Visit Us On the Mid-Coast of Maine In Round Pond

Yes, the mid-coast of Maine is a great destination, and especially during the summertime. We left the stifling heat and humidity behind years ago and transplanted ourselves here to the quaint fishing village of Round Pond in Bristol, Maine. This tranquil  little seaside destination was the perfect choice for a

Pemaquid Lighthouse

place to live AND house our maritime antiques and fine art business, Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery. Our new home is situated on Maine Route 32 in Bristol, just outside of the village. We are also located a few miles down the road from New Harbor where you catch the ferry to Monhegan Island and then can continue down route 130 to the  Pemaquid Lighthouse. Also nearby is the beautiful town of Damariscotta. We are also within a 40 minute drive to  Boothbay to our south and Rockland, Rockport and Camden to our north. We are also less than an hours drive to Freeport, Augusta and a little more than an hour to Portland. Of course the real destination for visitors and locals alike are the many waterside restaurants featuring fresh caught lobsters and other delicious seafood delights and they are open during the summertime just about everywhere. There are also numerous art galleries, primarily run by and/or featuring local and regional artists and their artwork.

Now that leads us to our nautical antiques and marine art gallery. Skipjack Nautical Wares is now housed in an early 19th century restored barn with two floors of showroom space filled with authentic maritime antiques, marine art as well as choice furniture and home furnishings selected for the coastal home owner. We also feature a wide variety of nautical lighting, from early lanterns to repurposed table lamps. Navigational chart lampshades are also made here in our lamp works studio. Custom furniture is produced using recycled ship grates and hatch covers and specialized tables housing brass ship portholes and windows. 

A view of Skipjack's first floor showroom
located in Round Pond, Maine.

Skipjack also carries a large collection of ship models and pond yachts, navigational instruments, telescopes and spyglasses, compasses, and all types of unique ship and yacht salvage. You can preview our wares by visiting our webstore 24/7 online at www.skipjacknauticalwares.com. 

We are open year-round by appointment with regular business hours from the month of June through early fall. So, if you are planning a trip to Maine's mid-coast you may want to plan a visit, do a little shopping, a lot of sightseeing and indulge in your favorite fresh seafood from one of our region's exceptional restaurants.

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery 

1172 State Route 32,  Round Pond, Maine

The Best Way to Display Your Ship's Wheel in Your Home, Restaurant & Office

  One of the questions most asked from our customers throughout the years, is how to best display their ship's wheel in their home, seafood restaurant or professional office. Typically, one would drill screw holes through their wheel or hang them using large mounting hooks. Unfortunately, the first display idea damages the wheel. The second can work as long as you can find big enough hooks to fit the depth of the wheel. That also brings us to our resolve. About ten years ago, we approached a friend who was also a part-time blacksmith. We came up with the idea of large steel hooks, big enough in diameter to use for mounting ship's wheels, large ship's oars and other nautical, maritime, marine items that need a large hook for display.

A lifeboat oar is hung 
using a steel display
hook.

Our pair of large hand-forged wrought iron display hooks measures 4 inches high, 3.5 inches deep, with a 2.25 inch inside diameter. Black painted finish. They are sold as a pair. A single screw is needed for each hook. Make sure to mount them into wood or an vertical 2 X 4 to hold the weight.

Skipjack's steel display hooks for ship's
wheels, oars or other large hanging items.

                                                                                                                                

skipjack's custom made ship's wheel
display hub.

We then came up with a better mounting choice using our ship's wheel hub wall
mounting bracket. Welded steel ship's wheel mounting wall bracket with threaded rod and large fastening nut to secure the wheel on to the bracket. Four mounting holes on backplate. Minimum ship wheel hub opening 15/16" and larger. Accommodates maximum wheel thickness of 3-3/8".

Shown below are a few examples of ship's wheels mounted using our ship's wheel hub. This hub can also be used for mounting wagon wheels or other items with a center hole that you want to display. Interested? Here's the link to our ship's wheel category on  Skipjack's website.  

Antique ship's wheel displayed on a
wooden wall using the wheel hub.

A WWII era ship's wheel is displayed
on a helm station pedestal using a wheel hub.

Skipjack Nautical Wares and Marine Art Gallery is located in the quaint fishing village of Round Pond, Maine. They are open year round by appointment. You can schedule a visit by calling us at 207-219-0897 or by emailing us at www.skipjacknauticalwares.com. visit our website 24/7 at www.skipjacknauticalwares.com. Have a great day. Hope to see you soon!

Nautical Collection to Be Sold as Fundraiser for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery -- re-creations of the three vessels that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607 -- are the backbone of the Jamestown Settlement sailing program and have been designated “the official fleet of the Commonwealth” by the Virginia General Assembly. The donation of nautical items stipulated that proceeds would support the Jamestown Settlement sailing program. Private funding has an essential role in supporting the largely volunteer nature of this effort. Along with three paid staff members, up to 35 individuals volunteer 10,000 hours each year to maintain and sail these historic ships.

Exceptional quality "Husun" sextant made by “Henry Hughes & Son, Ltd.,
 59 Fenchurch Street, London E.C.”

Each year one of the three ships sails on a goodwill cruise to other ports to participate in commemorative and community events and host educational programs for students. Sailing program volunteer crew assists visitors and students in exploring the ships and learning about the 1607 voyage and 17th-century shipboard activities. For more information on Jamestown Settlement or the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, visit www.historyisfun.org.

Cased dry card compass by F.W. Lincoln, Jr., Boston, circa 1855.

Skipjack Nautical Wares is proud to be selected as this collection's marketing agent to raise funds for the Jamestown Settlement sailing program. There are 30 plus items in this collection ranging from ship models to early nautical navigational instruments. Also, please, donate generously to the Jamestown Settlement to help keep this important piece of our American history flourishing!

Highest quality commemorative/memorial bell, early to mid 20th century

Visit our web store at http://www.skipjackmarinegallery.com/ or go directly to the collection at Jamestown Yorktown Foundation Nautical Collection. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skipjack Nautical Wares

& Marine Art Gallery

620 High Street Portsmouth, VA 23704  ~ 757-399-5012

www.SkipjackNauticalWares.com

Re-purposing Authentic Marine Lighting into Nautical Table Lamps

Re-purposing Authentic Marine Lighting into Nautical Table Lamps

We offer one-of-a-kind nautical table lamps created using authentic vintage and antique marine ships lights, lamps and lanterns. We also produce nautical inspired table lamps re-purposed from other authentic maritime items such as wood blocks and other shipboard items, handcrafted driftwood sculpture and fancy knot work lamps and as well as colorful coastal creations including painted vintage lobster buoys and hand-blown netted glass jugs and other coastal beach home favorites.  

Check back regularly to view our latest nautical table lamp creations as they are added to the Skipjack Nautical Wares web store or come by and visit us at our showroom in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia! Visit our great selection of nautical table lamps and also our gallery full of everything nautical at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

Skipjack Nautical Wares Featured on Portsmouth VA Travel & Tourism Show May 2017

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery was recently featured on the May 2017 video, Portsmouth VA Travel & Tourism Show, episode 2. This video also features Olde Towne Portsmouth's historic Hill House Museum and the Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum. Skipjack's segment begins at 16 minutes 45 seconds into the video. Thank you David Shulte and the City of Portsmouth, Virginia for including us on your  travel and tourism show!

Here's the link to the video at: Portsmouth VA Travel & Tourism Show, episode 2.

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery, 620 High Street, Portsmouth, VA.

The Hill House Museum, Olde Towne Portsmouth, Va.

Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum, Portsmouth, VA

Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan areas of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S. Navy facility which is actually located in Portsmouth, despite its name. The shipyard builds, remodels, and repairs the Navy's ships of all types.Directly opposite Norfolk, the city of Portsmouth also has miles of waterfront land on the Elizabeth River as part of the harbor of Hampton Roads. There is a ferry boat that takes riders back and forth across the water between Downtown Norfolk and Olde Towne Portsmouth.


Interested in visiting Portsmouth, Virginia, one of America's most historic seaport cities? Here's a few links to tourism information that you might find informative. Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA  and the City of Portsmouth tourism website. 

Skipjack- The Premier Marine Art Gallery of Hampton Roads, Virginia

There are a number of exceptional art galleries to visit around coastal Virginia with a wide spectrum of art to peruse. Coastal Virginia is known as the Tidewater Region and Hampton Roads that includes Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton and Williamsburg cities. Here's the link on Goggle to the listing of art galleries in the Hampton Roads area. 

"U.S. Gunboat 'Scorpion' in the Battle of Cedar Point, 1814" By Peter Rindlisbacher

But only one gallery is solely focused on artwork created by marine artists. Since 2003, our unique art gallery located in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia has featured an extensive inventory of original  marine, nautical, maritime paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, wood carvings, sailor and folk art, ship models, and scrimshaw by some of the region and the world’s leading marine artists working today including Peter Rindlisbacher, Larry Bage, Jim Bolland, Kevin Collins, Bob Holland, Jac & Patricia Johnson, Sam Lafever, Joe Marinelli, Sandy Nelson, William Barth Osmundsen and David Weiss.

"Swimming Mermaid" folk art carving by Jac & Patricia Johnson

"LOOKDOWN SCHOOL" Marine Art Bronze Sculpture by Larry Bage

The S.S. United States by Bob Holland

"Summerwind," oil on canvas by Sandy Nelson

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery is proud to offer to discriminating collectors an opportunity to select from these fine marine artworks currently available for sale. We also create changing art exhibitions and opportunities to meet the artists are also offered throughout the year.      

If you’re looking for something with special personal significance, Skipjack can assist you in creating unique commissioned work of art through a selection of our artists.

"Don't Give Up the Ship" commissioned folk art carving by Jac & Patricia Johnson

A consignment and appraisal service is also available through Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery to help collectors sell work from their personal collections. Just give us a call at 757-399-5012 or email us at skipjacknauticalwares@gmail.com.

Skipjack Nautical Wares 

& Marine Art Gallery

620 High Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704

www.skipjacknauticalwares.com

757-399-5012
Visit our website for current gallery showroom hours.
Shop our web gallery 24/7!

Steampunk Nautical

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 definition is: "Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery." The longer version stated "Although its literary origins are sometimes associated with the cyberpunk genre, steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the 19th century's British Victorian era or American "Wild West", in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has maintained mainstream usage, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. Steampunk may, therefore, be described as neo-Victorian. Steampunk ... is rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technology may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne."

Steampunk interior using a porthole and door wheel
creating an old steamship feel to the space.

Movies such as Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law and the Wild Wild West with Will Smith and Kevin Kline demonstrate steampunk design and technology in that fantastic world as described above. I researched further and Googled steampunk interiors that led to completed steampunk designed rooms using all types of gears, tubes, and gizmos of various types, all from old steam engines and salvaged from closed factories. Then I found photos of maritime ship parts and instruments salvaged from ships of the past. Perfect! Now I know why our customer left our showroom with such excitement. He had discovered a gold mine of nautical steampunk!

Nautical brass porthole re-purposed
into an end table.

There are numerous nautical items that can be incorporated into a steampunk room. Ship's binnacles and telegraphs, early ship's lamps and lighting, compasses, portholes and windows made of brass, old brass steam whistles, brass or bronze steering stations, old blocks and bells, steam gauges, sextants and octants, marine clocks and barometers are all good choices to use in the steampunk environment. Furniture can be produced using old hatch covers with metal banded ends, teak grates, portholes and windows re-purposed into coffee and end tables. Spot lights, cage lights, passageway lights and fox lights suspended on metal poles or chains for overhead lighting. These are all perfect items for creating a beautiful steampunk nautical interior! 

Images below are just a few of the many authentic old maritime items that would be great choices for creating a magnificent steampunk interior. You may want to bookmark the NEW! Just In! section of our web store to be the first to see our latest arrivals as they come available. Cheers!

Copper and brass ship's spotlight.

Brass ship's porthole with battle cover would be a super item for a steampunk room.

Old ships steering station with brass wheel

Late 19th century ships binnacle.

Hatch cover coffee table with metal banded ends.

90 degree nautical passageway or engine room light.

Ships window re-purposed in to a mirror.

Teak ships grate table.

Skipjack Nautical Wares 

& Marine Art Gallery

620 High Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704

www.skipjacknauticalwares.com

757-399-5012
Visit our website for current gallery showroom hours.
Shop our web gallery 24/7!

Skipjack Nautical Wares and Marine Art Gallery Relocates to 620 High Street

Recently moved from the riverfront, Skipjack Nautical Wares new showroom is larger and features a more visible storefront. Referred to by our customers as Skipjack 4.0, this is the fourth store location in Coastal Virginia and is now located at 620 High Street in historic downtown (Olde Towne) Portsmouth, Virginia. 

Skipjack Nautical Wares previous riverfront store located at 1 High Street
adjacent to the High Street basin and the Hog Island Lighthouse Lens Pavilion
in historic Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia.

The number one question asked today by visitors and customers alike is "Why did you move from your riverfront location?" For those that are knowledgeable of our history, it does make sense to wonder why. The simple answer is, the building was sold and the new owners are renovating the building and converting into luxury apartments. Our lease was until the end of September 2015 which gave us 6 months from time of notice to find a new location and move.

With numerous trips north up as far as Massachusetts and south through florida, we visited many coastal seaport towns in search for a new viable location to relocate the store. There were many location opportunities of which we considered and one we would have leased on the spot in Savannah Georgia. This was a large riverfront warehouse just outside of the historic district that featured wide open spaces with yellow pine beamed ceilings and old brick walls, but we missed leasing it by a few weeks! The other was a smaller store in St. Augustine in the heart of the shopping/tourist district, but again was just leased prior to our arrival. Other potential locations that we liked were Beaufort, SC, Charleston, SC, Annapolis, MD and Alexandria,Virginia, Norfolk, VA and areas around coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island. All of these were good choices for Skipjack, but most offered but a few locations to look at and all came with considerably higher per sq. ft. pricing. So we once again chose to stay local and focus on potential spaces located here in the Olde Towne Portsmouth area.

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery's
new Olde Towne Portsmouth location at
620 High Street.

It was now early summer and time was running out. We previewed a dozen locations, some with great potential, but none of them truly met our needs and most with rental limitations that made them undesirable.

A close friend and associate called and informed us of a property that would be perfect, but the problem was that it was already occupied. But, discussions led to an opportunity that could work for both parties. The owners and business that occupied the building was Way Back Yonder Antiques, and after nearly 20 years of operation at 620 High Street, they considering downsizing the operation and moving to a smaller building that they owned a block away. After rounds of negotiating, we struck a deal and leased the building. The challenge now was for the owners of Way Back Yonder Antiques to reduce their inventory and clear the space in time for us to take possession and move in. Thankfully, we worked together and with considerable help from friends here in the Olde Towne community were able to make the transition from the riverfront to our new home, now referred to as Skipjack 4.0!

Dealers of authentic nautical antiques and collectibles, Skipjack Nautical Wares is also known for it's fine collection of maritime lamps, lighting, furniture, and decor. Skipjack also buys and sells genuine navigational instruments, clocks and barometers, telescopes, compasses, binnacles and telegraphs (E.O.T.'s) and US Navy and Coast Guard collectibles. Our maritime ship and yacht salvage includes ship wheels, portholes and windows, doors, ship lights, anchors, brass signs, builders plates, nameboards, marine hardware, glass floats, flags, life rings, buoys, boarding ladders and much more.

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery features nautical antiques,
original marine art, marine lamps and lighting, ship salvage and re-purposed
maritime items for the coastal homeowner.

Skipjack's Marine Gallery features antique, vintage and contemporary art specializing in maritime and marine subjects. Our gallery includes works in bronze and ceramic and wood sculpture, scrimshaw, folk and sailor art, oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings and giclee prints. Our ship model gallery features both antique and handcrafted scaled models, half hulls and ship-in-bottles of exceptional quality from artists around the globe.

Skipjack Nautical Wares 

& Marine Art Gallery

620 High Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704

www.skipjacknauticalwares.com

757-399-5012
Visit our website for current gallery showroom hours.
Shop our web gallery 24/7!

The Arthur A. Rebman Maritime Collection at Skipjack Nautical Wares

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 (working order), collection of ship in bottles, vintage working pond boat, coffee mugs and other maritime related porcelain collectibles, old prints and photographs, brass plaques from ships, lots of ship parts and pieces and other nautical collectibles. This is a great opportunity to collect some authentic nautical items, most including the ship provenance!  

Authentic ship's name boards, life rings and vintage ship salvage is part of the Rebman Maritime Collection.

The Portsmouth showroom is now open EVERY DAY*

through the end of year!

Monday-Saturday - 10am - 5pm

Sunday - 1pm - 4pm

Additional times by chance or appointment

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery 

One High Street, Suite 3

(facing the riverfront)

Portsmouth, Virginia 23704

(757) 399-5012

www.SkipjackNauticalWares.com

Using Authentic Ship Parts in a Nautical Bathroom

At Skipjack, we  like to demonstrate to our customers how to transform and successfuly use authentic ship salvage elements in their nautical/coastal home. As shown in this corner view of  a Florida bathroom, they've incorporated into the design authentic high quality naval brass ship salvage elements instead of the usual decorator furnishings. A vintage 90 degree passageway light illuminates a ship porthole converted into a cabinet and fitted into a wall above a teak wainscoting. The thick frosted glass softens the look and create a semi-opaque view of the cabinet interior.  You can reproduce the look  by covering a standard porthole using a frost window tinting film in a translucent color. The hinged bolts with dog ears locks down the porthole door making it a  perfect choice for use in the finely fitted yacht.

*Naval brass, alpha-beta brass is also referred to as Admiralty brass, contains tin (not exceeding 2%) and  is less liable to corrosion in seawater and is used in naval construction. For this reason, naval brass is a preferred product to use, both in the interior and especially around the exterior of any coastal home. Admiralty metal is a trademark.

Click here and visit Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery on Facebook. 

Click here to go to Skipjack's Nautical Living home page.

“From Sidewalks to Rooftops”: Outdoor Folk Art

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – A fascinating array of folk art meant for the great outdoors comprised the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum’s exhibition, “Sidewalks to Rooftops: Outdoor Folk Art,” that recently ended in January of this year.


According to an article posted by Joanne Molina, The Curated Object, International Decorative Arts Exhibitions-Williamsburg. Sidewalks to Rooftops: Outdoor Folk Art. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum of Folk Art :  “ 'The objects in this exhibition were made to be installed out of doors, so weather has taken a toll on them,' said Barbara Luck, curator of paintings, drawings and sculpture. 'Guests will see objects in a wide variety of conditions because of their use, exposure and maintenance during their useful life.'  The exhibit celebrates the 19th-century predecessors of modern advertising, including painted signboards featuring eye-catching symbols and three-dimensional trade figures—such as cigar store Indians—that have largely disappeared from today’s sidewalks, building facades and countertops. "

As a dealer and collector of American folk art for more than 20 years, I have certainly been exposed to some of the best and have been fortunate to have lived within a short distance of such exceptional collections as that housed at the Abbey Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Williamsburg, VA. This outstanding collection has been such a great inspiration to me and the motivation for the opening of our American folk gallery, The 1740 House Antiques Country Gallery which was an annex of my parents business, The 1740 House Antiques located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The 1740 House Country Gallery solely focused on authentic American painted country furniture blended with both period as well as contemporary folk art representing some of America’s top folk artists.

Here at Skipjack, we continue to represent some of the finest contemporary folk artists, but our focus is directed to marine subjects such as nautical theme trade signs, weathervanes, decoys and whirligigs as well as ship’s figureheads and sailor’s art including valentines, ship’s in a bottle, fancy knot work, scrimshaw, decorated sea chests and other art forms derived from our maritime heritage.

Early weathervanes sometimes served as advertising symbols such as this Nantucket sperm whale made by New York folk artist Steve Hazlett, but most simply signaled shifting winds and changing weather patterns. As they became more popular, homeowners and businesses installed them atop their homes, barns and buildings for their decorative appeal, and many structures were considered incomplete without one. The simple rounded and stylized contours of this primitive whale convey an impertinent energy. It was handcrafted from a single 100+year old heart pine board salvaged from a barn located in Bath, NY. Antique copper flashing is applied to the tail and outer edge of whale. Blue and gray buttermilk paint is applied in numerous layers to give the piece a dry and crusty as-found appearance. The piece is hallmarked and mounted on a metal museum mount for display.

The signboard pictured at the beginning of this article was created by Jac & Patricia Johnson and is carved from a solid piece of wood with a thick-shell wall and hand-lettered "Chesapeake Bay Oyster."  A truly wonderful original art piece reminiscent of trade signs that decorated the fronts of buildings in the oyster trade.

The ship’s chandlery sign at right was recreated from a photo by New York folk artist Charles Jerred. The trade sign measuring 16 X 55 inches was produced on very rustic primitive boards that retained the original hardware on the back. This signboard is typical of the types found on old warehouses found along northeastern seaports.

Click here to go to Steve Hazlett's Nantucket Sperm Whale Weathervane.

Click here to go to Charles Jerred's ship's chandlery trade signboard.

Click here to go to Skipjack Nautical Living home page.

Click here and visit Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery on Facebook!

At the Helm

I particularly like this vignette contrived totally of Skipjack inventory with the bronze sculpture titled "At the Helm" by William Barth Osmundsen, sculpturer, in the foreground and the antique ship's wheel centered on the rustic barn wood wall behind.

A pair of custom made nautical lamps made from 1970's vintage brass navigational lights flanks a scratch-built model of a Chesapeake Bay "Deadrise" by Edward R. Payne from Urbanna, Virginia. The lamps retain their original red and green removable lens and we've added ballast that turn the lamp on and controls the intensity of the interior lights and a three way switch that operates independently to control the room lighting. These lamps come with burlap covered lampshades and are mounted on to thick pine wooden bases. Standing 34 inches tall, they are perfect for a lot of applications where you need a matching pair of nautical lights.

The lamps sit upon a pedestal table with the top being a large ship's window with thick glass and heavy brass frame measuring 31 X 67 inches with curved corners and mounted onto painted wood pedestals.

The large mahogany and oak ship's wheel comes to us from the Raymond Squires Maritime Collection. The wheel is believed to be American and is from the second half of the 19th century. It features eight ring-turned spokes and the outer wheel appears to be made from ash. Measuring 46 inches in diameter, it retains a great old weathered finish and patina.

The bronze sculpture "At the Helm"stands in the center of a glass top replica ship's wheel coffee table. The first of the lost wax bronzes, was presented by HM King Olav V of Norway as the City of Oslo Award to the captain and crew of the full-rigged tall ship Christian Radich. This vigorous bronze by William Barth Osmundsen, has found a permanent and appropriate place in the aft saloon of this majestic Norwegian sailing vessel. It was on her decks during OpSail 76 that Osmundsen was inspired to undertake a series of "Bronzes from the Sea." There are nine subjects extant, all of which have been shown in New York, Houston and Oslo. "At the Helm". Bronze. Wheel diameter measures 15 inches. Mounted on Pakistanian marble. This bronze is signed by the artist and numbered 1/125.

Click here to go to Skipjack's Nautical Living home page.

Click here and visit Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery on Facebook!

The Seed Was Sown and the Beginnings of Our Blog

Recently, a customer visited us in our Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia showroom shopping for light fixtures to use on the exterior of her new oceanfront home. She was searching for high quality and durable lights that could withstand the sometimes inclement Atlantic weather but also be fitting for her nautically themed façade. I showed her a selection of authentic vintage cast brass fixtures once used onboard commercial and naval ships. These are by far, hands down, the finest (and most durable) cast brass fixtures ever produced with explosion proof glass covers surrounded by a thick brass cage. These fixtures are virtually non-destructible. Our customer was not accustomed to some of the ship lighting designs, so I showed her pictures demonstrating how other customers have used them in both the interior and exterior of their homes. She was delighted and selected the 90 degree passageway lights (see pictured). The heavy brass fixtures were exactly what she was looking for.

Before leaving she commented on how difficult it had been for her to find the appropriate lights and how helpful it was having the sample pictures demonstrating how others had used them on similar applications. Her final comments were “you should really publish a book about how to use all of these great ship parts in coastal homes.”
This was by no means the first time we have heard such a comment from customers, but this time the thought stuck. Why not create a book about transforming authentic antique and vintage nautical and marine furnishings and paraphernalia into suitable products for today’s nautical interiors? This is our business and we are the experts. We are the source for these exceptional products and our business is nautical interiors. So the seed was sown and we are now at the very beginning of designing this project. In the interim, we decided to launch our literary endeavor via the use of a blog!

The premise of Skipjack’s Nautical Living blog is to demonstrate how we revitalize and transform authentic nautical wares for today’s coastal interiors and eventually we will show these products in their new environment. We will also share our thoughts with you concerning the collecting and appraising of nautical antiques and any other maritime topics that you might find interesting or you may desire to share with us.

We may also recommend that you visit our web gallery often and preview our “NEW! JUST IN” section for our latest nautical acquisitions. And of course, please stop by and visit us in person at our riverfront showroom located in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia.

Click here and visit Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery on Facebook!