Guidelines for Recording Historic Ships

348 Pages·2006·11.49 MB·English

GUIDELINES
FOR RECORDING
HISTORIC SHIPS

Third Edition: 2004
HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY
HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD
HISTORIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPES SURVEY

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY FOR HABS/HAER/HALS
AND THE USE OF OTHER GUIDELINES
The legislative authority of HABS/HAER/HALS is the 1935 Historic Sites Act
(Public Law 74-292) and the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (Public Law
89-665), as amended in 1980 (Public Law 96-515).
The guidelines should be used in conjunction with:

 Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and Engineering
Documentation as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 48, No. 190, Notices, pp.
44730-44734, generally known as HABS/HAER Standards.

 Recording Historic Structures. John A. Burns, editor. Washington, D.C.: The AIA
Press, 1989

 HABS/HAER Guidelines:

- HABS Historical Reports
- HABS/HAER Guidelines: Recording Structures with HABS Measured Drawings
(1995)
- Historic American Engineering Record Field Instructions (1995)
Transmitting HABS/HAER Documentation
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American
Landscapes Survey, National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW - 2270
Washington, DC 20240
[phone]
First edition, September 1988.
Second edition, September 1994.
Third edition, January 2004.
Cover:
Inboard Profile
Ship BALCLUTHA, San Francisco, California
HAER No. CA-54
Reduced from portion of original 3/8" scale drawing
delineated by Robbyn L. Jackson and Deborah J. Cooper, 1987.
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

GUIDELINES
FOR RECORDING
HISTORIC SHIPS

RICHARD K. ANDERSON, JR.

THIRD EDITION
2004

EDITED BY TODD A. CROTEAU

HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY
HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD
HISTORIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPES SURVEY

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
WASHINGTON, D.C.
CONTENTS

Section 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Preface
1.2 Acknowledgements
Section 2: HISTORY
2.1 Historical Report Guidelines
2.2 Historical Reports
2.3 General Bibliography
2.4 Case Study
Section 3: PHOTOGRAPHY
3.1 Photography Guidelines
3.2 Large-format Photography for Historic Ships
3.3 Preparation of Photographs for
Transmittal to the Library of Congress
Section 4: MEASURED DRAWINGS
4.1 Measured Drawings Guidelines
4.2 What's Involved
4.3 Field Methods
4.4 Field Notes
4.5 Field Photographs
4.6 Measured Drawings
4.7 Drawing Examples
4.8 References and Resources
4.9 Appendices
Section 5: FIELD REPORTS
5.1 What to Consider
Section 6: USING THE COLLECTION
LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY FOR HABS/HAER/HALS
AND THE USE OF OTHER GUIDELINES

The legislative authority of HABS/HAER/HALS is the 1935 Historic Sites Act
(Public Law 74-292) and the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (Public Law
89-665), as amended in 1980 (Public Law 96-515).

The guidelines should be used in conjunction with:

• Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and Engineering
Documentation as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 48, No. 190, Notices, pp.
44730-44734, generally known as HABS/HAER Standards.

• Recording Historic Structures. John A. Burns, editor. Washington, D.C.: The AIA
Press, 1989

• HABS/HAER Guidelines:

- HABS Historical Reports
- HABS/HAER Guidelines: Recording Structures with HABS Measured Drawings
(1995)

- Historic American Engineering Record Field Instructions (1995)
Transmitting HABS/HAER Documentation

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American
Landscapes Survey, National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW - 2270
Washington, DC 20240
[phone]

First edition, September 1988.
Second edition, September 1994.
Third edition, January 2004.

Cover:
Inboard Profile
Ship BALCLUTHA, San Francisco, California
HAER No. CA-54

Reduced from portion of original 3/8" scale drawing
delineated by Robbyn L. Jackson and Deborah J. Cooper, 1987.
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

GUIDELINES
FOR RECORDING
HISTORIC SHIPS

RICHARD K. ANDERSON, JR.

THIRD EDITION
2004

EDITED BY TODD A. CROTEAU

HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY
HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD
HISTORIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPES SURVEY

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
WASHINGTON, D.C.
CONTENTS

Section 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Preface
1.2 Acknowledgements

Section 2: HISTORY

2.1 Historical Report Guidelines
2.2 Historical Reports
2.3 General Bibliography
2.4 Case Study

Section 3: PHOTOGRAPHY

3.1 Photography Guidelines
3.2 Large-format Photography for Historic Ships
3.3 Preparation of Photographs for
Transmittal to the Library of Congress

Section 4: MEASURED DRAWINGS

4.1 Measured Drawings Guidelines
4.2 What's Involved
4.3 Field Methods
4.4 Field Notes
4.5 Field Photographs
4.6 Measured Drawings
4.7 Drawing Examples
4.8 References and Resources
4.9 Appendices

Section 5: FIELD REPORTS

5.1 What to Consider

Section 6: USING THE COLLECTION
Section 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1.3 Preface

PREFACE

Background. Nation-wide interest in maritime mandate. A national inventory of preserved
history and the preservation or replication of historic vessels over 40 feet long was completed
by the National Park Service, with the
large historic ships has grown substantially in
cooperation of numerous agencies and
recent years. It has become apparent that
museums. In 1987, the National Register of
physical preservation of vessels will not be
Historic Places published specific instructions
feasible in a large number of cases, and that
for nominating vessels to the National Register
documentation-- (Bulletin #20: Nominating Historic Vessels and
preservation “on paper”--will prove to be the Shipwrecks to the National Register of Historic
most reasonable preservation method available. Places). The Historic American Engineering
Where physical preservation of a ship is Record produced the Guidelines for Recording
Historic Ships in 1988 in accordance with the
undertaken, in most cases detailed
established Secretary of the Interior’s Standards
documentation must be made before
for Architectural and Engineering
stabilization, repairs, or other preservation
Documentation. The Museum Small Craft
measures can be safely undertaken. Such
Association began development of guidelines for
documentation is also a form of insurance documentation of historic small craft in 1988;
against partial or total loss of a significant vessel Boats: A Manual for Their Documentation was
to posterity should some catastrophe occur to the published in 1994 by the American Association
vessel itself. for State and Local History. In 1990 the
Maritime Preservation Program within the
National Park Service published the Secretary of
Americans have always held an interest in their
the Interior’s Standards for Historic Vessel
maritime history; however, efforts to preserve its
Preservation Projects and 1990 Inventory of
largest physical expression--the ships--have
Large Preserved Historic Vessels. Many of these
lagged behind preservation of small craft,
publications were to form a part of the National
artifacts, written historical documents, and
Trust’s planned Manual for the Documentation
folklore, with only a few important exceptions.
of Historic Maritime Resources, which was to
Led by the private and public sectors since the
have included guidelines for documenting all
1960s, the national movement to preserve
types of maritime-related tangible and intangible
historic buildings has encouraged a similar
resources. The Department of Maritime
movement in maritime history on local and
Preservation in the National Trust was
national levels. The impetus for the following
disbanded in 1993, and this publication was not
HAER guidelines lies with the Standards
issued.
Committee of the National Maritime Heritage
Task Force which met between September 1982
The Historic American Engineering Record
and December 1983 under the auspices of the
(HAER). The documentation of historic ships
National Trust for Historic Preservation. The
has a long history reflecting the influence of
HAER guidelines were one of several related
numerous motives, traditions, and important
documents prepared in response to a 1985
individual authorities. The Historic American
congressional mandate to “inventory maritime
Engineering Record was established in the
resources, recommend standards for their
National Park Service in 1969 to create a public
preservation, and recommend private and public
record of the United States’ engineering and
sector roles for that preservation.” Vigorous
industrial patrimony. It is the companion
discussion among American maritime museums,
program to the widely known Historic American
professionals, interest groups, and the National
Buildings Survey (HABS), founded in 1933 to
Park Service ensued in meeting the goals of this
record historic architecture in the United States. reproduced for reference in Section 4.9. In order
A new sibling to HABS and HAER, the Historic to make the kind and quantity of documentation
American Landscapes Survey (HALS) was appropriate to the significance of a vessel, four
established in 2000 to focus on documenting levels of effort are outlined in the standards. The
designed or evolved landscapes. At its fullest, maritime guidelines presented here interpret the
HAER documentation consists of three first three levels of the standards (Levels I - III)
components--fully footnoted investigative for use in producing documentation acceptable
histories, large-format photography, and detailed to the HAER collection. The fourth level, an
measured drawings. Each component has inventory or survey card was recently
inherent strengths the others lack, so that an discontinued, however, a survey can be
integrated “package” focused on a specific site formatted to a Historic Report template.
or ship becomes a powerful documentary tool;
the ship itself is examined and treated as a HAER has attempted to base these guidelines on
document every bit as important as historical the best of widely accepted, established
records. Since all documentary efforts are professional practices in historical research,
necessarily selective and interpretive, the HAER vessel documentation and measurement,
guidelines help to elicit and capture the industrial archeology, documentary
significant aspects of each vessel and present photography, and measured drawings. The
them as clearly as possible. The final records are guidelines are not meant to be the final
produced on archival materials having a authority, which all recorders must accept
500-year lifespan and are deposited in the regardless of affiliation or before which all
HAER collection at the Prints and Photographs previous methods and products are to be seen as
Division of the Library of Congress. inferior. HAER has attempted to draw on the
tremendous wealth of previous examples and to
Access to HAER Records. HAER records are make the guidelines as flexible and broadly
in the public domain and are open for public applicable as possible. HAER anticipates their
access. They may be copied and used for any acceptance by a wide range of authorities and
purpose, with proper credit given to HAER and users, and trusts that they will prove useful for
the National Park Service, as well as the non-HAER documentation projects.
delineator, photographer, or historian. The
collection can be searched and viewed online at Emphases. HAER documentation is
the Library of Congress web site ABuilt in vessel-specific, and records should reflect what
America@ at: is significant about the vessel. Where design is
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/h important--as it is expected to be in the majority
abs_haer/. of cases--hull shape and/or vessel construction
and propulsion should be highlighted as
significance dictates. Measured drawings may
Microfilm copies of the HAER collection are
not be required in some cases, since significance
available at more than 110 libraries and
may inhere in some nondesign facts, such as
institutions throughout the United States. For
historical events or associations with important
further information, write to the HAER
persons. Existing drawings and records may also
Reference Librarian, Prints and Photographs
be sufficient to document historic conditions.
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
The HAER collection at the Library of Congress
20540.
does not accept pre-existing or original materials
(except as photocopies), but recognizes their
Standards and Guidelines. In order to insure a
great value and strongly encourages their
uniform quality of content and presentation, the
preservation by responsible repositories.
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
Architectural and Engineering Documentation
In documenting ships, HAER intends to build on
govern preparation of documents for inclusion in
the work of the Historic American Merchant
the HABS and HAER collections; they are