About the Book The fast, able, and beautiful Essex-built schooners that fished out of Gloucester during the latter half of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth brought fortune and lasting fame to their communities, and were in their time the envy of the maritime world. This book explores how they evolved over a timeline in response to the demands of the fisheries, changing technology, and calls for greater safety to better protect those who put their lives in harm’s way, and does so in a way comprehensible and enjoyable for afficionado and layperson alike. It demystifies the plans of these vessels, and through the use of fine-art models shows how they, at once both scullery maids and princesses, actually appeared when fitted out and ready to do business on the great waters. About the Author Willard E. Andrews has deep family roots on Cape Ann, and after retirement from the practice general surgery in Juneau, Alaska, returned to those roots to spend twenty-five years studying, researching, and building fine-art models of Essex-built Gloucester fishing schooners. This book is the ultimate expression of that work. He and wife Linda now live in the central Idaho Rockies, but return to Gloucester every year to be around saltwater and spend time at the cottage built by his grandfather on land that has been in his family since 1803.

In Antique Houses of Gloucester, author Prudence Fish delivers a masterful survey of Gloucester's most compelling, puzzling and captivating old homes--while simultaneously providing an entertaining primer on New England's colonial and nineteenth-century architecture. Stumped by the differences between Georgian and Federal ornamentation? Wondering how to identify an authentic "Cape Ann cottage"? Intrigued by Indian shutters, widow's walks, Tory chimneys and other such exotically named decorative motifs? Fish unravels these mysteries and more. With a "Fact and Fiction" section debunking various myths and misconceptions, a comprehensive glossary of terms and even an excursion into the cutting-edge field of dendrochronology, Antique Houses of Gloucester offers everything the reader needs to become an armchair expert on Gloucester's historic residences and New England's classic building styles.

Essex is nestled on the Atlantic coast within beautifully preserved hills, forest, fields, and wetlandsbut the serene landscape belies the towns rich history. According to tradition, the first Essex boat was built in an attic around 1660. Eventually, this shipbuilding industry would create a thriving town as it developed into one of the largest producers of fishing schooners in the country. By its incorporation in 1819, Essex was a renowned community of fishing, farming, shipbuilding, and other industries. Over time, Essex became the birthplace of the fried clam, sent a native son to the baseball major leagues, acquired a Paul Revere church bell, and raised a barn that is now the oldest still in use in America. With a newly gathered collection of vintage images, Essex reveals a microcosm of American culture and growth, telling the story of leading patriots, entrepreneurs, Civil War heroes, and hardworking everyday citizens.

For three centuries, shipbuilding flourished in Essex, a small village wrapped around a shallow tidal estuary that flows into Ipswich Bay. From sturdy little Chebacco boats to the tough but graceful fishing schooners that plied the Grand Banks, Essex vessels became known throughout the maritime world as swift and strong fishermen, and Essex shipbuilding became synonymous with craftsmanship of the highest order. More than four thousand ships slid down the ways destined for ports such as Gloucester, Boston, and New York. By the middle of the twentieth century, however, the industry had vanished and this extraordinary chapter in American maritime history was closed. Essex Shipbuilding recalls an era when dozens of vessels in different stages of construction lined the Essex River and the shipyard gangs worked six days a week, year-round, in any weather. Featuring the photograph collection of Dana A. Story, Essex Shipbuilding illustrates the firms of A.D. Story and Tarr & James, who built the famous racing schooners Mayflower, Columbia, and Gertrude L. Thebaud, and the high-lining fishermen Elsie and Adventure. Essex Shipbuilding also depicts these vessels at sea-fishing, racing, or pursuing more unusual work, from Arctic exploration to naval service in both world wars to rumrunning during Prohibition.