SeacoastNH.com Exclusive
Two Rare Photos of
"Old Ironsides"
Unearthed
Texas
Reader Finds Piscataqua Image
Sarah Hensz of
College Station, TX wrote SeacoastNH.com recently to say
she had what appeared to a picture of Old Ironsides in Portsmouth,
NH. We agree, although no experts have documented the photo
yet. The cabbed-over USS Constitution
appears to be located near the famous Franklin Shiphouse
at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, ME. The interesting
thing about this image is that Ironsides is not the focal point
of the photo which appears to be taken from the Portsmouth side
of the river. Most images we have seen are framed exclusively on Ironsides,
and thus we can see here, more clearly, where the ancient ship was
docked during its lengthy term of service here in the late 1800s.
Sarah tells about her "find" in an
email to SeacoastNH.com:
"My mothe-in-law bought the framed picture at
an antique shop in the late 1960's when my father-in-law was stationed at
Pease AFB. Recently she decided
to put a new print into the old frame and even considered
throwingaway the photo but since
she knew we liked maritime things, saved it for us. I'm glad she did!!! I called her this
evening to tell her about the info you sent today and she was amazed!!!!
I've printed the info about the Ironsides from your web site to send to her
as well."
The detail of the photo
above shows the distant image of Old Ironsides more clearly
sometime before 1897 when it was removed to Boston where it remains
today. In an even larger version of the photo we can even see people walking
on the ship in the fireground. Sarah says
her search for the content of the photo began when she asked
herself --- What was this really a photo of? She searched online, found
our web site on Old Ironsides and contacted us. We don't know
what the photographer was aiming at, but it's a
fascinating perspective all the same.
Photo
used courtesy of Sarah Hensz
Unpublished "Ironsides" Photo
Found in Library
As far as we know, this
picture has rarely been seen and never published. It was discovered
recently by special collections librarian Sarah Hartwell. Sarah's
brilliant command of the History Room at the Portsmouth Public
Library has saved SeacoastNH.com a zillion hours of aimless
searching. This photo, which as you can see is cracked and flaking,
was found in the vertical file in a manila folder. This one appears
to be an original and we have never seen it in any other local
collections.
The photo dates from between 1882 and 1897 when "Old Ironsides" was used as a receiving ship for seamen at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. This unique viewpoint shows three men, apparently sight seers, getting a closer look at the famous old frigate.
Unlike most official photos from this era, this shot includes people in the foreground and nicely captures the water and a lower perspective of the USS Constitution in use. A number of other figures are visible on the ship and to the right. Despite its "housed over" appearance, the lines of the famous war ship are still visible. The ship looked like this when it was towed to Boston from Portsmouth Harbor in 1897 for a 100-year birthday celebration. Ironsides spent a total of 20 years at the shipyard and Portsmouth was its first port of call in 1931 after restoration was completed. The earliest images in the archives of the US Navy show Ironsides in Portsmouth in the 1850s.
Photo courtesy Portsmouth Public Library
RECENTLY DISCOVERED PHOTO
See rare early "color" postcards
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