Captain
A. B. Cross Photo, Salem MA
First Mate
Alva Pearsall Photographer, Brooklyn, NY
Bos’n
Turner, Boston MA
Quartermaster
L. W. Cook, Boston, MA
Deck hand
Glines, The Fotografer, Boston MA
Cabin boy
G. A. Underwood, Worcester, MA
These are a selection of unidentified photographs in my collection. They do look like the faces of a ship’s crew to some degree. The two fellows at the top I really struggled with. The older gentleman looks more like a tall ship captain, while the younger man looks like a steamer captain. They could be interchangeable, I suppose.
I have listed the various photographers’ names under each photo. You will see that with the exception of the oldest man here, all were from Massachusetts, mainly Boston.
For more photos of crew, ships, people, harbors, bicycles, and more, click over to Sepia Saturday. You will be happy you did!
Heave ho!
Who Were They? 
What is it with the Napoleonic pose? It just looks so ridiculous … at least now it does.
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It seems so very pretentious. Perhaps that was the intention?
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What a wonderful collection of photos. Particularly the cabin boy. Such fine features.
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I would love to see what he looked like as an adult!
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Hello
This is my first time at sepia Saturday!
They are such lovely photos, it’s sad that the family they belonged to, at some point in time let them go and now no one knows who they are!
Jackie
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Welcome to the fun, Jackie! It is sad to think of these photos languishing in a drawer, so I suppose it is to our benefit that they were at least offered for sale and now we all can enjoy them. :-)
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Heave ho! So awesome! Great photos of ship’s crew!
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Great portraits. I see the cabin boy’s from my employer’s town, Worcester.
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I was wondering if it is pronounced “Wooster” or “War chester”? My mother says Wooster, my cousin says Warchester.
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I think you’ll find it’s definitely Wooster.
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… in England, although in Massachusetts it may be different.
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The second dude looks more like the “owner of Das Boot” to me. :)
And it’s Woo-ster (rhymes with Rooster). But then, they also say things like “Pack the cah in the packing lot and get some bananers for us to eat.”
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I was expecting to see a cook as well!
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I know, why didn’t I think of that one? Terrible, my brain doesn’t work sometimes.
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Such striking photos and the first one is reminiscent of my husband’s great great grandfather in my post this week. He was a mariner and also adopted that Napoleonic pose in his photograph. .
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I will be sure to stop by and examine your post!
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This is a great idea to link all those miscellaneous portraits into a new cast of characters! But couldn’t you find a cook?
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This is me operating on a timeline, I was thinking “galley, galley, what do I need there…” and then I googled and came upon bos’n…my brain got lost in wikipedia, lol and all was lost. :-)
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What a fun post. Good work.
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Very inventive! The Bos’n looks traumatised; I wonder what he was thinking about.
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I think your “First Mate” looks more like a captain. I cannot take the Napoleon pose seriously.
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It looks so silly, doesn’t it?
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Since joining Sepia Saturday, I’ve discovered that people enjoy collecting old photos of anyone anywhere more because of the photo rather than who is in it. I find this a fascinating hobby. I love old photos but have never thought of collecting other people’s. You have used your anonymous characters well.
So what is the reason, interest, charm, organisation, goal in collecting photos of unknowns?
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My grandfather told me that Napoleonic pose is because they all had fleas, and wanted a hand already inside the coat for scratching….
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