Inspired by the Connecticut Statehood stamp, I traveled to Mystic Seaport in 2012 to capture a photograph of the Charles W. Morgan, the subject of that stamp. Unfortunately it was being restored at the time so it was surrounded by scaffolding inside a large shipyard building. Getting a nice image proved difficult, so I opted to photograph the Joseph Conrad, another ship in the Mystic Seaport collection.
The Joseph Conrad was built in 1882, in Copenhagen, as a training ship. It was originally named the George Stage, after the son of a prominent ship owner, Frederik Stage. In 1934, after 52 years of service and about to be retired, British Captain Alan Villiers bought and renamed her after Joseph Conrad, the author of popular seafaring novels. Two years and fifty eight thousand miles around the world later, George Huntington Hartford II bought and modernized the Joseph Conrad as a private yacht, sailed and raced her until 1939 at which point ownership was transferred to the US Maritime Commission and used once again as a training ship. Acquired in 1947, The Joseph Conrad now finds its home at Mystic Seaport as an exhibit and training vessel for the Mystic Mariner Program.
Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance; prints are available from my Pixels shop.
Dave Thompsen Photography 