Lighthouses: Beacons of Safety for Mariners
Theresa Levitt
A SHORT BRIGHT FLASH
Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse
New York, W. W. Norton, 2013
Theresa Levitt, a graduate of MIT and Harvard, tells the story of Augustin Fresnel (1788-1827), the French scientist whose revolutionary lens enabled lighthouse beacons to shine much more brightly and thus be seen from a greater distance. "Safely lighting the seaways of human commerce allowed international trade and colonial ambitions to flourish," while "harnessing the laws of optics to save lives" reinforced the idea that science was "the engine of progress and civilization." This is a good read, crammed with fascinating details about the evolution of lighthouse technology
A Short Bright Flash appeared just as the Society was hosting a summer program, "Sentinels of the Sound," and had been granted custodianship of Race Rock Light off Fishers Island. Coincidentally, the postal service issued an attractive set of stamps depicting four lighthouses, one of them our own New London Harbor Light.
_____________________________
F. Hopkinson Smith
CALEB WEST: MASTER DIVER
Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1898
Francis Hopkinson Smith was a popular author in his day, one of his best known works being Caleb West, first published in 1898. The romantic novel is set in the challenging, real-life circumstances of constructing Race Rock Light in the treacherous currents off Fishers Island. Smith was something of a polymath, being not only a writer but a civil engineer and an artist whose drawings of European scenes were much sought after. With Smith as designer/engineer of Race Rock Light, New London's own "master diver," the uniquely skilled Capt. Thomas A. Scott, oversaw construction of the foundation on a submerged reef, a dangerous project lasting almost seven years. (The lighthouse took only nine months.)
Ten years after Caleb West, Smith acknowledged Scott's extraordinary achievement in an adulatory description of his friend and business partner in a book of character studies, True American Types, published in Boston by the American Unitarian Society. This scarce item complements the three copies of Caleb West on our shelves in attractive variant bindings.
______________________________
Toby Chance and Peter Williams
LIGHTHOUSES - THE RACE TO ILLUMINATE THE WORLD
London, New Holland Publishers, 2008
Featuring an arresting subtitle, this addition to our collection narrates the little-known 19th century rivalry between Britain and France in the development of lighthouse technology. France had dominated the field ever since Augustin Fresnel carried out experiments with wave optics, starting in 1818, that led to the invention of the prismed lens that famously bears his name. Not until 1851, when English optical scientist James Chance exhibited his own lens in the Crystal Palace, did Britain seriously enter "the race to illuminate the world." Chance and his glassmaking firm, Chance Brothers, made lighthouse technology one of the "tools of empire" that enabled Britain to dominate much of the world economically, politically and culturally until the cataclysm of the Second World War.
_____________________________
Sara E. Wermiel
LIGHTHOUSES
New York and London, W. W. Norton, 2006
This authoritative work is one of the Visual Sourcebooks in Architecture, Design and Engineering published by the Library of Congress in partnership with Norton. Other volumes feature barns, theaters, canals, dams, cemeteries, railroad stations and bridges, and are projects of the Center for Architecture, Design and Engineering established by a bequest from Paul Rudolph, the late dean of Yale's School of Art and Architecture. Each volume draws from the vast image collections of the Library of Congress, the nation's largest library and oldest federal institution. New London's two lighthouses are here along with hundreds of others, together comprising a magisterial survey of their history and design from the 18th century to the 1960s. Local readers will spot New London Harbor Light on the dustjacket. Throughout this valuable work the carefully reproduced cross-sections and elevations of towers, lanterns and lenses show the many ways lighthouses have been designed for specific sites to fulfill their unique humanitarian purpose.
_____________________________
Robert G. Bachand
NORTHEAST LIGHTS
Lighthouses and Lightships
Norwalk, Sea Sports Publications, 1989
Our lighthouse holdings have been notably strengthened with these descriptions of all the extant and former lights and lightships from Rhode Island to Cape May, New Jersey. The cover image of New London Harbor Light alone is important to us, but the trove of details about each beacon also makes this one of the most useful books about the lights in our part of the world. A 2016 donation from James B. Malone of Columbia, Connecticut, we chose it as one of the first titles to be added to our new online catalog.
For the first time since 1998, when the library was dedicated to the memory of founding member Frank L. McGuire, we have a true catalog listing the more than two thousand titles in maritime history on our shelves. Click here to go directly to the catalog.
____________________________
Cross Sound Ferry Services, Inc.
CROSS SOUND LIGHTHOUSE CRUISE GUIDE
Lights & Sights Cruise Route Stop by Stop
New London, no date
New London Maritime Society trustee and Long Island resident Ted Webb, a frequent passenger on the ferries linking the island with New London, wrote this attractive guidebook to the landmarks seen on Cross Sound Ferry's "Lights and Sights" summer cruises. The "Lights" include three sentinels managed by the Society (Harbor Light, Ledge Light, and Race Rock) plus six others: Avery Point, North Dumpling, Morgan Point, Latimer Reef, Watch Hill, and Little Gull. The "Sights" include Forts Griswold and Trumbull, Fort Wright on Fishers Island, the Ocean House at Watch Hill and Simmons "Castle," the turreted stone mansion at the east end of Fishers Island that appears to have been transplanted from Old Quebec. The guide provides well wrought descriptions by maritime historian and Navy veteran Ted Webb, drawn from sixteen years of narrating tours of this kind. Interesting factual information is enlivened with intriguing details, superior photography, and a map. The author grew up around these lights, maintains friendships with many who served at them, and is committed to their preservation.
______________________________
Elinor De Wire
FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSES FOR KIDS
Sarasota, Pineapple Press, 2004
The author of this charming book is one of our most prolific writers on lighthouses and many of her adult books stand on our shelves. This latest acquisition, an autographed copy, was featured in conjunction with Elinor De Wire’s 2017 visit to the Custom House to present her children’s program, “Build a Simple Lighthouse Model.” The lively design and absorbing content clearly show her passion for the topic and her appeal to young readers. And like the best children’s books, it can be enjoyed by all ages. Ms. De Wire is no stranger to our state, having earned B.S. and M.A. degrees at the University of Connecticut, lectured at the Coast Guard Academy here in New London, and been interviewed on Connecticut Public Television. Her three children’s books on astronomy were published by Mystic Seaport in the 1990s, and more recently she has been honored by the U. S. Lighthouse Society and the American Lighthouse Foundation.
______________________________
Toni Buzzeo
LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTMAS
New York, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2011
Whether standing sentinel on a coastal bluff or an offshore island, a lighthouse offers intriguing possibilities for storytelling. One of several children's maritime books in our collection, this selection by a children's librarian tells the story of parents and their two children tending an island light as Christmas approaches. The weather is stormy, boats cannot come from the mainland, and the family is running short of food and supplies. A happy ending is provided by an air drop from a Flying Santa plane, a real-life program begun in 1929 that to this day serves the lights and Coast Guard stations of northern New England. (http://www.flyingsanta.com) Lighthouse Christmas won several awards 2012.
______________________________
Andrew Adams and Richard Woodman
LIGHT UPON THE WATERS
The History of Trinity House 1514-2014
London, The Corporation of Trinity House, 2013
If a maritime organization is old enough to celebrate its quincentenary, it's obviously not American. In this case the organization is British, and though the name Trinity House gives no hint, it is a maritime organization that has maintained British lighthouses and other aids to navigation for over five centuries. Trinity House also administers a deep sea pilotage authority providing expert navigators for merchant ships, and offers educational and charitable programs. This richly illustrated production narrates the long history of Trinity House, a private corporation established by King Henry VIII in 1514 to serve the nation's mariners. The royal connection remains: HRH The Princess Royal currently holds the title of Master of Trinity House, as did her father Prince Philip before her. We also acquired three Trinity House DVDs with vintage films of lighthouses, light vessels, buoy maintenance, pilotage activities, helicopter services and rescue.
______________________________
Reynaud Leonce
MEMOIR UPON THE ILLUMINATION AND BEACONAGE OF THE COAST OF FRANCE
Washington, Government Printing Office, 1876
A genuinely rare book on our shelves is this study of lighthouse technology originally published in Paris in 1864. It is notable for the exquisite engraved cross-sections of towers, lanterns and lenses which represented the best of France's effort to improve safety for mariners. An English translation was published for the use of the Light-House Board of the United States as it carried out the same mission across the Atlantic, and includes an essay by Augustin Fresnel detailing the investigations that led to the lens bearing his name. The Board wanted to study Leonce's "Memoir" because French lighthouse technology was leading the way in this endeavor so vital to national and international trade.
The engravings, one of which is shown here, impress with both the ingenuity and beauty of his invention. A handsome Fresnel lens is on permanent display in the Custom House Maritime Museum.