The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-22
SHIP CARvERS' OCCUPATION GONE.
Longer Does His Art Provide Figureheads
for American Vessels.

BANGOR, Me-. July 20.-In these practical
days the man who builds a vessel seldom spends
much money In useless decoration. and SO the
crowning glory of the ship of the olden time,
,the fgurehead. is seldom seen on American
vessels. except on the larger yachts. With
the passing of the fgurehead has disappeared
almost entirely the once-iourishing industry.
or art, Of the ship carver.
Up to twenty years ago nearly all Yes, ss
Of any considerable size carried some sort Of
carving under their bowsprits. and 1t gave them
a sort Of finishing touch that is lacking now.
Figures Of women of voluptuous form were
the ~favorite, and these women wore aston
ishing white gowns, or Grecian robes, with
trimmings of the most stunning shades OF red.
blue and yellow. They had the expression Of
lofty virtue that is seen on the face Of the
Goddess of Liberty. and they were much adj
mired by sailors, Eagles, fishes, Indians
and figures Of Triton and Neptune were also
much in vogue, and ierce-looking dragons
were prime favorites.
Occasionally a refreshing departure was
made from the beaten path Of the ship carver's
art. In 1877 there came to Bangor a handsome
ship, the Belle of Bath. 20 load deals for her
maiden trip across the Atlantic. The beauty
of the ships lines did not attract half 50 much
attention as her iigurehead. which was the
most stunning thing Of the kind ever seen in
this port. II was about that time that the pull
back dress came into fashion. and the Belle
OF Bath carried al her bow the figure Of a stylish
young woman clad IN one Of those gowns,
all white and gold. The carver must have
been well up in women's fashions, for it was
declared by many women who viewed and adj
mired the figure on the ship that the pull-back
gown was correctly out, even to the smallest
detail, The bark Ocean Belle, also a new
vessel. lay IN the same dock at High Head. and
she had a HANDSOME young woman carved in
white pine. gracefully poised under her bow
spirit. Both vessels were lost when they were
Ia Maine went down with them.
Down East vessels were frequently adorned
with the tgures Of Indian chiefs. and a little
tugboat in the harbor OF Bangor used to carry
a full-sized figure OF q Tarratine chief, for
which tribe she was named The Napoleons
were numerous, and there were war eagles,
American flags. Nautluses, Mashingtons, Tn
ions, tigers. lions and others, all decorated with
figures supposed 10 bear some resemblance
Of their namesskes. The steamboats, Of olden
days down East carried on their paddleboxee
elaborate carvings representing commerce,
industry and the States whence they hailed.
The lost Cambridge had on her sides the coat
Of arms Of Massachusetts, with that States
motto. The Katahdin bore a carved represen-
tation OF the mountain q that name, with a
golden deer skipping gayly over the hills and
an Indian padding thoughtfully across a sill
with the head OF an Indian chief, gorgeous with
held-feathers, Nowadays the steamboats, have
plain paddlehoXes, and they are not nearly
80 attractive In appearance As the old-timerS.
1t used to be the fashion TO mount golden
ROSTERS on the pilothouses Of tugboats, but the
ROSTERS have long since disappeared, and the
tugs have lost much of their snucy LOOK.
The Italians who come here are nearly all
p~rofusely decorated on stern and bows, and
for that reason they are objects Of curiosity
TO people who frequent the whMves. The
typical American vessel Of to-day, tho four
masted or ~fve-masted schooner, has simply
a short billethead forward, and on the stern
her name in big. plain letters. Sometimes
the name Is circled with a gold cable, but not
nothing TO the carrying capacity OF the big
conl threshers