I stumbled across a very interesting online exhibition presented by the Smithsonian Institute yesterday called On the Water. The specific portion of this online exhibition that I found to be a time-sucker is called Atlantic Cod. Click here for the link, but you’ve been warned about the hole you’re going to fall into…….
Two of the items I found especially interesting were the depiction of the Schooner Dauntless, build in Essex in 1855 and lost at sea just 15 years later in 1870. One of the men aboard that vessel may be a cousin (Martin Costello) but I haven’t yet been able to confirm it’s “my” Martin Costello. If it is the correct Martin, he was only 17 in 1870 when the Dauntless went down, a mere 2 years older than the schooner.
Schooner Dauntless model as depicted on the Smithsonian website for this exhibition:
Other items in the collection of special interest to me were the ones related to the ship’s cook. A senior Martin Costello in my family tree was a cook on the Schooner Paul Revere with Captain John Bentley (Martin’s son in law) which was lost in 1882. Pictured here from the Smithsonian collection is a shirt typically worn by cooks on fishing vessels:
I like thinking of my 3 times great grandfather looking pretty snazzy in such a shirt as he was prepping meals for the hard working fishermen. Thankful for online exhibits such as this. I hope you enjoy.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Love this!
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