Archival Photographs
Dear Stan Grayson,
Congratulations on your recent article (WB No. 302) about the photographer J.S. Johnston. I’d like to offer a little detail that you may not have been aware of: Johnston had at least two photography-related patents. One, from October 1886, is for a camera that allowed rapid changing of film plates and directly explains some of his amazing photos.
The other, from August 1898, is for an improvement in developing films. In that later patent application he described himself as a citizen of Great Britain and a resident of New York City. The 1880 U.S. Census described him as having been born in 1849 in England. For a while, early in his career (at least in 1885), he conducted business as Johnston & Miller in partnership with C. Miller.
Claas van der Linde
Via email
Stan Grayson replies:
Claas’s discovery of two patents got me curious. Johnston was seeking something faster and more user-friendly than the unwieldly view cameras and glass plate negatives of his time. His 1886 patent, I’ve learned, was for a camera that would “admit of a series…of pictures [on sheet film first introduced in 1884] taken in succession.” The 1898 patent related to conveniently processing sheet film. Currently, there is no indication that either idea got beyond a prototype device. But Johnston seems to have been thinking along similar lines to George Eastman, who introduced the first Kodak with its roll film in 1888.
Dear WoodenBoat,
Many thanks to Stan Grayson, who reviewed The Last Grain Race, by Eric Newby, in WB No. 302. He and your readers might want to look out for another out-of-print title by Newby called Learning the Ropes: An Apprentice Seaman on the Last of the Windjammers, which was published in 1999 in the United States by Times Books/Random House. It is a superb large-format collection of Newby’s black-and-white photographs, 150 of them, chronicling the voyage. Newby took the photos on a small Zeiss Super Ikonta camera (which survived a dunking in a storm wave and carried on working). There’s a very informative and lengthy introduction by Newby plus detailed captions to the photos, together with a list of the other 12 barks with which MOSHULU raced in 1938—most of which did not survive World War II.
What a fascinating story! One hopes that one or both of these books will be reissued at some point. Newby, alas, died in 2006.
John Watson
Portland, Maine
Editorial Treasures
Dear Matt,
I’m not in the habit of sending notes such as this, but I have to say that the latest issue was one of your best ever. As have many people, I’ve been following the TALLY HO saga since day one. Your author, Tom Jackson, did a fantastic job of capturing Leo’s amazing transformation of the old girl. I also must congratulate you for continuing to include articles written by Stan Grayson. In issue after issue, he is somehow able to illuminate forgotten chapters in the historic past of wooden boats. Please encourage him to continue. He is one of your editorial treasures.
John Conway
Via email
Dear Matt,
It seems that with every issue of WoodenBoat, I tell myself that I really ought to write. Well, this time I will. Issue No. 302 might well be subtitled, “What would Jon like to read this month?”
I first met John Swain when he walked into my ship model store in St. Michaels, Maryland, in the 1990s. He had with him preliminary drawings for an idea he had about building SULTANA. It was a pipe dream, but it was clear that this was a determined individual. We must have talked for two hours or more. This was the beginning of regular visits to my store by John, eventually leading to progress reports about the SULTANA project. I was there with my now-wife at the launching. I have never been so proud to know someone. We have attended many of the downrigging celebrations over the years, always a joyous time with like-minded folks.
A note of clarification to Randall Peffer’s excellent story: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum no longer owns MR. JIM. She was sold to make room for the WINNIE ESTELLE, a period buyboat. Not that MR. JIM was anything to sneeze at, expertly built by the late Tom Howell for Bill Combs to a design by Mr. Jim Richardson himself.
I was thrilled to see the progress of the rebuilding of the 12-Meter WEATHERLY, as well. I still have a well-worn sweatshirt that I bought from her former longtime owner, George Hill, after a particularly cold day of match racing on the Miles River. We aboard WEATHERLY prevailed, largely due to George’s belief that the rig was strong and nothing would break!
The photos of John S. Johnson were a treat as well. Notable, for me, was the presence of my great-great-grandfather’s yacht, MAYFLOWER, on page 64.
Jonathan Rice
Beverly Massachusetts
Dear WoodenBoat,
Regarding the story about Leo Goolden, “The Natural,” in WB No. 302: I was struck by the passage stating that “He didn’t come from wealth…. The ASA leadership remained skeptical of him.” I can imagine the dialogue: Person A: “I think we should give him a chance.” Persons B: “But, he’s just a carpenter, no shoes on his feet…(!)” That story is profound. All of it. And WB No. 302 as a whole might be the most important to date. Well done!
Kai Stürmann
Long Island, New York
Dear Editors,
WoodenBoat No. 302, the January/February 2025 edition, is excellent, simply excellent. From the interesting Offcuts to the great article about Dan Lee pursuing boatbuilding via multimedia, to the inspiring story of Leo Goolden and TALLY HO, to John Swain and his “classic creations.” There is something for everyone. Throw in the 10 best YouTubers (thanks for that!), as well as mast-hoop making in Shop-Made, and it’s a superfecta. We WoodenBoat readers are grateful for the varied and more than worthwhile content, and the undoubted effort required to provide it.
Ron Reisner
Morro Bay, California 