The Library at Sailors' Snug Harbor
In The View from the Masthead Hester Blum makes the case that sailors "were a class of workers who attained an above-average degree of literacy and who participated in a robust culture of reading and writing" (25). In making this case, Blum relies on the findings of Harry Skallerup, who used signature estimates, charitable organizations' surveys, naval library records, and mechanics' library histories to quantify sailor literacy (see Books Afloat & Ashore: a History of Books, Libraries, and Reading Among Seamen During the Age of Sail, 1974). Blum expanded on Skallerup's research by examining sailor writings, which further document their literary interests and ambitions.
SUNY Maritime College is home to an additional, largely unexplored, treasure trove of data on sailors' reading habits: the Sailors' Snug Harbor archives. Sailors Snug Harbor was the first home for retired seamen in the United States, dedicated to the welfare of “aged, decrepit, and worn out” mariners. Established through through the 1801 will of Robert Richard Randall (son of wealthy privateer Thomas Randall), the home opened on Staten Island in 1833. According to the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, "by the turn of the century, Sailors’ Snug Harbor was reputedly the richest charitable institution in the United States and a self-sustaining community with farms, a dairy, a bakery, workshops, a power plant, a chapel, a sanatorium, a hospital, a concert hall, dormitories, recreation areas, gardens, and a cemetery." Omitted from this list of amenities was the library, which was used extensively by its residents.
- Novels and Tales (presumably this book by Goethe)
- Two Years Ago (probably this book by Charles Kingsley)
- Harper's
- Scribner's
- Court of London (probably The mysteries of the court of London by George W M Reynolds)
- Camp and Field (probably Volunteers' Camp and Field Book: Containing Useful and General Information on the Art and Science of War, for the Leisure Moments of the Soldier by John P. Curry)
- Lady of Lyndon (probably The Lady of Lyndon by Louise Pilkington Blake)
- Seaside Library (probably related to the Seaside Library editions of popular titles published by George Munro)
- Our Saturday Nights (probably this book by Mark Mills Pomeroy
- Three Spaniards (probably Three Spaniards: A Romance By George Walker)
- Hidden Perils (probably this book by Mary Cecil Hay)
- King's Own (probably this book by Frederick Marryat)
- Arabian Nights (of which there are many versions)
- Christina North (probably this book by Eleanor A. Towle)
- Brave Old Salt (probably Brave Old Salt, Or, Life on the Quarter Deck, A Story of the Great Rebellion by Oliver Optic)
It's lucky that any of the library materials survived. Though the archives includes the 6 library registers, a number of the pages were later re-used for other administrative correspondence. Of the content of the library, about 20 volumes were transferred to the archives, including the item signed by Melville. It would require painstaking transcription and analysis to draw any conclusions about sailor reading habits based on the registers. For now, it's fun to imagine the old salts passing their time in the reading room (picture at top) with the papers, books, and periodicals of their choice.
Resources
- Read more about the history of Sailors' Snug Harbor and its archives at: https://snugharborarchivesblog.wordpress.com/.
- View the 1884-1886 library register on Maritime Digital Collections:
- View the cover, front matter, and first chapter of the copy of A voyage round the world inscribed by Melville on Maritime Digital Collections: https://maritimedigitalcollections.com/index.php/Detail/objects/366
- Read Heidi "Herman Melville, Sailors’ Snug Harbor, and John Turnbull’s 'A Voyage Round the World'" by Heidi Rempel, Digital Project Archivist, at: https://medium.com/@LuceLibrary/herman-melville-sailors-snug-harbor-and-john-turnbull-s-a-voyage-round-the-world-d7832b6ea28e