The Photograph Collection of the Larchmont Yacht Club

Magazine Antiques, August, 2001 by A.J. Peluso

As the story goes, it was in May 1880 that five young yachtsmen beached their boat at Horseshoe Harbor in Larchmont, New York. It was cold and stormy and they built a fire for warmth, wishing that they could find a pub. Out of frustration they started a club, first renting space in a nearby "little building...where church services were held 'Sunday only"' By the end of July they had held their first regatta. [1]

They rented larger and larger local houses as clubhouses until in 1887 they purchased the stables and land of an estate that is now the site of the present Larchmont Yacht Club. Even during this time of constant change the members preserved lithographs or paintings of their yachts: Jay Gould's Atalanta, Caldwell H. Colt's Dauntless, and C. Oliver Iselin's Titania. A haphazard photographic record of yachts and club life was also being accumulated (see Pls. IV, XI, and XII). These pictures were framed or tipped into yearbooks, hung throughout the clubhouse of the moment, or shelved in a library. As years passed, many of the photographs were removed and forgotten, each time replaced by more contemporary images. The oldest and the dustiest were consigned to attics.

In 1908, it was noted that "From a few scattering photographs...the [art] committee's collection has increased in number and in merit, so that little wall space remains today"[2] Nevertheless, the collecting continued with the result that the club amassed a record covering more than a century, mostly of professionally created photographs and paintings. The collection has not been catalogued, although archival and conservation steps have been taken.

A recent superficial study of the collection revealed countless treasures related to the America's Cup challenges at the turn of the century and the work of pioneering American and British marine photographers (see P1. XIII). The earliest surviving photograph, dating from 1883, was taken with the newly developed dry-plate technology that allowed moving objects to be efficiently captured. A contemporary advertisement read:

Nathaniel Stebbins Photographer Instantaneous Photographs of Vessels Under Way and Animals in Motion A Specialty Views of Buildings, Interiors, Machinery, and Every Description of Commercial Photography 132 Boylston Street Boston, Mass.[3]

The reference to "Vessels Under Way and Animals in Motion" was probably meant to evoke the pioneering work of Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) with his series The Horse in Motion. [4] While photographing yachts and steamboats in motion may not have been as technically difficult as photographing a galloping horse, the unique problems of photography at sea had to be mastered by all maritime photographers. They worked off pitching tugs and overcrowded boats, fighting wind, fog, and saltwater. With the introduction of dry-plate technology the photographer was no longer required to develop each exposure immediately. Instead, he could take multiple exposures to be developed later. The America's Cup became a challenging occasion for employing this improvement.

During the 1890s the cup race was a New York phenomenon, and several New York City photographers were engaged. [5] The New York Yacht Club in New York City managed the races but with the cooperation of other clubs such as the Larchmont Yacht Club and funding from wealthy yachtsmen. In short, the race was a cooperative effort. The owners of Vigilant, the successful cup defender in 1893, included C. Oliver Iselin (c. 1854-1932), August Belmont (1853-1924), and Cornelius Vanderbilt (1843-1899). In 1895 William K. Vanderbilt (1849-1920) participated in the support of Defender. John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) was among those who underwrote the 1899 winner, Columbia, and William Rockefeller (1841-1922) was one of the underwriters of the 1903 winner, Reliance.

New York newspapers and magazines covered the races in great detail, and photographs of the splendid yachts were much in demand. [6] The New York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), used carrier pigeons to deliver photographic negatives. [7] For the 1899 challenge, the New York Herald and the New York Evening Telegram used the Marconi telegraph to speed the latest news, [8] and Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) produced a motion picture entitled The Columbia Winning the Cup. [9] Each race drew a large spectator fleet of steamboats with accommodations ranging from economy to first class. The Larchmont Yacht Club engaged seagoing tugs and provided a catered lunch aboard for members and guests (see Pls. II, III, and VIII). [10]

It is possible that many of the photographs in the club's collection were deposited by Iselin, a wealthy banker, yachtsman, and member of the Larchmont Yacht Club from its founding. He was part owner of four successful America's Cup defenders: Vigilant (1893), Defender (1895), Columbia (1899), and Reliance (1903), all of which flew his private signal. [11]

In 1893, the defender Vigilant had first to defeat the other American contenders Colonia, Pilgrim, and Jubilee (see Pls. I and XIV). The British challenger was Valkyrie II raced by Windham Thomas WyndhamQuin (1841-1926), the fourth earl of Dunraven. Three thirty-mile races were run in October 1893 and each was won by Vigilant. Among the many boats filled with enthusiastic spectators were the USS Dolphin (P1. VII), and the Grand Republic (P1. IX). Their presence became annoying and troublesome because they made maneuvering the huge yachts much more difficult.