Ahoy - Mac's Web Log

Dear Sir,

At an antiques fair in Little Compton, RI (USA) today I bought,at a very cheap price, a picture (a print of a painting) of a full rigged ship with the name SEEADLER on her bow and high on her forestay she was flying the German Navy ensign of WW I.

After I got home and studied this picture I was able to decipher the writing on it which reads "Felix Count Luckner 1931". I was quite amazed at this find and checked the internet for more info and found your website. I thought you would be interested.

It looks like an autographed ship's picture, signed by the skipper which is a fairly common practice.

I vaguely knew of Count Luckner because many years ago I read his biography by Lowell Thomas.

Bill Girrier

Dear Bill,

Thank you for your E-Mail. what a great find you made, it sounds like a little gem.

The Count was a very interesting character, and my piece on Ahoy about him has caused a lot of interest from many different places around the world.

Would it please be possible for you to scan your picture and sent it to me as an attachment to an E-Mail?

My site is a team effort between my friend Terry in Atlanta Georgia, I do all the writing, and then Terry translates that into the various articles that you see on our site.

Should you be able to send us a scanned image, with your approval we would add it to the piece on Seeadler, of course with a suitable acknowledgement.

Thanks again for taking the time to write, it is appreciated.

Best wishes from both Australia, and the United States.

Mackenzie Gregory.

Dear Mac,

I dont have scanning capability but know someone who does and will try to have him do it. Failing that in a timely manner I will be happy to xerox the picture and snail mail it to you and your Atlanta GA. compatriot.

In fact if you can supply the snail mail addresses I would just as soon get the pictures to you that way. They would be full sized and done on a xerox machine that
copies so accurately that you can hardly tell the copy from the original.

Also, you certainly have my OK to use them any way you want.

Thanx for your timely answer.

Bill Girrier

Mac,

The SEEADLER picture is in the mail to Terry Kearns.

Since my interest has now been aroused I thought that I may still have the copy of the Luckner book by Lowell Thomas that I read long ago and by golly, after a long search I found it.

In the book there is a small photograph of the very picture of the SEEADLER that I mailed, but without any signature. There is mention on the origin of the picture on page 167 that says that the picture is a sketch reproduced from a photograph taken by the skipper of the French sailing ship "Antonin" just before the "Antonin" was captured and eventually sunk by Luckner.

I hope that Terry Kearns is able to get you a good picture by e mail.

If any new tidbits on Luckner come my way I will be happy to pass them on. I live near Newport, which is an old seafaring town steeped in  tradition and is the home of a branch of the NY Yacht Club where the America's Cup races were always held, that is up until it went to Australia and it hasn't been back since.

Bill

More about von Luckner, The Sea Devil.

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