<p>Combining captivating sketches by his brother, artist Ben Clary, and his own prized ghost ship portrayals, Jim Clary presents a compelling and riveting digest of beliefs, customs, and mystery in Superstitions of the Sea. Clary focuses on the vast array of strange, mythical, and often comical beliefs of mariners from ancient times to the present. Collecting the various topics for years. Clary found that maritime superstition was weaved throughout every fabric of his study. So interesting was the folklore that it often lured him far away from his subject search and held him spellbound for hours at a time. Clary offers a unique and encompassing classification of maritime superstitions, including anecdotes on: animals, burial, charms, demons, evil eyes, figureheads, ghost ships, hexes, icebergs, Jonahs, knots, launchings, myths, navigation, omens, people, romance, shipwrecks, triangles, the unexplained, Vikings, and weather phenomena. He combed through countless age-old volumes and interviewed today's sailors to bring to the reader incredible yarns and unbelievable recorded fact enshrouded in mystery.</p>

Superstitions of the Sea: A Digest of Beliefs, Customs, and Mystery

History

Clary, Jim

World

Thunder Bay Press Michigan

Ladies of the Lakes

Jim Clary's unquestionable marine art talent is traced to his early days as a schoolboy. He remembers vividly having his ears boxed while drawing in his arithmetic. But his love for the sea and ships no doubt began during the years he lived near the Detroit River, fishing and playing amidst the sea gulls and the beckoning whistles of passing vessels. This he believes established his strong desire to paint ships. When the family moved to the rural town of Richmond, Michigan, Jim spent much of his time in nearby St. Clair, a small town along the St. Clair River, which deepened his interest in ships' lore, and led him to devote his full talents to painting ships and collecting bits and pieces on maritime history. Like most of the famous marine artists of the past, Clary is self-taught. His natural talent gradually came alive through the combined effort of drawing and the love and knowledge of ships. Thus having relied on extensive reading, research, and experience, he brings to his work the most accurate possible interpretation of each subject. During his endless search for data and detail he finds such hidden treasures as century-old newspaper accounts of sinkings or rescues that he might link with his paintings. Searching through libraries, museums, or private collections, he often comes across a detail that has been forgotten. Much of his knowledge comes from personal experience. Trips on Great Lakes ore carriers have provided him with the opportunity to witness, first-hand, the saga of today's behemoths and the chill of a November storm. His staging of a battle on Old Ironsides in which U.S. Navy men assisted in re-enacting a deck fighting scene gave his invaluable reference material for his painting of the only pictorial record of how it might have appeared on board the Constitution in the heat of battle. His ""cracker barrel"" conversations with old-timers have uncovered many fascinating anecdotes and his interviews with survivors of the Titanic or the Andrea Doria have often provided him inside information unattainable through normal sources.

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

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