Author: Sharon

My passions include photography, music, people, teaching, learning, taking risks and asking "I wonder what would happen if I..."

The Pier at West Beach

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West Beach, circa 1920 V. Blanden/©Fredrik D. Bodin
The West Beach photograph evokes fond childhood memories from local visitors to the gallery. The beach, on Route 127 in Beverly Farms, is privately owned, although open to the public for nine months during the off-season. It runs about a mile from Prides Crossing through Beverly Farms to Beverly proper. It has been administered by the West Beach Corporation since 1852, after being bequeathed to the residents of Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing by John West, who acquired it in 1666. The pier was originally built for docking boats, later evolving into a popular place for jumping into the water and swimming. The sign at the pier’s entrance reads: “This Pier for the Sole use of the Members of the West Beach Corporation and Subscribers.” Great Misery Island, pictured in the distance, and now owned by the Trustees of Reservations , had structures such as the Governor’s Cottage, the Casino hotel, and Bleak House, complete with sea plane hanger. The pier at West Beach was destroyed in the blizzard of 1978, and now has only a few pilings remaining. This beautiful beach was painted by Gloucester’s Fitz Henry Lane 1855.
Printed from the original 5×7 inch negative in my darkroom. Image # FS-001
Fred

Fredrik D. Bodin

Bodin Historic Photo

82 Main Street

Auction – This Wednesday!!

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Looking for something to do on Hump Day? Check out Gloucester’s new auction house.

This week Walt will have an auction that covers all shades of the spectrum. For example, there’s a showcase full of vintage jewelry, an Ibanez black acoustic guitar, art, lots of power tools & much more.

The auction starts at 6pm, but anyone interested should take advantage of the 3hr inspection that starts at 3pm in the afternoon. There’s usually a couple of hundred lots at least which are sold at each auction so there’s not a lot of time to give details on the auction block.

The auction is located in the Cape Ann Industrial Park, 17 Kondelin Rd. #7

More details at www.auctionwally.com/ and at: http://auctionzip.comauctioneer/gloucester

If you’re interested in selling your items call Walt at 978-395-7077

MA lic#2621

The Historic American Sneakboat

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Sneakboat and Decoys, Plum Island, circa 1885 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
 
Basic Sneak Boat
The sneakboat is a type of duck hunting boat, dating from the early 1800’s, that was, and still is used throughout the United States in one form or another (sneak, sneak box, sculling boat, float boat, and coffin boat). This low-profile camouflaged boat allowed the hunter to lie down at water level amoung his decoys, maneuver quietly by wiggling a paddle out the stern transom, and lure flying ducks to seemingly safe waters. When the birds descend, he hunter sits up and fires away with a shotgun. Sneakboats proved to be deadly for ducks in the days of “market hunting,” when one could make a decent living killing waterfowl. The Rodigrass clan migrated to Plum Island from Nova Scotia in the late 1800’s to commercially harvest ducks, clams, and fish. They were notable both as hunters and as guides.
Nathan Rodigrass, Plum Island, circa 1885 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
The Rodigrass Camp, circa 1900 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
Built in 1882, the Rodigrass Camp stood on Plum Island until 1989, when it was torn down. The Rodigrass clan later became stewards of the National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, protecting the animals they once hunted. I’ve met people in Gloucester who are familiar with or hunt with sneak boats. However, not many of us have seen a sneak boat, and neither have the ducks.
Fred

Another iPhone App! I’m Addicted!

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Joey’s techie advice is always so informative! I love my Nikon, but I’m always looking for more photo apps for my iPhone. This one is Camera+. It’s one of my favorites as it has auto-focus and auto-exposure as well as editing capabilities. You can read about the Camera+ app here.

A Visit from Saint Nicholas

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Saint Nicholas, circa 1890 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
I always make sure I have Santa on display in the gallery for the holidays. There is a magical quality about him – a certain timelessness, for this is the real Santa. People who collect Santa Claus related objects love this photograph. So when the Christmas decorations come out of the attic, so does old Saint Nicholas.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danc’d in their heads.
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Fred
Printed from the original 8×10 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Image #88810-045

Last day to mail order calendars for Christmas

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Just a quick reminder that today is the last day to order the wall and desk calendars if you want them mailed in time for Christmas. Another batch of wall calendars were just printed at Seaside Graphics. They’re selling out fast, so get yours soon!

Click here to order.

Thanks!       ~Sharon

This Friday – Last day to order calendars by mail!

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Christmas is 11 days away! And for those of you who don’t live locally and haven’t ordered your calendars yet, this Friday, December 16, will be the last day to get them by Christmas. Of course, if you’re not giving the calendars as a gift, you can order yours after that.

Click here or on the photos for more information.

After Friday, the calendars will be at Present, downtown, as long as they last!

Whither the Sign Painter?

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Whither the Sign Painter?Sign Painter, circa 1900 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin

Before the age of computers and large printers, every sizable town or city had sign painting shops, including Gloucester. Signs were hand made by skilled artisans, who learned the trade by means of apprenticeships. In addition to expert handling of the lettering brush, sign painters had to master gold leafing, carving, stenciling, and silk-screening. When I opened my gallery fifteen years ago, I hired a professional sign painter, Bob Condon (now an attorney), to paint me a sign. Curiously, I have about 60 sign making photographs in my collection. These are a few of my favorites.

Gloucester Signs, circa 1915 Alice M. Curtis/©Fredrik D. Bodin
Merry Christmas, Salem, 1909 Alice M. Curtis/©Fredrik D. Bodin
All photographs printed from the original 5×7 inch glass negatives in my darkroom.

U.S.S. Gloucester

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 Gunship U.S.S. Gloucester, Gloucester Harbor, 1898 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
U.S.S. Gloucester, with forward 6 pounder gun Naval Historical Center
As the Spanish American War (April 25 – August 12, 1898) loomed, the United States Navy started beefing up the Atlantic Fleet. One vessel they purchased was financier J.P. Morgan’s former yacht Corsair II, for $225,000.Corsair, built in 1891, was steel hulled, 204 feet long and cruised at 17 knots (20 mph). The ship was not armored, but the Navy outfitted her with four 6 pounder guns, four  3 pounder guns, and two Gatling machine guns. In just over two months, Gloucester saw action fighting in the decisive Battle of Santiago, Cuba and helped capture the ports of Guanica, Ponce, and Arroyo in Puerto Rico. She received a Navy commendation and world wide fame for fighting these battles.
Among the volunteers on the Gloucester was writer and poet Carl Sandburg, who wrote in his diary: “July 25, 1898 – Sighted Porto Rico early in morning (Exciting stuff) while Gloucester entered harbor at Guanica and threw shells around vicinity. We could see regulars advance across field, cut down wire fence with machetes.” After the war with Spain, the U.S.S. Gloucester cruised the Eastern seaboard, calling on many ports, including Gloucester, Massachusetts.
U.S.S. Gloucester in Gloucester Harbor printed from the original 4×5 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Image #9145-380

U.S.S. Gloucester at anchor from a Naval Historical Center stereograph card.

Fred Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Refills for Desk Calendar Case

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Just need a refill?

If you’ve gotten the desk calendars in the past and only need a calendar refill for the case, you can order the Cape Ann or the Good Harbor pages for $12.

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the post.

Thanks!  ~Sharon
(And a big thank you, Joey, for posting the GMG contributors’ merchandise!)

Guitar Clinic with TMax!

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Sunday, December 11, 2pm-4pm at Gloucester. T Max will share his knowledge about the guitar in hoping to get beginner guitars off in the right direction to make their experience with the instrument more gratifying. Bring your guitar and questions. $3 donation.

Comic Hypnotist Frank Santos Jr. – Benefit Show for Sober Connections! Sat Dec 3rd

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The Highly Acclaimed FRANK SANTOS Jr’s R-rated Comedy Hypnosis Show – Come see this Benefit Show Dec 3rd in Beverly at the Hastings House Community Center at 14 Oak Street, Beverly Farms, MA, 01915, United States.

Open to the General Public, Benefit for Gloucester based Sober Conections Inc.

“FRANK SANTOS Jr. HAS BEEN PERFORMING COMEDY HYPNOSIS SHOWS FOR OVER TEN YEARS”

Be amazed when you, your friends or strangers across the room become stars of the show, as I make them believe that they are singers, dancers and much, much more.  This is a performance where the audience becomes the show.  My performance  has limitless variations and can please every appetite.  This is a hilarious, energetic and unique show that you will never forget!

Check out the other videos on Frank Santos’s Website at:http://www.franksantosjr.com/video.html

This show is looking to sell out! Make sure you purchase your tickets in advance to gaurentee a seat!

Please consider our “Sponsor a Ticket” program to help those new in Recovery at local organizations and sober houses be able to experience what it’s like to find a great time without the use and abuse of Alcohol and/or Drugs!

After the show there will be a DJ and Dancing for those that might want to let loose! Refreshments and snacks will be for sale as well! (Proceeds to also to Benefit Sober Connections)This show is open for everyone, and the net proceeds will be donated to Sober Connections to help them support those in recovery, premoting events as well as outreach.

Cape Ann WALL Calendars are Available

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People love giving the cd calendars as gifts , but there’s always the need for a kitchen calendar  you can write appointments and stuff on. So for those who requested it, this year with the help of everyone at Seaside Graphics, the Cape Ann wall calendar was added. You can order yours here. And if you don’t need shipping, be sure to hit the lower Buy Now button so there’ll be no shipping charges. Thanks!           —Sharon

Gloucester City Hall – Brand New

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Gloucester City Hall, circa1875 Alice M. Curtis/©Fredrik D. Bodin
I made this print of City Hall from one of my oldest negatives. It was shot from a high vantage point on Middle Street. Dale Avenue is in the lower left, and Pleasant Street is on the right. The Civil War Statue, erected in 1879, now in the front center, is not yet there. Boston architects Gridley J.F. Bryant and Louis P. Rogers designed the building, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. One thing I learned while writing this is the four towers on City Hall’s corners are ventilation shafts. Questions for Cape Ann Museum’s Photo Archivist Fred Buck: Can you add to this (shooting location, surrounding buildings, etc.), and do you have anything older?
Printed from the original 5×7 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Image #9157-251 Note: The black objects in the sky are missing parts of the negative.
Fred Bodin
The Infamous Fred Buck Replies-

well, sure. yours is probably a copy neg (5×7 is way too big) of one of several stereograph images of city hall (each side albumen plate 3×4 and joined on a piece of clear glass to print the stereo card) taken by erastus g. rollins about 1872 from the tower of the unitarian church on middle st. to the left of the building is franklin square. on the right is the nice circular drive fronting warren st. cape ann museum has rollins’s original glass negs of these views in their archive (without homie poop all over them) as well as the stereo cards printed by rollins and succeeding owners of the plates. we also have bryant and rogers’ original plans of the building. c’mon down!

fred buck, photoarchivist, cape ann museum.

p.s. don’t think alice m. curtis was taking photos in the 1870s.

Thanksgiving and the Sacred Birches

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The Sacred Birches, Lanesville, circa 1900 John I. Coggeshall/@Fredrik D. Bodin
Many of my best Thanksgivings have included a walk in the woods, notably among birches. Birch trees were among the first trees to grow after the last ice age, and are the national tree of Russia, symbolizing fertility, renewal, and miracles. They’ve been revered by many cultures since the ancient Celts, including the Finns, Swedes, and Norwegians, who settled here on Cape Ann. Birch groves in Dogtown and Lanesville are still highly regarded. At the turn of the century, John I. Coggeshall photographed these birches near his Lanesville home. I hope to find them after turkey dinner with friends in the Plum Cove neighborhood. If you know where this treed slope is, please let me know.
Printed from the original 8×10 inch negative in my darkroom. Image # A93810-007
I’m not a big poetry reader, but one particular verse from Robert Burns struck a chord with me, and I recite it at meals such as Thanksgiving:
A Scottish Grace

Some have meat and cannot eat
And some have none and want it
But we have meat and we can eat
So the Lord we thanketh.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Fred
Fredrik D. Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

2011 Good Harbor Beach Calendar – Just Out!

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The calendars are also available online here, and I will send them with a complimentary gift card.

If you’ve been down to Present at 122 Main St., you’ve seen the gorgeous locally-made gifts from several talented artisans. I’m adding the Good Harbor calendar to my Cape Ann calendar, note cards, and prints that are available at the shop. Many of us are adding items throughout the holiday season, so come downtown often and shop locally!

Howard Blackburn’s Bartender

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Howard Blackburn’s Bartender, circa 1910 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
Swedish immigrant Nils Lund settled in Gloucester to work as a fisherman. About 1910, he took time off from fishing to tend bar for the legendary Howard Blackburn. The Blackburn Tavern was located at 289 Main Street, where Halibut Point Restaurant is now. Chiseled into the front of the building in large letters: Blackburn 1900.

Albin and Nils Lund, Schooner Natalie Hammond, circa 1920 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
In the days of sail, fishermen would sign on to schooners headed for destinations they wanted to travel to. Nils and his brother Albin fished their way to Sweden and back several times. The photo above shows the mustachioed Lund fishermen, Albin on the left and Nils on the right. The two brothers found brides in Gloucester, with Albin’s wife Josephine owning a boarding house on Main Street, next door to today’s Crow’s Nest tavern.
Printed archivally in the darkroom from 6×7 cm copy negatives. Original prints supplied by Lillian Lund Files. Image #  AC960901-03#05 (bartender Nils) and # AC010129-01#07 (brothers at sea)
Fred

Fredrik D. Bodin

Bodin Historic Photo

82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930