Lighthouse Photograph and Print Collection
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Collection of photographs and prints depicting lighthouses, light vessels, and related equipment, primarily in the United States, from about 1860 through 1938. A few views of foreign lighthouses and equipment are included, as is an album of lithographs of architectural plans, sections, and elevations for lighthouses, light vessels, lenses, and other equipment.
Historical Note
During the colonial period, American colonies each had individual financial and administrative control over their own lighthouses and other navigational aids. In 1716 the first American lighthouse began to guide sailors into Boston Harbor from its home on Little Brewster Island. By the time the colonies moved for independence from England in 1776, there were ten lighthouses in operation along the coastline. The newly-created Congress of the United States, meeting for its first session, recognized the important role maritime commerce played in the young nation's economy. In 1789, as its Ninth Act, the Congress provided for the federal takeover of all lighthouses and minor aids to navigation in its constituent states. This act also created the U.S. Light House Establishment and placed it under the administration of the Treasury Department. For the first few years many minor matters required review by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and signature by President George Washington. To simplify these processes, in 1792 the position of the Commissioner of Revenue was established to take over the leadership of the Light House Establishment. In the following years control would revert back and forth between these two administrators. Finally in 1820 superintendence was assumed by the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury Department, Stephen Pleasonton, who would hold the command for the following thirty years.
Pleasonton's administration was notoriously resistant to change, and visitors from Europe commented on the poor state of the navigational aids of the United States. Although the number of lighthouses and lightships grew to 325 by 1852, many were not considered reliable. Although French inventor Augustin Fresnel developed lenses capable of gathering and focusing a central light into a beam visible from far greater distances than traditional lights in 1823, the lenses were not used in the United States until 1841 when an imported Fresnel lens was installed in the Highlands of Navesink Light (New Jersey) marking the approach to New York Harbor.
Until technological advancement made the construction of offshore towers feasible, light vessels were strategically placed in waters considered inhospitable for lighthouses. The first lightship off the coast of the United States was installed near Sandy Hook in 1823.
In 1852, Congress dissolved the Light House Establishment and organized the new U.S. Light House Board. The Board organized the country into twelve districts, each administered by an inspector appointed by the President. The Light House Board oversaw great changes in navigational aids. It immediately began installing Fresnel lenses in its lighthouses and oversaw the building of new screwpile lighthouses, as well as new types of fog signals and buoys. Under its direction, the first lighthouses and fog signals went up on the Pacific Coast. In 1886 the Light House Board tested a new light source, electricity, to illuminate the torch of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor (which was then considered a key aid to navigation).
In 1910, the U.S. Light House Board was dissolved, and Congress established the Bureau of Lighthouses (better known as the Lighthouse Service). Finally in 1939, in the interest of efficiency, the Bureau of Lighthouses was integrated into the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard became responsible for the control and administration of approximately 30,000 navigational aids.
Arrangement
Missing Title
- Series I: Cyanotype Album
- Series II: Lighthouses
- Series III: Floating Aids to Navigation
- Series IV: Light Station Equipment
- Series V: Lithograph Album by Julius Bien
Scope and Content Note
The Lighthouse Photograph and Print Collection spans the period from about 1860 through 1938 and consists predominantly of photographs depicting American lighthouses, beacons, keepers' dwellings, lighthouse equipment, light vessels, and related subjects. The collection is arranged in five series: Cyanotype Album, Lighthouses, Floating Aids to Navigation, Light Station Equipment, and Lithograph Album by Julius Bien. Throughout this finding aid, names of lights have been standardized to those currently used by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. National Park Service. Alternate or former names which are in popular usage are in parentheses after official names; names which could not be confirmed have been written in brackets.
The collection consists primarily of photographs of lighthouses and stations along the eastern coast of the United States, but lighthouses in California, Puerto Rico and England are also included. Light vessels, tenders (ships responsible for tending to buoys), and lighthouse equipment, including lights, lenses, audible signals, and engines are also included. Miscellaneous materials include views of exhibition displays, two pamphlets, a letter, and a few mounted clippings. The collection includes an album of cyanotype views of lighthouses and associated structures (ca. 1884-1900) and an album of lithographs by Julius Bien (ca. 1860).
Materials in this collection originate from a variety of photographers and publishers, and as a result, photographic styles vary. The collection includes both detailed technical work and commercially-produced scenic views. For the majority of materials in this collection, the photographer is unknown. Professional commissions include photography by Underhill, Alexander & Tolman, and the Fairchild Airviews Company, all of New York. Other large-scale surveys may have commissioned lesser known professional photographers or assigned staff photographers to systematically document U.S. Lighthouses. Photographer's names occasionally appear hand-written on the verso; names have been given in parentheses in the folder listing when available. There are a few survey series, including those of West Quoddy Head Light Station in Maine and Devil's Light Station in Wisconsin, which show stylistic consistency; they are all 8 x 10 inch contact prints with similar numeration and descriptive information set on the negatives and printed directly into the photographs. These may have been done by the same person, but it is more likely that they reflect Lighthouse Service standards for photographic documentation.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 30 photocopies per day per person. Suitability of the original for photocopying is at the discretion of the staff. Neither blueprints nor tracings can be copied under any circumstances. Duplication of large-format items will be done by the house photographer. See Print Room guidelines for details.
Use Restrictions
Permission to reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from
Rights and Reproductions
The New-York Historical Society
Two West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024
Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282
Fax: (212) 579-8794
The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as The Lighthouse Photograph and Print Collection, PR 038, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Provenance
The bulk of the Lighthouse Photograph and Print Collection was acquired through two gifts. Admiral Edward H. Smith donated 335 photographs on July 19, 1946, on behalf of the Third Division of the U.S. Coast Guard, New York City. On February 10, 1953, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Library donated a series of 35 albumen photographs taken by the Halliday Historic Photograph Co. of Boston documenting lighthouses located in Maine and Massachusetts. A third component of this collection is a bound volume containing 150 lithographs by Julius Bien produced for the U.S. Lighthouse Service; the provenance of this album is unknown, but it may at one time have belonged to Brigadier General Richard Delafield, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1864-1866.
About this Guide
Edition of this Guide
Repository
Series I: Cyanotype Album
Scope and Contents note
Series I dates from about 1884 to 1900 and includes undated cyanotypes from a disbound album compiled for the United States Light House Board. The photographs have been arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by name. Most titles refer to lighthouses or stations, but a few photographs from the album depict fog bells, stake lights, or range lights; these exceptions are noted. An original album inventory is available in folder one, and corresponding index numbers have been noted in parentheses after each item. The album documents lighthouses throughout New England, New Jersey and New York, and includes images ranging in size from 5 x 7 inches to 13 ½ x 10 ½ inches. Folder 5 contains a comprehensive series of photographs documenting the Sandy Hook Light station, powerhouse, and bouy installation. Sixteen of the images printed as cyanotypes for this album are duplicated in Series II.
Original index to cyanotype album, [1900]
Connecticut
Bridgeport Breakwater (Tongue Point) (11a), undated
Faulkner's Island (40) (2 items), undated
Housatonic River (52a), undated
Latimer Reef (59) (2 items), 1901 Jun. 20, undated
Morgan Point (66a), undated
New Haven Long Wharf (70), undated
New London Harbor (71) (3 items), [1884], inclusive
New London Steamer Putnam (141), undated
Penfield Reef (82), 1886, inclusive
Maine
[Duck Island Breakwater, lost light] (32a)], 1899, inclusive
New Jersey
Sandy Hook -- Electric Station Power House (interior) (104), undated
Sandy Hook -- Electric buoy - head, undated
Sandy Hook -- Electric buoy - in water, undated
Sandy Hook -- Electric junction box, undated
Sandy Hook -- Fog signal house, undated
Sandy Hook -- General view, undated
Sandy Hook -- Lower house, undated
Sandy Hook Light Vessel (16), undated
New York
Coney Island (22) (3 items), undated
Cumberland Head (34), 1900 Oct. 22
Danskammer Point Fog Bell (32), undated
Eatons Neck (34), [1885], inclusive
Elm Tree Range Light (35), undated
Esopus Island (36), undated
Execution Rocks (39) (2 items), undated
Fort Columbus Fog Bell (48), undated
Fort Lafayette Fog Bell (43), undated
Fort Tompkins (44), undated
Hell Gate Electric Light (52) (3 items), [1884-1886], inclusive
Huntington Harbor (formerly Lloyd Harbor) (64) (2 items), 1885, inclusive
Jeffrey's Hook (stake light)(56), undated
Livingston Creek (beacon) (63), 1886, inclusive
Montauk Point (66) (2 items), 1884, inclusive
North Dumpling (75), undated
Orient Point (79a), undated
Plattsburgh (84), 1886, inclusive
Plum Island (85), undated
Port Jefferson (89a), undated
Port Jefferson (elevated walk and fog house), undated
Rockland Lake (96) (3 items), undated
Rondout (98), undated
Sands Point (103), undated
Stony Point (16), 1886, inclusive
Rhode Island
Block Island (North) (6), [1880], inclusive
Brenton's Reef Light Vessel (Map) (10), undated
Conimicut Shoal (23), undated
Gould Island (47), undated
Great Salt Pond Breakwater (50a) (2 items), undated
Ida Lewis Rock (formerly Lime Rock), Ida Lewis pictured (61), 1884, inclusive
Newport Harbor (Goat Island) (72) (2 items), 1884, inclusive
Point Judith (87), undated
Ponham Rocks (cyanotype fragments) (89) (4 items), undated
Rose Island (99), [1884], inclusive
Sabin's Point (Sabine Point) (100) (4 items), 1900 Nov. 14
Vermont
Juniper Island (58), 1886, inclusive
Unidentified Locations
Otter Creek (80), 1900 Oct. 15
Series II: Lighthouses
Scope and Contents note
Series II dates from about 1868 to 1938 and includes primarily undated mounted albumen and silver gelatin photographic prints of lighthouses, towers, and other components of light stations. Photographs are arranged in three subseries: American Lighthouses, Foreign and U.S. Territorial Lighthouses, and Unidentified Lighthouses. Thereunder photographs are arranged alphabetically by state (or country) and official name. Oversize materials have been filed in box 7. Folder 13 contains an alphabetical index (which probably was received with the collection) to fifty-two lighthouse photographs, only some of which are in this collection.
Most American light stations represented are located along the eastern seaboard of the United States, between Maine and South Carolina. Among these are a group of about thirty mounted photographs of lighthouses located in Maine and Massachusetts which were taken by the Halliday Historic Photograph Co.; these photographs were a gift of the library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Halliday was a Boston firm which produced architectural and scenic views for commercial sale from the 1890s through the 1930s. Most of the Halliday photographs bear captions and plate numbers printed into the photographs; the verso of each has been labeled with "Halliday," the plate number, and a stamp from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Other photographs represent lighthouses in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
The majority of the photographs in this series are general views of light stations or towers. Also included is a series of photographs documenting the United States Lighthouse Depot (now the National Lighthouse Museum) on Staten Island, New York. The U.S. Lighthouse Depot served as a national headquarters for the Lighthouse Board and as a center for testing new technologies, and building and repairing lighthouses, lightships and other equipment. Folders 31-32 include a group of beach erosion survey photographs taken in 1919 at Barnegat Light Station in New Jersey. A few photographs feature lighthouse keepers or other unidentified individuals; for example an 1884 photograph of the Ida Lewis Rock Lighthouse (formerly Lime Rock) in Rhode Island features Ida Lewis in front of the structure. (A duplicate cyanotype print of this image is available in Series I). The series also includes a set of identical clippings from a March 27, 1936, edition of the New York Daily News regarding a ship which ran aground near Race Rock Light, New York. Two pamphlets outlining a lighthouse cruise from Portland, Maine to New York are available with other oversize materials in Box 7.
The subseries Foreign and U.S. Territorial Lighthouses consists of one photograph by Alfred Camm of Bishop's Rock Light in England, and a group of eighteen photographs of lighthouses in the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico. Thirteen photographs of unidentified lighthouses are located in folder 51 at the end of this series.
American Lighthouses -- Index to Lighthouses, undated
American Lighthouses -- California
Point Reyes (Punta de Los Reyes), [1870], inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Connecticut
Black Rock Harbor, 1884, inclusive
Bridgeport Harbor, 1884, inclusive
Falkner's Island (Faulkner's Island) -- Building surveys (3 items), 1900, inclusive
Falkner's Island (Faulkner's Island) -- General views (2 items), 1884, inclusive
Lynde Point (Saybrook), undated
Morgan Point, undated
New Haven Outer Breakwall (Sperry Light) -- Foundation cylinder, 1899, inclusive
New Haven Outer Breakwall (Sperry Light) -- Beacon and survey station, 1899, inclusive
New London Harbor, 1884, inclusive
Penfield Reef, 1886, inclusive
Southwest Ledge, 1886, inclusive
Stamford Harbor, 1886, inclusive
Stonington Outer Breakwater, 1884, inclusive
Stratford Point -- Original wooden tower (2 copies), [1870-1881], inclusive
Stratford Point -- Cast iron tower (2 copies), 1884, inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Florida
Amelia Island, [1880], inclusive
Jupiter Inlet, [1880], inclusive
St. Augustine, [1880], inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Maine
Avery's Rock Machias Bay (2 items), undated
Bass Harbor Head (2 items), [1880], inclusive
Brown's Head, [1880], inclusive
Burnt Island, undated
Cape Elizabeth (east and west towers), undated
Cape Neddick ("The Nubble") (4 items), undated
Dice Head (view from Nautilus Island), undated
Eagle Island, undated
Franklin Island, undated
Heron Neck, undated
Little River -- View from the water, [1892], inclusive
Little River -- General view (2 items), [1892], inclusive
Little River -- Fog bell, [1892], inclusive
Little River -- Boat house (2 items), [1892], inclusive
Little River -- Tower and dwelling, [1892], inclusive
Marshall Point, undated
Moose Peak Lighthouse, undated
Mount Desert Rock (3 items), [1890], inclusive
Nash Island (4 items), [1890], inclusive
Owls Head, [1890], inclusive
Petit Manan -- Boat house, [1892], inclusive
Petit Manan -- Light station (4 items), [1892], inclusive
Petit Manan -- Tower (2 items), [1892], inclusive
Portland Head, undated
Saddleback Ledge, undated
Seguin Island, undated
St. Croix River, [1890], inclusive
Tenants Harbor, undated
West Quoddy Head -- General views (6 items), 1892, inclusive
West Quoddy Head -- Powerhouse, 1892, inclusive
West Quoddy Head --Tower, 1892, inclusive
Whitehead Island, undated
Unidentified (4 items), undated
American Lighthouses -- Massachusetts
Boston Harbor, undated
Eastern Point, undated
Marblehead, undated
Thatcher's Island (North) and Cape Ann (South), undated
American Lighthouses -- Michigan
Fourteen Mile Point, Lake Superior (2 items), [1890], inclusive
[Hay Lake Channel Station], [1890], inclusive
Portage River (Jacobsville) (2 items), [1893], inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Minnesota
Duluth Range (2 items), [1893], inclusive
Two Harbors (4 items), [1893], inclusive
American Lighthouses -- New Hampshire
Dover -- submarine blasting, 1894, inclusive
Whaleback, undated
Island of Shoals (White Island) (4 items), undated
American Lighthouses -- New Jersey
Barnegat -- General views (5 items), undated
Barnegat -- Beach erosion series (by HBB) -- 4 boards each with 4 mounted photographs, 1919 Apr. 23
Barnegat -- Beach erosion series (by HBB) -- 3 boards each with 3 mounted photographs, 1919 May 22
Barnegat -- Beach erosion series (by HBB) -- 3 boards each with 3 mounted photographs, 1919 May 23
Barnegat -- Beach erosion series (by HBB) -- 2 boards each with 4 mounted photographs, 1919 May 25
Bergen Point (2 items), undated
Conover Beacon, undated
Cross Ledge, undated
Hereford Inlet (2 items), 1913, inclusive
Navesink Twin Lights, 1885, inclusive
Newark Bay (3 items) (by Skinner), 1922 Jan. 20
Passaic, undated
Point Comfort Range, 1884, inclusive
Sandy Hook -- General Views (one by Lamb) (2 items), 1884 1938, inclusive
Sandy Hook -- Fog Signals (2 items), 1884-1885, inclusive
Sandy Hook East Beacon, 1884, inclusive
American Lighthouses -- New York
Barber's Point, 1884, inclusive
Buffalo Breakwater, [1890], inclusive
Coxsackie, undated
Cumberland Head, 1886, inclusive
Danskammer Fog Bell, undated
Eatons Neck, [1885], inclusive
Elm Tree (2 items), 1899, inclusive
Esopus Meadows (2 items), [1884-1886], inclusive
Execution Rocks, undated
Fire Island, undated
General note
See: Box 7, Folder 66
Fisher's Island Fog Bell (8 items), 1908, inclusive
Fort Columbus Fog Bell, undated
Fort Lafayette Fog Bell, undated
Fort Tompkins, undated
Great Beds (2 items), 1885, inclusive
Hallet's Point, 1883, inclusive
General note
See: Box 8, Folder 66
Hell Gate (2 copies), [1884-1886], inclusive
Hell Gate, 1884, inclusive
Hudson-Athens (Hudson City), 1886, inclusive
Hudson River signal installation, undated
Huntington Harbor (formerly Lloyd Harbor) (2 copies), 1885, inclusive
Little Gull Island (2 items), [1884], 1923, inclusive
Livingston Creek (2 copies), 1886, inclusive
Montauk Point (4 items, 2 copies), 1884, inclusive
New Dorp (Swash Channel Range Rear), [1890], inclusive
North Brother Island, 1885, inclusive
North Dumpling (2 copies), undated
Old Field Point, 1885, inclusive
Plattsburgh (2 items), 1886, inclusive
Plum Island (Plum Gut), 1884, inclusive
Pointe aux Roches, 1886, inclusive
Princes Bay, 1885, inclusive
Race Rock Light Station, New York Daily Newsclippings mounted on board (2 copies), 1936 Mar. 27
Romer Shoal, 1935 Sept. 19
Rondout, undated
Sands Point (2 items), 1884, inclusive
Shinnecock, undated
General note
See also: Box 7, Folder 66
Split Rock, 1886, inclusive
Stepping Stones, 1886, inclusive
Stony Point, 1886, inclusive
Stuyvesant, 1886, inclusive
Tarrytown (Kingsland Point), 1886, inclusive
Throg's Neck (2 copies), 1884, inclusive
U.S. Lighthouse Depot (now the National Lighthouse Museum) -- Administration Building (by Alexander & Tolman), 1890, inclusive
U.S. Lighthouse Depot (now the National Lighthouse Museum) -- Aerial view (by Fairchild), 1931, inclusive
U.S. Lighthouse Depot (now the National Lighthouse Museum) -- Engineer's and carpenter's store house, [1890], inclusive
U.S. Lighthouse Depot (now the National Lighthouse Museum) -- Engineer's lamp shop under construction, [1868], inclusive
U.S. Lighthouse Depot (now the National Lighthouse Museum) -- Engineer's lamp shop, 1890, inclusive
U.S. Lighthouse Depot (now the National Lighthouse Museum) -- Workshop under construction, [1868], inclusive
Valcour Island (Bluff Point), 1886, inclusive
West Point, undated
Unidentified (3 items), undated
American Lighthouses -- North Carolina
Bodie Island (2 items), 1893, inclusive
Cape Hatteras -- Beacon (2 items), 1893, inclusive
Cape Hatteras -- Dwelling no. 1, 1893, inclusive
Cape Hatteras -- Dwelling no. 2, 1893, inclusive
Cape Hatteras -- Tower, 1893, inclusive
Cape Lookout (2 items), [1893], inclusive
Currituck Beach (2 items), 1893, inclusive
Federal Point, undated
Long Point -- General view, 1893, inclusive
Long Point -- Boat house, 1893, inclusive
Long Point -- Dwelling no. 1, 1893, inclusive
Long Point -- Dwelling no. 2, 1893, inclusive
Long Point -- Retort house and gas tank, 1893, inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Ohio
Cleveland East Breakwater West End (2 items), [1879], inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Rhode Island
Beaver Tail (2 items), 1884, [1884], inclusive
Block Island, [1880], inclusive
Bristol Ferry, 1884, inclusive
Bullock Point, [1898], inclusive
Dutch Island, 1884, inclusive
Ida Lewis Rock (formerly Lime Rock), Ida Lewis pictured, 1884, inclusive
Newport Harbor (Goat Island), 1884, inclusive
Plum Beach, 1884, inclusive
Point Judith (2 copies), [1880], inclusive
Prudence Island (Sandy Point), 1884, inclusive
Rose Island (2 items), 1884, [1884], inclusive
Watch Hill, undated
American Lighthouses -- South Carolina
Cape Romain, undated
American Lighthouses -- Vermont
Burlington Breakwater North End, 1886, inclusive
Burlington Breakwater South, 1886, inclusive
Isle La Motte, undated
Juniper Island, 1886, inclusive
Windmill Point, 1886, inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Virginia
Unidentified, undated
American Lighthouses -- Wisconsin
Devils Island (2 items), 1893, inclusive
Outer Island -- General view, 1893, inclusive
Outer Island -- Fog signal houses (2 items), 1893, inclusive
Port Washington (4 items), 1893, inclusive
Port Washington Pierhead, 1893, inclusive
Superior Pierhead, 1893, inclusive
American Lighthouses -- Multistate
"Lighthouses along the coast between Portland and New York - 'By Sea to Maine'" published by Maine Steamship Company, New York (2 partial copies), [1907], inclusive
General note
See: Box 7, Folder 67
Foreign and U.S. Territorial Lighthouses -- England
Bishop Rock (by Alfred Camm), [1880], inclusive
Foreign and U.S. Territorial Lighthouses -- Puerto Rico
Arecibo (Faro de Arecibo), [1900], inclusive
Cape Rojo (Cabo Rojo), [1900], inclusive
Cape San Juan (Cabo San Juan), [1900], inclusive
Cardona Island (2 items), [1900], inclusive
Culebrita Island (Isla Culebrita), [1900], inclusive
Guanica (2 items), [1900], inclusive
Mona Island (Isla de Mona), [1900], inclusive
Muertos Island (Isla Caja de Muertos), [1900], inclusive
Point Borinquen, [1900], inclusive
Point Jiguero (Higuero), [1900], inclusive
Point Mulas (2 items), [1900], inclusive
Point Tuna, [1900], inclusive
Puerto Ferro (Faro de Puerto Ferro) (2 items), [1900], inclusive
Unidentified Lighthouses
Unidentified lighthouses, [1890], inclusive
Series III: Floating Aids to Navigation
Scope and Contents note
Series III dates from 1884-1927 and consists of photographic and ephemeral materials documenting light vessels, tenders (ships which service buoys), and buoys. Photographs are arranged in two subseries: Light Buoys and Accessories, and Ships and Light Vessels. Light Buoys and Accessories consists of a series of half tone tear sheets and is organized alphabetically according to the manufacturer's name and thereunder by the manufacturer's numbers. The Ships and Light Vessels subseries is arranged alphabetically by ship name with type noted in parentheses when known. Where they can be identified, light vessel (LV) numbers have been given.
Light Buoys and Accessories
American Gas Accumulator Co. -- Sun Valve, No. 1118, [1904], inclusive
American Gas Accumulator Co. -- Beacons -- "Kurinsky Kamenj" No.1238, [1904], inclusive
American Gas Accumulator Co. -- Beacons -- "Blockhusudden" No. 1261, [1904], inclusive
American Gas Accumulator Co. -- Beacons -- Waalhaven at Rotterdam, No. 1275, [1904], inclusive
American Gas Accumulator Co. -- Light Buoys -- For Uruguay, No. 1276, [1904], inclusive
American Gas Accumulator Co. -- Light Buoys -- For Roumania [Romania], on Courtney Buoy, No. 1278, [1904], inclusive
American Gas Accumulator Co. -- Light Buoys -- For Harlingen, Holland, No. 1457, [1904], inclusive
Unidentified Manufacturers -- Built Up Bell Buoy, Goat Island Depot (2 copies), 1916, inclusive
Unidentified Manufacturers -- Tompkinsville Gas Buoy (by Lamb), 1927 May 31
Ships and Light Vessels
Amaranth (tender) (4 items), [1897], inclusive
Bartlett Reef, LV 13 (light vessel) (by Haskell), 1913 Sep.
Boston,, LV 54 WAL 502 (light vessel) (by Underhill), 1915, inclusive
Brenton Reef, LV 39 (light vessel), undated
Cornfield, LV 48 (light vessel) (2 copies) (by Haskell), 1913 Sep.
Diamond (light vessel) (by Rosenfeld), [1922], inclusive
Dewitt Clinton (tugboat), undated
Hyacinth, undated
Iris (tender), undated
John Rodgers (tender), undated
Northeast, LV 111 (light vessel), 1926 Dec. 29
Overfalls, undated
Putnam (tender), [1890], inclusive
Sandy Hook, LV 16 (light vessel), 1884, inclusive
Supply Steamer Armeria, 1890, inclusive
Series IV: Light Station Equipment
Scope and Contents note
Series IV dates from ca. 1873-1927 and consists of photographs of a variety of types of equipment along with associated equipment tests and exhibitions. The photographs are arranged by type of equipment or related subject into six subseries: Audible Alerts, Engines and Air Compressors, Equipment Tests, Lenses and Lighthouse Apparatus, Lighthouse Equipment Exhibition Displays, and Unidentified and Miscellaneous Equipment.
Audible Alerts consists primarily of photographs of fog signals. One series of fifteen photographs documents the construction of the fog signal structure and installation of equipment by Hamilton-Foster Fog Signal Co., at Falkner's Island (Faulkner's Island), Connecticut. Four details of fog bell apparatus for the Minots Ledge Light Station in Massachusetts are included.
Engines and Air Compressors consists of a group of photographs by Underhill of Meitz and Weiss oil engine air compressors as installed in various engine rooms. Also included in this series are photographs of unidentified engine rooms, one of which is in Detroit, Michigan.
Equipment Tests show details of various equipment tests, including rust tests on steel and iron, tests of centrifugal pumps, and a few tests of machinery under icy conditions.
Lenses and Lighthouse Apparatus consists of photographs and halftone tear-sheets of lenses and lanterns made by Barbier, Benard & Turenne Manufacturers (Paris, France), Chance Brothers and Co. (London, England), and by unidentified manufacturers. Locations of installed lenses and lanterns have been listed in the finding aid.
Lighthouse Equipment Exhibition Displays includes photographs of equipment displays at various international exhibitions. Also included is a 1927 typescript letter from the acting Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Department of Commerce regarding lighthouse exhibition photographs from the Sesqui-Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1926.
Audible Alerts
Bialy, John A. - Fog bell for Minots Ledge Light, Massachusetts (4 items, elevations and cross sections), undated
Daboll - Rotating fog apparatus, undated
Hamilton-Foster Fog Signal Co. - Construction of fog signal at Falkner's (Faulkner's) Island, Connecticut (16 items), undated
New England Gamewell Co. - Fog bell machine, [1897], inclusive
Stevens, George M. (Boston) - Improved fog bell machine, 1897 Mar. 9
Unidentified manufacturer -- Whistle reflector, [1896], inclusive
Engines and Air Compressors
Meitz and Weiss Oil Engine Air Compressor Series, Boston, (by Underhill, New York) -- Engine room interiors (B22901- 2 copies, B22902, B22645), 1915, inclusive
Meitz and Weiss Oil Engine Air Compressor Series, Boston, (by Underhill, New York) -- Close up of engine components (B22394, B22395, no number), 1915, inclusive
Unidentified Manufacturers -- Engine room interior, Detroit, Michigan, [1873], inclusive
Unidentified Manufacturers -- Engine room interiors (3 items), undated
Equipment Tests
A.G.A. Flashing & Reducing Chamber filled with ice, 1914, inclusive
A.G.A. Reconstructed Flasher operating while frozen, 1915, inclusive
Centrifugal pump testing (2 items), 1922, inclusive
Ingot iron and steel rust tests (inscribed as: steel scaled, ingot iron scaled, ingot iron not scaled), [1915], inclusive
Valve pressure testing series (4 items), [1897], inclusive
Lenses and Lighthouse Apparatus
Barbier, Benard & Turenne Manufacturers (Paris, France) -- Cape Hinchinbrook, Alaska - Third order lightning light, 1906, inclusive
Barbier, Benard & Turenne Manufacturers (Paris, France) -- Hillsboro Inlet, Florida - Second order bivalve lightning light, 1906, inclusive
Barbier, Benard & Turenne Manufacturers (Paris, France) -- Liston Range Rear, Delaware - Range light, 1906, inclusive
Barbier, Benard & Turenne Manufacturers (Paris, France) -- Mexican Government - Fourth order lenses (half tone tear sheet) (2 copies), [1890], inclusive
Barbier, Benard & Turenne Manufacturers (Paris, France) -- Point Arena, California - First order lightning light apparatus, 1906, inclusive
Barbier, Benard & Turenne Manufacturers (Paris, France) -- Unidentified (half tone tear sheet), [1890], inclusive
General note
See also: Box 7, Folder 68
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia - First order light (halftone tear sheet), [1895], inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Cape of Good Hope - First order quadruple flashing light (half tone tear sheet), [1895], inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Makapu Point - Lens (half tone tear sheet), 1908, inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Mexico - Dioptric lighthouse apparatus, [1875], inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Oyster Island, Burma - First order fixed occulting white lens light (by H.J. Whitlock), [1890], inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Pulau Pisang, Malaysia - First order lantern, [1890], inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Spurn Head, England - Single-flashing hyperradial apparatus (halftone tear sheet), [1897], inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Watling Island, Bahamas - Second order double flashing light (by H.J. Whitlock), [1890], inclusive
Chance Brother's and Co. (London, England) -- Experimental lantern and apparatus for floating light, [1890], inclusive
Unidentified manufacturer -- Bolina Point, Texas - Lens, [1908], inclusive
Unidentified manufacturer -- Hawaii - Lens, [1900], inclusive
Unidentified manufacturer -- Second order bivalve lens (2 items), [1898], inclusive
Unidentified manufacturer -- Unidentified lens, undated
Unidentified manufacturer -- Unidentified lantern base and wick (2 items), undated
Unidentified manufacturer -- Unidentified gas burning navigational lantern, undated
Lighthouse Equipment Exhibition Displays
Paris Exposition Universelle, Paris, France (2 items), 1900, inclusive
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, CA, 1915, inclusive
Safety First Exhibit, Washington, DC (2 items), 1916, inclusive
Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition, Philadelphia, PA (11 items), 1926, inclusive
Letter from the acting Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Department of Commerce regarding exhibit photographs, 1927, inclusive
Unidentified and Miscellaneous Equipment
Light station tool box, 1915, inclusive
Vulcan iron and steel works, frame fabrication (2 items), undated
Unidentified instrument panel, undated
Unidentified equipment shop exteriors (3 items), undated
Series V: Lithograph Album by Julius Bien
Scope and Contents note
Series V dates from ca. 1860 and consists of a series of 150 lithographs (bearing plate numbers 1-95) bound into one oversize volume measuring 34.5 x 24.5 inches. The album contains plans, sections, and elevations of lighthouse towers, buoys, lamps, lanterns, lenses, light vessels, and other equipment for lighthouse service.
Julius Bien (1826-1909) was a German-born painter, cartographer and lithographer who immigrated to the United States in 1849. He settled in New York and became known as a one of the country's finest mapmakers. Bien did extensive cartographic work for the United States Government. This album is stamped "U.S. Light House Establishment," and "Col R Delafield Corps of Engineers" is inscribed on the cover. It is presumed that the album was once in the possession of Richard Delafield (1798-1873), who was in charge of New York Harbor defenses from 1861-1864 and was Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1864-1866. Each plate in this reads "Lith of J. Bien 60 Fulton Street," an address from which Bien is known to have worked only in 1860.