bringing in supplies from lighthouse tender moored offshore. The Lighthouse Board approved the construction of the Tree Point Lighthouse on April 24, 1903, and just over a year later, the light was activated on April 30, 1904. The lighthouse was the first, and only lighthouse, to be built on mainland Alaska. Photo measures 3 ½” x 5” on postcard paper. Clean, clear. Rare Alaska image. (VG). $22.

22367. Willoughby, Barrett. LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER AT THE END OF WEST. Saturday Evening Post. January 26, 1935.4 p. Lengthy article relates interview with Head Keeper Ted Pedersen at the Cape Sarichef Lighthouse in Alaska. The Cape Sarichef Lighthouse is in the Aleutian chain of islands and is the most western lighthouse on the two American Continents. The light station clings to the cliffs in the island of Unimak and with four active volcanoes visible in the area, life here was a considerable challenge. The interview provides considerable detail into the day-to-day operations and the efforts of the keepers just to live in this remote outpost. Quite interesting, illustrated with photographs. Full issue. (VG). $22.

042. Grover, David. Cableship Restorer in Alaska – Recollections and Interpretations. Parts I and II of II. The Sea Chest – Journal of The Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society. September and December, 2004. The Cableship Restorer (1902-1951) was first operated by the Commercial Pacific Cable Company. She was built in 1902, the same year that the underwater telegraph cable had been laid from the new cable station at Bamfield , British Columbia , across the Pacific Ocean to Australia and New Zealand . During WWII, the Alaska Communications System (ACS), operated by the United States Army Signal Corps, has had a long list of cable ships maintaining the Alaska cable including the C.S. Restorer. Lengthy article numbering 26 pages in two parts details the work of the Restorer during World War II. Well illustrated with numerous photos. (F-). $32.

2881. [magic lantern glass slide) S.S. Princess May wrecked on Sentinel Island, Alaska, on August 5, 1910. The Princess May was part of a fleet of passenger and freight haulers operated by the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company along the West Coast of North America. She was built in 1888 and measured 249 feet long. She was steaming at full speed in the early morning in heavy fog, southbound from Skagway, Alaska, when she stranded on the island’s rocky outcrop on August 5, 1910, within full view of the lighthouse on the island. The lifeboats were lowered and some 80 passengers and the 68-member were safely evacuated to the island. When the tide went out and the ship was left high and dry, as it appears in the classic picture snapped by W. H. Case. The Princess May was salvaged about a month later by Captain W. H. Logan and his salvage tug Santa Cruz, from Seattle. Logan managed to get the steamer lighted and re-floated during high tide. Slide measures 3 ¼” x 4” and presents a superb, clear image. (F).  $38.

6332ggg. Coast Guard. LIGHT LIST Volume III PACIFIC COAST AND PACIFIC ISLANDS, 8TH, 12TH, 13TH, 14TH, and 17TH COAST GUARD DISTRICTS. 1984. CG-162. Wash. 303 pp. Desirable listing includes detailed information on all lighthouses, lightships, post lights and other aids to navigation including location, characteristics, range, height, color and peculiarities, fog signal information, and much more. Soft wraps unusually intact,  only light wear. Contents quite clean, tight. Difficult to find lists of this area. (VG)  $22.

1194. Juge, Dick. The Historic Northwest Passage and the C.G.C. Storis - The Story of a Young Man Growing up in the Coast Guard in the 1950s. AuthorHouse. 2007. 300p. Soft wraps. In 1955 Dick Juge dropped out of his final semester of high school to join the Coast Guard in time to qualify for the Korean Conflict GIBill. This book takes you on his journey through the Coast Guard enlistment and training process, and then on voyages aboard three Coast Guard Cutters: Sebago out of Mobile, Alabams, Storis in Alaska, and Duane from Boston. The author tells of boot camp mishaps, formidable icebergs, liberty adventures, and much more as we accompany him in his career. You will feel like a member of the crew aboard an icebreaker as it crosses the Arctic. Good reading. (M). $24.

10488. Marc, Jacques F. Pacific Coast Steamship China. UBC Press. 2009. 182p. Hardcover.  300+ color and 80 b/w photographs. At the height of Pacific-coast steamship travel in the late 1800s and early 1900s, passengers enjoyed a sit-down dinner served on china with silver flatware. Today, the only places you can still find this china is at flea markets and antique shops or by diving at old dock sites and on shipwrecks. Pacific Coast Ship China identifies and dates shipping china used along the Pacific coast of North America. It identifies more than 280 china patterns used on vessels and in-shore establishments of shipping organizations registered in Alaska, Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Hawaii; it describes patterns used in coastal, intercoastal and transpacific services. In addition to passenger vessels, it documents the china used by freighter operations, oil companies, government services and yacht clubs. This easy-to-use guide identifies almost 300 china patterns. It provides collectors, museum technicians, divers, history buffs and anyone else interested in identifying and dating Pacific-coast ship china with all the information they need. It also includes brief descriptions of 73 Pacific-coast shipping companies and government services including Lighthouse Service and Coast Guard. (M). $79.95.

10180. Thompson, Kalee. Deadliest Sea: The Untold Story Behind the Greatest Rescue in Coast Guard History. New York. 2010. 309p. DJ. Deadliest Sea by Kalee Thompson is the spellbinding true story of the greatest rescue in U.S. Coast Guard history. It's no secret that commercial fishing on the Bering Sea is easily one of the world's most dangerous and deadly professions. For the men of the vessel 'Alaska Ranger', this fact presented itself on March 23, 2008, when the ship began taking water only to be fully submerged just a few hours later. In "Deadliest Sea," author Kalee Thompson offers readers the harrowing account of the Ranger's accident, and the daring rescue attempt by U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescue teams  which succeeded in saving the lives of more than twenty of the crew members--thus becoming the single most successful cold-water rescue in Coast Guard history. A fascinating and gripping account for all. (M). $25.99. 

29199. Noble, Dennis L. and Truman R. Strobridge. Captain “Hell Roaring" Mike Healy - From American Slave to Arctic Hero. Gainsville. 2009. 352p. DJ. Captain “HeLL Roaring" Mike HeaLy remains One of the Coast Guard's great heroes. In the late 1880s, many lives in northern and western maritime Alaska rested in the capable hands of Michael A. Healy (1839-1904), through his service to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. Healy arrested lawbreakers, put down mutinies aboard merchant ships, fought the smuggling of illegal liquor and firearms, rescued shipwrecked sailors from a harsh and unforgiving environment, brought medical aid to isolated villages, prevented the wholesale slaughter of marine wildlife, and explored unknown waters and lands. Captain Healy's dramatic feats in the far north were so widely reported that a New York newspaper once declared him the "most famous man in America:' But Healy hid a secret that contributed to his legacy as a lonely, tragic figure. In 1896, Healy was brought to trial on charges ranging from conduct unbecoming an officer to endangerment of his vessel for reason of intoxication. As punishment, he was put ashore on half pay with no command and dropped to the bottom of the Captain's list. Eventually, he again rose to his former high position in the service by the time of his death in 1904. Sixty-seven years later, in 1971, the U.S. Coast Guard learned that Healy was born a slave in Georgia who ran away to sea at age fifteen and spent the rest of his life passing for white. This is the rare biography that encompasses both sea adventure and the height of human achievement against all odds. (M). $34.95

27179. Kroll, C. Douglas. COMMODORE ELLSWORTH P. BERTHOLF – First Commandant of the Coast Guard. Annapolis. 2002. 160p. DJ. Written by a former Coast Guard officer, the book chronicles Bertholf’s colorful early career with the service when he patrolled the vast reaches of the Pacific, enforced maritime laws regulating the fishing, sealing, and whaling industries, participated in daring rescues, and transported Siberian reindeer from Russia to the starving Inuits. When Ellsworth P. Bertholf was court-martialed and dismissed from the Naval Academy for a hazing incident, no one could have predicted his future greatness. But undaunted by his experience at the academy, Bertholf pursued a career in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and by 1902 had earned a special Gold Medal of Honor from the U.S. Congress for his role in a dramatic overland relief expedition to Alaska. By 1915 he had bypassed twenty-two officers senior to him to become the first commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and went on to successfully steer his fledgling service through the trials of World War I. This biography of the man who has been called the savior of the Coast Guard offers a revealing portrait not only of Bertholf but also of the last years of the Revenue Cutter and Life-Saving Services and the early formative years of the Coast Guard. (F). Published at $39.95. Our price $24.95.

949. Strobridge, Truman R. and Dennis L. Noble. ALASKA AND THE U. S. REVENUE CUTTER SERVICE, 1867-1915. 288p 1999. Stiff wraps. Not long after the United States purchased Alaska in 1867, the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service made its first appearance in Alaska . During the next forty-eight years the ships and men of the USRCS firmly established U.S. sovereignty in Alaska and the Bering Sea and performed amazing acts of heroism. In this scholarly work the authors bring together scattered documentation to chronicle events in the service’s colorful history. Wonderfully illustrated with 30 photographs. (M). Pub. At $32.95.                                                                                                                                              Our Price $29.65.

2644. Belyk, Robert C. GREAT SHIPWRECKS OF THE PACIFIC COAST. New York. 2001. 276 p. DJ. Fascinating, never-before-documented stories of the worst shipwrecks on the Pacific Coast during the golden age of coastal transportation, 1854 to 1929. The eighty years spanning the California gold rush to the start of the Great Depression saw thousands of passengers and crews perish in Pacific steamship wrecks. In Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast, author Robert Belyk looks beyond commonly provided-and frequently superficial-public explanations of weather conditions or human error, and closely examines ten significant maritime disasters that occurred along the Pacific coastline from California to Alaska. Filled with the drama of life and death aboard doomed ships, Belyk brings to life the struggles of real people caught in desperate situations when disaster strikes at sea. Illustrated with rare photographs and drawings. The shipwrecks accounted for here include: Yankee Blade: Wreck of a Gold Ship, Brother Jonathan: In the Teeth of the Dragon, Pacific: The Final Whistle, Rio de Janeiro: Death of a City, Clallam: The "Hoodoo" Ship, Valencia: Appointment with Death, Columbia: Disaster off Shelter Cove, Francis H. Leggett: Battle Lost, Princess Sophia: A Grave Error, San Juan: End of an Era. (F). $19.95.

24372. Martin, Mary L. and Tina Skinner. LIGHTHOUSE VIEWS: The United States' Best Beacons, as Captured on over 400 Postcards. Atglen. 2004. 128 p. Soft wraps. This new work examines the postcard keepsakes that lighthouse lovers have collected since the turn of the 20th century, documenting lighthouses from California to Alaska, and the Florida Keys to the rocky shores of Maine. Includes market values for appraising your collection of cards and shows many types and ages of cards. Fully illustrated in color. (M).  $24.95.

Light-House Service District Maps

10345. [Light-House Service District Maps]. U. S. Light-House Service. c. June 30, 1891. A rare opportunity to obtain an official U. S. Light-House Service District charts of all district aids to navigation as bound in their Annual Reports. Normally these charts are included within the Annual Reports and we are unable to offer them separately but we have found a lot of disbound charts in good condition. These are fine for matting and framing for your wall. Charts detail the entire Light-House District in three colors, and show all lighthouses, beacons, light vessels, fog signals, lighted buoys, Light-House Depots, and more. Charts average 8 ½” x 10” in size and are overall clean, may have very light stain,  with only one light original fold, light age toning. A rare chance to obtain the chart of your District for framing. (VG).

   THIRTEENTH LIGHT-HOUSE DISTRICT. From the boundary between California and Oregon to the northern boundary of the United States and includes Alaska . Includes all of Oregon and Washington , and Alaskan waters.  $44.

U. S. Light-House Service District Charts - Large Size

More items added daily. 

Procedure to order items:

Page updated March 27, 2012 .

Can't find what you are looking for?
We can help you find that needed book or item.
mailto:jclaflin@LighthouseAntiques.net

How to reach us:
Kenrick A. Claflin & Son Nautical Antiques
1227 Pleasant Street, Worcester, MA 01602 

Phone (508) 792-6627

All text and illustrations on web site Ó James W. Claflin . 03/27/2012 All rights reserved. Use prohibited without written permission.

Please purchase American made products - 99.99% of the items that we sell are American made or are printed in America. For the few new items that we sell, we make every effort to purchase American made wherever possible. Buying American made puts American workers to work, creates additional jobs, and saves energy for transportation. 

Please make every effort to recycle. All of the packing material and most of the cardboard that we receive is recycled by re-using it when shipping our products to you. We have reduced our paper use for catalogue subscriptions by over 90% and continue to try to save in these areas. Any items that cannot be re-used are sent to recycle, as is all of the paper and catalogues that we receive in the mail. Please continue to recycle such items when you receive them as well. This will aid in conserving our valuable resources and will reduce the energy necessary to make additional products. 

Please Visit Our Climate Change - Global Warming Fact Page. Your help is so important in solving this unprecedented issue.

All text and illustrations on web site Ó James W. Claflin . 05/01/2012 All rights reserved. Use prohibited without written permission.