[Rarebooks] FS: Philadellphia Schooner's handwritten logs, 1867

[Bob Petrilla]

L.Q.C. Wishart. THREE LOGBOOKS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOONER "L.Q.C. WISHART,"
SAILING OUT OF PHILADELPHIA, AND PLYING THE WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
ALONG THE EAST COAST FROM MAINE TO NORTH CAROLINA, 1867-1888, EDWARD
CARLTON, MASTER: Written at sea. Original manuscripts. LOG #1. 95 voyages,
November 8, 1867-May 4, 1878.  Written in ink on 95 leaves (rectos only) in
a legible hand, one page per voyage.  Leather and marbled boards, tips
somewhat rubbed. 13.75" x 8.25". Each page has printed headings,
accomplished by hand, listing port where the voyage originated and
destination, what kind and how much freight, dates the freight was finished
loading, etc. About half the page is occupied with two columns, also
printed and accomplished by hand, one for “Charges” and one for “Expenses”,
then the printed “Summary” (accomplished by hand) at the bottom of the page
lists the whole amount of freight, port charges, “amount to be divided” the
Captain’s share, owner’s share, balance due, etc. [A note on the verso of
leaf #85 (the 85th voyage) says that “Edward Carlton” has taken charge of
the “Wishart” as Master, “July the 2nd, 1877.] The schooner travels up and
down the east coast, with Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Baltimore,
Norfolk, and Providence being among the most frequent ports of call. The
northernmost ports are in Maine (Kennebeck, Rockport, Portland, Spruce
Head) and the southernmost are Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC. Listings
under the “Freight” heading include: coal (by far the most frequent cargo),
ice (surprisingly frequent), lumber and timber, iron, copper ore, water
pipes, “cords wood”, corn and flour, coal oil, iron pipe, pig iron, chalk,
stone, and guano, as well as “naval stores”, “general cargo” and
“sundries”. The “Charges” column includes fees for towage, pilotage,
stevedores, wharfage, stowing, hoisting and discharging cargo,
“advertising”, ballast, harbor master fees, trimming coal, “cooperage on
cargo”, “quarantine fee” “commission”, and harbor master’s fee. “The
“Expenses” column addresses everyday necessities, including shovels and
tacks, “barrel deck varnish”, ship chandlery, right to use crane, brooms,
riggers, paint, carpenter work, tonnage tax, “overhauling bill”, repair of
stoves and stove pipe, iron pump, two large payments on the “sail bill”,
etc. ~~~ LOG #2. 71pp of handwritten entries. Cloth-backed, stiff marbled
wrappers; spine worn, first few leaves loose.   13.5" x 8.6". About 33
voyages, 13 in 1877 (July 31-December 23) and about 20 in 1878, ending
December 29. Written in at least two different hands and reporting styles,
in dark ink and purple ink, varying degrees of legibility, but all quite
readable. This is a more traditional log book, offering many details on
daily weather (sometimes every few hours), where the ship is sailing to and
from, geographical landmarks passed en route, whether it’s “at anchor” or
“in port” on arrival, etc. Common phrases include “took steam”, “pumps
tried and vessel tite [sic]” (or once, “pumps tried and vessel leaking 140
per hour”), “tacked ship”, “employed shop’s duty”, etc. There are
occasional notes on the freight discharged or loaded, most frequently coal
and ice. The most frequent trips are between Weymouth, MA and Philadelphia,
Philadelphia and Boston, Boston and New York, and there are also a number
involving ports in Maine (Kennebeck River, Gardiner, Belfast) as well as
Hoboken, NJ and Brooklyn, NY, and Washington, D.C. ~~~ LOG #3. 48
handwritten pages. Bound in grained cloth over stiff wrappers, sewn spine.
Stamped in gold on cover: “James Gaskill, Adjuster of Marine Losses, 224
Walnut Street, Philadelphia”. 14" x 9". Damage due to storm at sea in
December , 1887 and assessed in Jan-April, 1888. The first several pages of
the log describe the “Wishart”’s ill-fated trip sailing for New York from
the “Pamunk[e]y River”, VA. At 8 p.m. on December 17, 1887, a gale and
heavy winds caused the vessel to “labor heavily” off Barnegat Light (NJ)
and at 10:30, she had “sprung a leak. Pumps kept going. At 11:30 head four
feet of water in the hold and at 12 m. [sic] vessel was hove on her beam
ends when the greater part of deck load of [wooden] ties washed
overboard...” On the next day, the men “kept her before the gale under two
reefed mainsail. Water increasing in the vessel, had to throw balance of
deck load about 300 ties overboard to lighten her.” Just before this
jettisoning, the “sea broke over quarter smashing yawl boat, and carrying
it and starboard davit and attachments away, which were lost.” The main
gaff also broke, and “we were blown east of the Gulf Stream three times…”
By December 29, the vessel heads for Norfolk, VA and arrives there January
3, 1888. The next several pages of the book are titled “Results of Survey
Made at Norfolk, Virginia, January 9th, 1888, by Silas H. Dodd and Jos. H.
Gaskell, Shipmaster, and Richard Curtis, marine surveyor”. They found “2
feet of water in the hold” but that the vessel was “leaking very little”
once it was pumped out. There is an extensive list of damages, however,
including: “end of bowsprit split…main jib gone…some topmast rigging
carried away and foretopmast sprung, foresail carried away…main
rigging….carried away…portion of sail and waist gone…all cooking utensils,
main mast mast hoops gone, companion doors smashed,” etc., etc. This
portion concludes with “We recommend” that all the listed damages be
repaired and that the estimated value of the vessel “in her present
disabled condition” is no more than $1,000. A “Report Survey” follows, made
at Norfolk on February 23, 1888, by Richard Curtis and Jos. T. Marshall,
including a long list of repairs made. This section concludes saying “We
further find the vessel in a seaworthy condition and recommend that she
proceed on her voyage.” There follows a 38-page list of “Bills and
Expenses”, for the survey, tug towing, and all the repair work, including
the names of the merchants/craftsmen owed and paid. The final four pages
address “Apportionment of General Cargo”, including values of “freight and
cargo,” amounts due “owners on underwriters of cargo”, etc. Signed July 4,
1888, by James Gaskill, coadjustor.

The American schooner “L.Q.C. Wishart” was apparently named after Dr.
L.Q.C. Wishart, the Philadelphia doctor who dreamed up “Pine Tree Tar
Cordial” in 1859, “Dr. Wishart’s Great American Dyspepsia Pills” in 1861,
and “Dr. Wishart’s Worm Sugar Drops” in 1865. A wooden three-master, the
“Wishart” was built in 1867, and the first of the logs starts with her
first voyage. Taken together, the three logs offer a detailed picture of
the travels, destinations, types of cargo carried, costs and moneys made,
and even details on damage repairs involved in the operation of this
American transport ship over more than 20 years. The “Wishart” finally was
wrecked off Little Egg Harbor (NJ) in December, 1910, but the third volume
of logs presages this event, offering a description of the results of a
crippling storm at sea and the subsequent repairs required and costs
accrued in order to make the vessel seaworthy once more.   $2,000.00

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