English BLoG

A customer recently visited our gallery searching for items to use in a house that he was in the process of remodeling. The theme of the interior he said was "steampunk" and he was searching for items that related to the Victorian era, the days of steam power and industrial technology. Authentic 19th century  ship's binnacle in steampunk interior. "You're in the right place, I said. That would certainly include the age of steam powered ships and that is the type of items that we carry." It didn't take long for him to grasp what I was talking about.  I left him to browse around and I could tell that he was quite excited about his discovery and started taking pictures of items of interest. He left an hour later with numerous ideas and images of items well suited for his new interior.  Not knowing much about the design concept steampunk, I decided to do a little research to become familiar with what it is. I looked up the word on Wikipedia and the short def...

Carved oak tiller, England or NW Europe, late 17th-early 18th century. A fine oak tiller arm carved with the head of a sea serpent and ball terminus. 45 1/2 inches in length. As a maritime dealer and collector, I am always seeking to acquire exceptional examples of wood carvings that were produced during the "Age of Sail."  Wood carvings which decorated ships during the 17th, 18th and 19th century are sometimes all that remain from the vessels built during that time.  We know that ship carvers specialized in producing quality decorative work for maritime environments on ships, boats and yachts were a trade in to itself and different from those that built ships.Typical examples of their work would include figureheads, nameboards, trailboards for boats and unique yacht interiors out of wood. In this article we will take a look at the art of the carved tiller arm that sometimes embellished great yachts and naval gigs that carried wealthy merchants and ship captains from ...

A surviving Lothrop's patent fog horn.  Every once in a while we are able to find an item at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery that we can offer some factual information about it's history. Here, our research has taken us to the great maritime seaport of Gloucester, Massachusetts where this item was manufactured. Here is a brief history of the product and the company. The fog horn was invented by Llewellyn Day Lothrop, born in Appleton, Maine in March of 1836. Mr. Lothrop opened a general ship chandler’s business in 1880 on Duncan Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts and soon became the leading chandlery for fishing gear. He invented different swivels & hooks for fishing, but was best known for the famous, Lothrop PATENT Fog Horn of which no Gloucesterman would sail without. This fog horn in this blog is an example of those manufactured by the L.D.Lothrop Co., Vintage picture of L. D. Lothrop's  horse-drawn wagon sandwich board advertisement. A REED FOG HORN ...

For sale in the showroom and online  starting Friday, May 10th, Skipjack is pleased to present the  Rebman Maritime Collection. Some of the many nautical items available for sale from the Rebman Maritime Collection. The Arthur A. Rebman Maritime Collection represents three decades of collecting authentic nautical related items during Mr. Rebman's years working in Hampton Roads shipyards. The collection comprises of a number of ship nameboards, a rare rope driven ship's wheel circa 1840, US Navy and US Coast Guard items, life rings and preservers, wood blocks of varying types and sizes, cleats and bollards, navigational ship lights, a group of Fresnel lantern lenses, wood and metal fids and marlinspikes, country flags, signal flags and pennants including a complete cased signal flag collection, oak lifeboat water keg, anchors, a WWII era boxed compass, Lionel taffrail log in original box, ship's bell, half hulls, vintage lobster trap and wood net floats, boxed fog horn (work...

ONCE-A-DECADE SALE! Skipjack Nautical Wares turns 10 this year! We have packed a lot into the last decade including three showroom locations, miscellaneous hurricanes, lightning strikes, earthquakes and floods, not to mention one famous fire. To celebrate our first decade we are having a STORE-WIDE once-in-a-decade sale starting this Saturday and running through the end of February. If you are new to Skipjack, take note, sales here are very rare (we can't remember the last one)! EVERYTHING* in the store is at least 20% off ! Check out our Anniversary Sale category online (top of the category column on the left) or stop by the showroom for additional items on special markdowns up to 50% ! Items will be added to this sale over the next week, so stop by the showroom or webstore often! Check out some of our impressive deals: Stainless or brass marlinspikes 30% off ! Skipjack long-sleeve T's , hoodies and crew sweatshirts 30% off ! Mariner Rope Brac...

The Skipjack Mariner bracelet is now available in three great NEW colors, royal blue, orange and neon green. Add a splash of color to your wardrobe with Skipjack's Mariner nautical rope bracelet for men, women or children... the perfect accessory for your coastal lifestyle, now available in three NEW great nautical colors, royal blue, orange, and neon green!  Skipjack's affordable nautical bracelet features a reef knot tied with durable nylon cord with a rust proof shackle, making it easy to get on and off. Choose between a stainless steel shackle in two different sizes or a solid brass shackle. The Skipjack mariner bracelet is perfect for boaters, surfers, beach goers or anyone that enjoys being in or around the water- quick drying nylon and stainless steel shackle won't rust! Bracelets are available with small (7/8" long) or large (1-1/8" long) shackles. The Mariner Nautical bracelet hand-tied in navy blue nylon and stainless steel shackle clasp. Bracelets are ...