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Shipboard Prism
$60 current bid
9 Bids
FMV: $35
Description of the Item:
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If you picked this up, you might think it was just a very powerful paperweight. Well, it would work as that, but it's really a reproduction of a deck prism from America's last wooden sailing whaleship. In the days before electricity, such prisms were used to direct light down into the ship's lower decks. Other options, such as candles or oil or kerosene lamps, were obviously risky on wooden vessels. The prism is from the Mystic (Conn.) Seaport Museum, which is home to that historic whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan. It's 4 inches in diameter, 5 inches high and weighs approx. 4 lbs. Value $35.
Donated By Friend of Alliance