13314. (glass plate negative) Nantucket Life-Saving Service Keeper Thomas F. Sandsbury c.1870-1890’s.
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13314. (glass plate negative) Nantucket Life-Saving Service Keeper Thomas F. Sandsbury c.1870-1890’s.
- (glass plate negative) Nantucket Life-Saving Service Keeper Thomas F. Sandsbury c.1870-1890’s. Possibly by E.B. Robinson, Nantucket. This extremely rare view provides great detail of Nantucket Life-Saving Service Captain Thomas Sandsbury. View is a studio portrait, done on the island, probably by Photographer E.B. Sandsbury and is unusually clear and close. Before his appointment as the first Keeper at the Maddaket Life-Saving Station in 1891, Sandsbury was a volunteer for one of the Massachusetts Humane Society lifeboats on the island. On March 31, 1879, a violent storm swept across Nantucket Sound, bringing powerful winds, freezing rain, snow and heavy fog. By dawn on April 1, more than 68 vessels lay wrecked or disabled around the island. Nantucket’s volunteer lifesavers would soon find themselves participating in the largest rescue effort in the island’s history. Struggling through treacherous seas, Captain Thomas F. Sandsbury and his crew of volunteer lifesavers rowed a Massachusetts Humane Society surfboat steadily towards the first of the wrecks, the schooner John W. Hall. Pounded by the sea throughout the night, her hull had begun to break apart, filling with icy water as her crew fled to the rigging. Sandsbury and his crew rapidly pulled alongside. The crew scrambled aboard the surfboat, which took them to the safety of the shore. Going back into the storm, Sandsbury and his crew made for the schooner Emma J. Edwards. She was rolling from side to side as the sea crashed over her. Her masts thrashed the water with each turn, making it impossible to get near her. A sole survivor was visible. He was rescued by George E. Coffin, who jumped from the surfboat to the schooner, with a line around his waist to prevent him from being swept away. Sandsbury and his crew continued to move from wreck to wreck, looking for survivors. Their efforts were mirrored by other volunteers around the island. For 32 consecutive hours, Sandsbury and his crew heroically endured the hardships of the storm, rescuing more than a dozen mariners. By the time the storm began to break, Nantucket’s volunteer lifesavers had rescued more than 40 mariners. The courage of Sandsbury and his crew was recognized by the U.S. Congress with a gold medal presented to Sandsbury and silver medals to each of the crew. [rescue description courtesy Nantucket Shipwreck and Life-Saving Museum] Sandsbury died “from disease contracted in line of duty” [most likely exposure] on February 21, 1903. There are very few views of Nantucket Keepers and this is an early, crystal clear image. Large clear image measures 5” x 8” and is quite close providing great detail. Includes one print made from this glass plate negative. Rare image. (VG). $324.