As light keeping was a lonely profession, supplies were usually brought to the keepers and families by lighthouse tender ships and included a library box. Library boxes were filled with books and switched from station to station to supply different reading materials to the families. In 1876 portable libraries were introduced in the Light-House Establishment and furnished to all light vessels and inaccessible offshore light stations with a selection of reading materials. These libraries were contained in a portable wooden case, each with a printed listing of the contents posted inside the door.
Read More HERE including a list of some of the titles.
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| Bookplate! |
Gosh, those are *beautiful*! I'd love a set of book cabinets like that...
ReplyDeleteMe, too!
ReplyDeleteMe, three!
ReplyDeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteMe four! (re how beautiful those boxes / cabinets are)
ReplyDeleteJanet, I agree with you that a lighthouse on a lonely, windswept island, shrouded by fog, would make a great setting for a mystery and/or ghost story. That life appeals to me, too -- especially when our modern 21st century lifestyle gets too hectic!
And there is the wonderfully creepy old radio story Three Skeleton Key that takes place on a lighthouse. Love the book boxes.
ReplyDeleteHi, I have one of the library boxes. Mine is numbered 619 and the Light house establishment stencil is long gone, you see mine was painted white and then stripped to the original wood. Anyhow, any way of knowing where the no. 619 came from? Thanks in advance for your help. Steve A
ReplyDeleteSorry.. I wouldn't know.. Had forgotten about this post. Lucky you for having one of the boxes!
ReplyDelete