16160. (lot 5 photos) Assistant Keeper Robert Thayer Sterling, Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine c.1928-1944.
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16160. (lot 5 photos) Assistant Keeper Robert Thayer Sterling, Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine c.1928-1944.
16160. (lot 5 photos) Assistant Keeper Robert Thayer Sterling, Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine c.1928-1944. Nice lot of five photos show Assistant Keeper Robert Thayer Sterling with his dog Chang looking out to sea. Also includes two photos of the fog signal bell marked “USLHS 1931” (or 1831). Sterling was the last civilian keeper before the Coast Guard took. He was a journalist and wrote the book “Lighthouses of the Maine Coast and the Men Who Keep Them” in 1935. Jeremy D’Entremont notes that “Sterling, who was from Peaks Island in Portland, Maine, entered the Lighthouse Service in 1915 and spent time at Ram Island Ledge, Great Duck Island, Seguin Island, and Cape Elizabeth (Two Lights) before coming to arriving at Portland Head as an assistant in 1928.” Sterling succeeded Frank O Hilt as principal keeper in 1944. Sterling, who retired in 1946, declared Portland Head the most desirable of all light stations for keepers. (assistant keeper 1928-1944, principal keeper 1944-1946) Many of the photos are labeled on the back. Measure about 3 ¾” x 5”. (VG+). $48.