Interesting Provenance

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Very pretty little boat Edgar.

If the registration numbers were not there I would still know it is a Maine boat by the snow tires on the trailer...

They're just trailer tires, but, come to think of it, I did buy them in Maine.
First pic was the last day out, last fall. The next pic was the next morning.

[Bill Murphy]

The vessel "Iolanthe" that Keller, Harvey McMurchey, and John Parker shared ownership in was referred to in several ways, but in the description of the wreck of the boat in 1895, it was described as a schooner with five smaller duck boats tied to her, breaking loose from the anchor chain with 250 fowl and 135 decoys aboard. The vessel and guns were saved, but the five boats and fowl and decoys were lost. I don't know whether the "fowl" were live decoys or dead ducks. John Parker was in charge of the boat at the time. Maybe Drew would link the account described in the December 14, 1895 edition of Sporting Life. I used "keller, decoys" as search words.

[Dean Romig]

Perhaps Keller's sporting launch was much like this one.


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[Holeshot]

That boat and big bore are both impressive. Them other shotguns look dainty, compared.

[edgarspencer]

The only Iolanthe listed in the 1894 Lloyds Register was 255' and homeported in Liverpool. That same vessel is still listed in 1896, so it's not that one.
The term 'Schooner' evokes images or large coastal ships, and yachts, but the term refers to the rigging, the foremast being shorter than the main. There are plenty of small (under 30') schooner rigged boats.
Iolanthe must have been a popular name, because there are three listed in the 1938 Lloyds.

[Bill Murphy]

Iolanthe was/is a Gilbert and Sullivan satirical opera of the time. In fact, it is still popular, being played in my home town of Rockville, Maryland as late as last month. There is more than one spelling of the word, apparently causing the word search on la84foundation to not hit on the spelling used in the 1895 account of the wreck. There is suspicion on my part that "Iolanthe" was the nom de plume of one of the owners of the rig when writing for the gun rags of the time. I don't know which one that would be.

[Harold Pickens]

How about some pictures of the gun?

[Drew Hause]

1st column
http://www.la84foundation.org/Sports.../SL2614012.pdf

[edgarspencer]

IIRC, Iolanthe comes from Greek mythology. Something to do with fairies (the little ones with wings)

[Steve Leffler]

Here are a couple pictures.