Herreshoff Collection Guide [PDF]

Guide to The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection The Design Records of The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Bristol, Rhode Island The Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collection Kurt Hasselbalch Frances Overcash & Angela Reddin The Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections MIT Museum Cambridge, Massachusetts © 1997 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. Published by The MIT Museum 265 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments 3 Introduction 5 Historical Sketch 6 Scope and Content 8 Series Listing 10 Series Description I: Catalog Cards 11 Series Description II: Casting Cards (pattern use records) 12 Series Description III: HMCo Construction Record 13 Series Description IV: Offset Booklets 14 Series Description V: Drawings 26 Series Description VI: Technical and Business Records 38 Series Description VII: Half-Hull Models 55 Series Description VIII: Historic Microfilm 56 Description of Database 58 2 Acknowledgments The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Project and this guide were made possible by generous private donations. Major funding for the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Project was received from the Haffenreffer Family Fund, Mr. and Mrs. J. Philip Lee, Joel White (MIT class of 1954) and John Lednicky (MIT class of 1944). We are most grateful for their support. This guide is dedicated to the project donors, and to their belief in making material culture more accessible. We also acknowledge the advice and encouragement given by Maynard Bray, the donors and many other friends and colleagues. Ellen Stone, Manager of the Ships Plans Collection at Mystic Seaport Museum provided valuable cataloging advice. Ben Fuller also provided helpful consultation in organizing database structure. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the excellent work accomplished by the three individuals who cataloged and processed the entire Haffenreffer-Herrehsoff Collection. Their archival professionalism is reflected in the current state of the collection. Marge Ellis worked part-time on the project for two years. She processed Series I, II, III, IV, and entered all of the plan index card data in the database. Frances Overcash and Angela Reddin came to the project during a major transition and got steam up in a hurry. They cataloged and processed more than 13,500 plans, organized and cataloged Series VI, created databases for Series IV and VI, assisted with organization for microfilming and compiled the core data for this guide. Kurt Hasselbalch Curator Hart Nautical Collection MIT Museum April 14, 1997 3 The Herreshoff Legacy Project This recently completed effort was a multi-year project to refine and expand the cataloged data gathered in the early 1990s, upload it into the Museum’s database, and digitally capture 17,000 objects that resulted in over 33,000 high-resolution image files. The project included the creation of a new online collection portal by the MIT Museum and an exhibition entitled: Lighter, Stronger, Faster: The Herreshoff Legacy that opened at MIT Museum October 18, 2018. The online collections portal was launched in January 2019. The project was made possible through numerous key collaborations and contributions of colleagues within and outside of the MIT Museum. Major funding to make this extensive effort possible was generously provided by: (Title Sponsor), Ulf B. Heide (MIT Class of 1960) and Elizabeth Heide, The Britton fund, in memory of Charles S. Britton II, Founder Tartan Marine Corporation, and Anonymous. Additional funding was provided by the Gregory Foundation Trust, Anonymous, and the Council for the Arts at MIT. The Museum’s superb project team who accomplished an extraordinary quantity of outstanding imaging and database refinement included: Evelyn Ansel, Anna Britton, Hayley Hinsberger and Rachael Robinson, Curatorial Associate. Kurt Hasselbalch Curator Hart Nautical Collection MIT Museum January 16, 2019 4 Introduction A comprehensive online guide to the design records of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company (HMCo.) is long overdue. The sustained high-level inquiries for information and prints from the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection made it clear that improving access should become a high priority. This need was addressed through meticulous cataloging and preservation microfilming, completed under the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Project. The project evolved following my first meeting with Maynard Bray at the MIT Museum in 1992. We talked for several hours about the problems of providing access to a large and complex design archive. The key problem was that general access to vessel design data was labor intensive, and required excessive handling of the plans. Access was difficult because no comprehensive item-level cataloging had ever been accomplished, and only small sections of the collection had been microfilmed. At the time, we didn’t have the ability to make prints in-house. If plans were not microfilmed they had to be carried out of the Museum to be filmed. The only known microfilm record of the collection was thought to have been lost (see Series VIII). It was daunting to realize that in the event of a catastrophe, no backup of this important collection was known to exist. We agreed that item level cataloging, creating a database, and microfilming were the keys to improving access and preservation. It was clear that this work would require a great deal of time and money. However, we felt that a Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Project could be privately funded. We began to develop a project proposal, and Maynard agreed to help the Museum find funding. In early 1993, Maynard contacted Mr. Carl W. Haffenreffer, Senior Trustee of the Haffenreffer Family Fund. In May of 1993, the Haffenreffer Family agreed to cover half of the project budget, provided that we raised the other half first. Maynard went on to contact Joel White, Chief Designer of Brooklin Boat Yard, ME who pledged to support one quarter of the budget. In 1993, Mr. & Mrs. J. Philip Lee also pledged their support. By November of 1993 the project was underway. The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Project was a comprehensive cataloging and preservation microfilming operation involving every element in the design records of the HMCo. The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection was divided into eight series, and cataloged and microfilmed according to these divisions. When the microfilming was completed, all collections were rehoused in new acid/lignin-free enclosures. The project also funded a digital microfilm reader/printer and computer with database. Approximately 17,000 collection objects were cataloged in detail, approximately 14,000 database records were created and well over 30,000 items were captured on microfilm. This guide contains general information about the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection and detailed information about each series listed in the table of contents. In addition, the appendices contain a description of the database, a complete listing of the microfilm, a facsimile of the original Construction Record of the HMCo.* Study of this guide will provide an overview of the complex design/manufacturing systems and products of the HMCo. 5 The Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Project has become a model for processing other Hart Nautical collections. Following the cataloging and microfilming of the Herreshoff design record in 1993, these additional Hart collections have been cataloged, imaged, and entered into the Museum’s database: George Owen’s designs and photographs, William Hand and R. O. Davis’s designs, C. H. W. Foster photograph collection, Hart General collection photographs, William A. Baker’s slide collection, Arthur H. Clark marine prints and Allan Forbes Whaling Collection. All of these collections and the Alden design collection (over 50,000 objects) will be available in the Museum’s online collections portal by July 2019. This important work is the result of generous private funding. The MIT Museum welcomes gifts in support of our ongoing mission to preserve, organize and make accessible the nautical material culture of New England and MIT. The Herreshoff Legacy Project has significantly extended and enhanced the work described above through high-resolution digitization of the entire Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection as a key startup step in producing a high quality online catalog for all of MIT Museum’s digital collections. Updated information about this collection and access in the Museum’s online portal are in bold. Historical Sketch The HMCo came into existence in early 1878 when John Brown Herreshoff (JBH) and his brother Nathanael Greene Herreshoff (NGH) entered into a business agreement to build boats and engines. The company resided on Herreshoff family property along the waterfront of Bristol, Rhode Island. With significant design contributions from NGH, and other family members, JBH had been building a variety of boats on this site for 15 years prior to the founding of HMCo. NGH had designed and built a number of boats with his family, and on his own, prior to entering into the partnership with his brother. NGH enrolled at MIT in 1866 for a special three-year course in mechanical engineering. After completing his studies at MIT, NGH secured employment as a designer/draftsman with the Corliss Steam Engine Co., Providence, RI. He held this position until resigning on December 31, 1877 to join his brother in forming HMCo. During 67 years of operation, HMCo was operated by three distinct ownership groups. JBH and NGH retained complete control of the company from 1878 to 1915. The Herreshoff’s sold their primary interests in 1916-1917. JBH managed the business aspects of the company while NGH did the designing and was superintendent of manufacturing. In the early years, the company built primarily steam-powered vessels, for both private and military customers. Record breaking speeds produced by the Herreshoff steam vessels in the 1880’s brought national recognition to the company. Orders for new boats increased significantly in the 1890’s. The US Navy contracted for six torpedo boats, built between 1890 and 1897, based on four NGH designs. It was not until after 1890 that the company began in earnest to produce sailing vessels. With the success of the 46-foot class sloop Gloriana, built for E.D.

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