Description:

Hawthorne Nathaniel 1804 - 1864
Nathaniel Hawthorne signed 1850s maritime archive relating to his duties as Liverpool Customs Officer, the Galacar Family, and the Sea Lion

Archive comprised of Liverpool consul document signed by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a large ship register for the Boston Sea Lion, a two-page manuscript written about ship master Hezekiah Galacar, and a double-sided scrapbook page containing Galacar Family mementoes.

The consul document is partly printed and partly handwritten on pale blue paper with American eagle letterhead and looping braid at left, affixed with embossed blue Consulate of the U.S. America Liverpool seal at bottom left. Document no. 167 was dated January 19, 1857 and signed by "Nath' Hawthorne" acting as "Consul of the United States of America, for the Port of Liverpool and its dependencies" at bottom right. In fine condition with a few light stains, measuring 6.25" x 8". This document records the sale of the condemned vessel Sea Lion commanded by Hezekiah Galacar.

A large partly printed and partly handwritten ship manifest for the Sea Lion dated September 2, 1856 shows that four months before Hawthorne authorized its sale in Liverpool, the vessel had been bound for St. George, New Brunswick. One side of the document provides a register of seventeen crew members ranging in age from 18 to 43 years old. On the other side, the document has been signed and dated by various officials including the ship's captain Hezekiah Galacar. Bearing two embossed seals. In very good to fine condition, with expected wear including scattered stains, isolated ink spill, toning, and folds. Minor tear towards top, manifest measuring 16" x 18.5".

The last documents relate to the captain of the Sea Lion, Hezekiah Galacar (1815-1864). A two-page manuscript written by his son relates pertinent details about his seafaring career, and an annotated scrapbook page contains items relating to the Galacar Family (business cards, newspaper notices, other ephemera, etc.) The first page of the manuscript is evenly toned along the left edge, each page measuring 8.25" x 8.5".

Celebrated American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) had a series of day jobs, one of which was serving as the U.S. Consul of Liverpool between 1853-1857. This job was one of the most lucrative in the diplomatic service. After Hawthorne lobbied for a pay increase in 1855, his annual salary was $7,500 a year.

According to family history, Hezekiah Galacar entered sea service at age nine and served on mercantile and whaling vessels in Liverpool, Canada, South America, the West Indies, and the Mediterranean before commanding his own ship. "His disposition was genial and he had many friends. He was one of the few ship-captains who espoused the cause of total abstinence which he firmly maintained to the end of his life. He was strictly honest and generous to a fault, but too trustful of others who sometimes did not deserve his confidence", his son recalled in the handwritten letter.

A fabulous collection of documents relating to Hawthorne and the mid-nineteenth-century Boston, MA sea trade!

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June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
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